The Denver Broncos kick off action against their AFC West Division rival Kansas City Chiefs in under two hours. On Sunday, the Broncos will be without one of their key defenders D.J Jones, Baron Browning, and punt/kick return specialist Montrell Washington.

Denver Broncos inactives against Kansas City

Facing the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes is a juggernaut of a test in and of itself, but taking on the Chiefs down several vital players makes the challenge even more difficult.

Prior to kickoff, it was announced that outside linebacker Baron Browning would be inactive as he deals with back spasms that have impacted him periodically throughout the week, leaving Denver without one of their key edge rushers on the outside. On Saturday, the team announced they placed veteran outside linebacker Randy Gregory on injured reserve, ending his 2022 season as he looks to recover fully from the knee injury he suffered in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto, and Jonathan Kongbo are expected to receive a bulk of the reps rushing Mahomes off the edge.

Pressure from the interior of the defensive line is crucial against the Chiefs, but Denver already down Dre’Mont Jones for the remainder of the season will be without D.J. Jones as well who has been dealing with a knee injury. It will be an all-hands-on-deck approach for the Broncos as they face the Chiefs coming off of an emotional week that saw former head coach Nathaniel Hackett fired, and Jerry Rosburg promoted to interim status.

One move in particular that came as a surprise for the Denver Broncos prior to kickoff was return specialist Montrell Washington being listed as inactive. Washington was named a healthy scratch after struggling with consistency this season. Rosburg’s fingerprints are apparently all over this move as he initiated changes on special teams, parting ways with Dwayne Stukes earlier this week. It is currently unknown who will receive return responsibilities on Sunday, but veteran receiver Kendall Hinton and undrafted rookie Jalen Virgil are two names to keep an eye on.

Stay tuned at Mile High Sports for all the post-game coverage of Sunday’s matchup between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs.