Denver will be trying to slow down a prolific Miami offense without one of the best safeties in football.
Broncos veteran Justin Simmons was ruled out of Sunday’s game at the Dolphins with what the team is calling a hip injury.
Veteran outside linebacker Frank Clark (hip) is also out, while defensive lineman Mike Purcell (ankle) is questionable.
Simmons dealt with a groin strain throughout training camp but was not listed on the team’s injury report Week 1 or Week 2 and played in both games. He played the entire way against Washington last weekend, but then did not practice at all this week.
That left little mystery about his status against the Dolphins.
“We’ll have a plan either way,” head coach Sean Payton said shortly before Simmons was officially ruled out.
Until last year, Simmons had barely missed a snap in his career due to injury. But then he injured his quad in Week 1 against Seattle and missed four games on injured reserve. He came back and went on a turnover tear, grabbing six interceptions, forcing three fumbles and recovering another.
“If you have Justin, it’s still hard to get (the Dolphins) stopped,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday. “Our plan won’t change much. We have guys that we’ve handpicked to be on this team who are going to play for us. I have no issues with those guys. Even last week in the game when those kids were in the game, I was fine. I wasn’t nervous because I watched them play out here on the field. They work hard, and they are smart guys. I have no concerns about our safety depth.
“Having a scheme to minimize their speed and use the field against them a little bit, that’s the plan. There’s so much speed everywhere. Open-field tackling is going to be huge for us. If it’s one-on-one and they make one guy miss, it can be a 30- or 40-yard gain. Being great tacklers, keeping big plays off of us, winning third downs and trying to play penalty free as best as we can. That’s the challenge this week.”
With Caden Sterns and P.J. Locke on injured reserve, Delarrin Turner-Yell is the next safety after Simmons and fellow starter Kareem Jackson. When Jackson was ejected against Washington and Turner-Yell cramped up, nickel Essang Bassey slid back and played safety next to Simmons.
Both could end up part of the Broncos’ plan to try to slow Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and a wide receiving corps highlighted by Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Waddle (concussion) is listed as questionable. He’s been working through the concussion protocol throughout the week.
Purcell was upgraded to a limited participant in Friday’s practice.
Perkins a work in progress. Denver just signed Ronnie Perkins off New England’s practice squad this week. As an outside linebacker with some size at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, Denver will try to get him up to speed quickly. But Payton said Friday it usually takes some time.
“There’s more a longer vision. Sometimes you’re forced to (count on contributions right away),” Payton said. “In his case, we felt like we had a young talented player that fit our vision. Now, that doesn’t mean we’re not developing right now while he’s here on our active roster with the idea that he can help us this year.”
Perkins, a third-round pick in 2021, has not yet appeared in a regular-season game in his career.
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