Head Coach John Fox on Monday announced that running back Willis McGahee suffered a ligament tear in his knee, but the injury will not require surgery.
“Obviously, (we’re) disappointed to lose a player of Willis’ caliber,” Fox said. “We’re disappointed for him.”
Though McGahee will not need surgery, Fox said he doesn’t have a timetable for a return other than that the running back will be “week-to-week.”
“Right now we’re not making a roster change as far as IR,” Fox said when asked whether McGahee could head to injured reserve with a designation to return. “He’s a fast healer. He’s a tough, competitive guy. A lot of times your veteran guys are that way. We wouldn’t at this point want to prolong it that far.”
Through 11 weeks of the season, McGahee gained 731 yards on 167 carries, finding the end zone four times. In his absence on Sunday against San Diego, running back Ronnie Hillman picked up 43 yards on 12 carries and Lance Ball chipped in another 35 yards on just six carries.
Fox said the team has confidence in the running back stable currently on the team, from Hillman and Ball to Knowshon Moreno, who has been inactive since Week 3, and Jeremiah Johnson, who is currently on the practice squad but rushed for 77 yards and had 62 receiving yards with the team in 2011.
Fox said the team “may or may not” bring in free agent running backs to work out this week, and that those discussions won’t occur until later on Monday.
“Right now, we feel really good about the guys we have — they’re trained in our system,” Fox said. “I’ve said many, many times, it’s the next man up. It was yesterday and will be next Sunday. Who that’ll be? We’ll see how practice goes and what our active list will look like next Sunday.”
At least it’s not an ACL
At least it’s not his same knee he injured in college.
From PFF:
“15:00 Willis McGahee Tears MCL!
A big blow to the Broncos as they’ve lost starting tailback McGahee for at least the remainder of the regular season. In truth his problems holding onto the ball had seen him drop way down our rankings but Ronnie Hillman is something of an unknown at this stage, and you really don’t want to tamper too much with a winning formula. Steve Slaton has immediately flown in for a visit. An interesting player, Slaton starred as a rookie before some fumbling problems of his own saw him bounce around the league.”
I gotta say at least McGahee was hurt during a run. Not breaking his arm trying to block an extra point when you are blowing out your other team…..With that what the hell was Bill-I-Cheat thinking? That has got to be one of the most questionable moves I have ever seen.
Sign Sam Gordon From Utah to replace McGahee – had over 2000 yards last season. …. Shame she is only 9 and hasn’t turned pro yet
Agreed OT. Get well soon McG!
Next man up will have to show himself ready for his oppurtunity. They have had a chance to work behind PFM and McG long enough. Time to come in and cease their chance to shine behind a good offensive line. If we are unable to run the football with who we have back there now, we might as well give DJ a shot at running the ball. Then he could really earn a spot back on this team with some hard nose running. What better person to find a hole in the line than a linebacker. Or, wait, wait, this just in….Tebow is coming back to Denver as a running back. Seriously, next man up just needs to be better than his predecessor.
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!
Millertime… Sorry for the not getting your Prediction saved to the Spreadsheet… My apologies, Your points have been added and congratulations on a second straight week of receiving 10 Contest points
How’d the Tat turn out?
moreno might get sum work…we need a power runner…any FA’s worth a darn?
Question? when was the last time two receivers from opposing teams both topped 200+ yards in a game like Johnson and Blackmon did on Sunday? Between the two of them they accounted for over 500 yards receiving!!!
1. Tim Hightower top free agent RB’s out…i say lets get thomas jones!! just like Mcgahee or maurice morris…Steve slayton would be nice also
2. Ryan Grant
3. Steve Slaton
4. Thomas Jones
5. Joseph Addai
6. Mewelde Moore
7. Cadillac Williams
8. Tyrell Sutton
9. Ryan Torain
10. Maurice Morris
11. Rock Cartwright
12. Dimitri Nance
13. Lonyae Miller
14. Jerious Norwood
15. Sammy Morris
16. Chester Taylor
17. Deji Karim
18. Lorenzo Booker
19. Kregg Lumpkin
20. Xavier Omon
21. Harvey Unga
22. Kareem Huggins
23. Davin Meggett
24. Herb Donaldson
25. Chad Spann
I say we stick with what we have. Activate Knowshon on gameday but increase Hillman’s touches. If you look at the remaining schedule, its practically a cake walk to the playoffs. Increased playing time for Hillman will be a crash course. Ball and Moreno can fill in as needed. Sink or swim time for the kid.
Agreed RH. Sounds like they will activate Knowshon and stay with who they have in there right now. We can be successful with who we have and it will give us a look at who can step up before going into the playoffs. We should have success with whoever they put in the backfield with the time spent preparing and waiting for an opportunity.
MAN BIG LOSS..BUT LIKE JOHN FOX ALWAYS SAY NEXT MAN UP..SO HOPEFULY KNOWSHON IS HUNGRY IF HE GETS HIS CHANCE..I THINK THEY’LL BE ALRIGT WITH OUT WILLIS
There is really no other better option, bringing anybody new into the system at this point of the game is not going to be any better than using the ones we have who are familiar with it.
And herein lies the problem, of course most of you say we will be just fine, what else could anyone say, we have to deal with it, next man up, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to work no problems. I see potentially big issues with it for Manning, look at the tougher time he had after McGahee left when the Chargers knew we weren’t the same threat on the ground anymore. Ball is our best bet for blocking but regardless of what rotation we use the worse case scenario is Manning goes down because of it, or lack of it, or lack of others fearing the running game, don’t even want to think about that. But regardless of what I hear from you guys, it’s that serious folks, it doesn’t make me feel any better, just the way I see it.
Manning at this point in his career and with his health needs a serious running game to be a distraction to opposing teams so they don’t peel their ears back and knock him out because all teams know with Manning out we are one and out of it if we make the playoffs, not even Miller would save the day with Osweiler at the helm.
Anyway I’ll pray for the best and count on Studesville to work out miracles with what he’s got, repetitive I know I am but that’s all I got about all that. Good thing is if McGahee can really come back before 6 weeks, that would alleviate my concerns for the playoffs, him being relatively fresh when he comes back would be a plus because I never felt he could perform 100% for an entire season anyway, depending on recovery time it might turn out to be a blessing in the sky in the long run. But not right now, let’s hope we get through this rough time without a major hiccup.
Another good thing is we play Oakland, KC twice and the Browns…. but they’ll be coming after Manning too.
Looks to me like the O line responsibilities have increased ten fold overnight.
Just seeing Fox says it’s week to week, no surgery so that helps if it’s accurate, the quicker the better.
Knowshawn Moreno……This guy has had more time on the sidelines than any Bronco in history! I can’t believe the way he lit it up in college you’d think he had Gale Sayers Genes….He had had flashes of brilliance and much like led Chrystal he shines but much like the Chrystal he breaks rather easily….GIVE THE ROCK TO HILLMAN AND BALL PERIOD! OH AND ONCE AGAIN WE FIND OUT THAT THE ELECTRIC-HEADS ARE CHEATIN A$$ PLAYERS. THAT HIT ON McG WAS SOOOOOO LOW! INTENTIONAL? YOU KNOW, AND WHAT EVER HAPPENED ABOUT THE STICKY STUFF ON THEIR HANDS FROM THE LAST GAME. WHAT IS THE NFL GUN-SHY NOW AFTER THE LAWSUITS BY THE SAINTS PLAYERS? WELL NUFF OF THAT….I AM STOKELEY’D WE LOOK LIKE WE ARE GONNA CRUISE INTO THE PLAYOFFS. AND THAT LINEBACKER CORPS IS ALLREADY BEING COMPARED TO SOME OF THE GREAT ONES IN HISTORY! THE ORANGE CRUSH IS BACK BABY! AND I’M DARN GLAD TO SEE DJ WILLIAMS BACK LIKE HE NEVER MISSED A BEAT! DEEEEEEEEEEEGGGGG!!! STOP CALLING THEM VON DOOM WHEN YOU KNOW THE ARE THE ORANGE CRUSH REBORN! I WAS JUST VOTING FOR THE PRO-BOWL AND IT SEEMED, NO STRIKE THAT ITS A FACT THE BRONCOS ARE ON THE TOP OR NEAR THE TOP IN STATS FOR NEARLY EVERY SINGLE POSITION. EVEN SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS. IT WOULD BE GREAT IF OUR WHOLE TEAM WENT TO THE PB AFTER WINNING THE SB IF THAT WERE POSSIBLE….OH WELL A GUY CAN WISH CANT HE! GO PONIES SWEEP THE CHEFFS!!
BroncoTalk @BroncoTalk
With Willis McGahee out for possibly the rest of the regular season, free agent running back Tatum Bell would… http://fb.me/1Xq3UZiRI
I WOULD GIVE TATUM BELL A SHOT..I REMEMBER WHEN THEY DRAFTED HIM..I WAS HAPPY AND MAYBE HE COMES BACK A REAL BEAST CUZ HIM PUTTING TWEETS LIKE THAT AGAIN IT SEEMS LIKE HE IS HUNGRY AND READY TO EAT..SO WHY NOT FEED THE BEAST…
Bring in JJ off the PS!!
Tatum Bell, LMAO, last time he played was in 2009 for the Florida Tuskers!!!
maybe we can wrangle ben tate away from the texans but seriously i think they would be just fine with jj and knoshow
I heard it was an MCL tear… How does that not require surgery?
MCL tears are rarely treated surgically. The MCL receives a good amount of blood supply which makes it a good candidate to heal with conservative treatments through physical therapy.
This article should give you all the info you need:
http://www.nysportsmed.com/index.php?/Sports-Performance-Injury/mcl-lcl-sprain-tear.html
I think Hillman=(Flash and Dash) and Ball=(Punch and Munch)…..
If those two guys can REFUSE to put the rock on the ground! (NO FUMBLES)!
They can be the precise ingredients we need to win big…
ILMSDB!!!
Never thought I’d see bay quote a NY source… Lol
I agree with strands:
Bring JJ up from PS!!
JOHNSON AT A GLANCE:
He is a third-year running back who played eight regular-season games and both playoff contests for the Broncos in 2011, contributing 14 carries for 77 yards (5.5 avg.) for the league’s top rushing attack (164.5 ypg).
IMO: Best move!
FTR
I would ask if there’s anything bay doesn’t know, but I get the feeling that he just enjoys posting the results of his research and his supporting evidence…
@ OC I agree with Punch and Munch!! Bring JJ up and we add a new Hillman and runnimg back that can catch and run! When we need short yards for a 1st Throw the ball. You do not always need a big back with Manning!
FTR
footballM:
Bay is just giving his opinon and backing it with facts! I know he does not know my B-day!! LOL
Just me!
FTR
And here I was thinking I would help you out MANIAC…
Anyhow FTR, as much as I liked our running game last year and its impressive stats, it was basically all made possible because of the running threat of Tebow, quite a different scenario this year, hope JJ has got it but last year performance doesn’t do much for my confidence in his ability in this system, just my opinion, but yeah they basically have to bring him out now, not much else of a choice since Moreno seems to be firmly in the doghouse, or maybe it’s not a McD doghouse, it’s not permanent like for Hillis and they will let him play, we will find out soon enough.
I bet it’s sometime next year, LOL.
All I got to say to KC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TtKo-R7TUc
ILMSDB!!!
Long Live The Neck!!
Peace Out!!
FTR
I hear ya Bay! But do not know what else to do this late in the season!
FTR
Poor McGahee
On another note, who knew that Chris Harris was our answer to explosive tight ends? Anybody? It still shocks me. Should it?
I’m with OC, Ball and Hillman with Ball starting because of his blocking abilities, and whoever they choose to go with for third as a back up, Moreno or JJ.
Cat:
Harris and Carter have earned thier starting postions and are playing pro bowl football!! To me it’s like finding Gold! We are growing and finding gems like these players!! Sometimes pecies come together and I think this is it!! Denver D will become the orange Crush and more!!
FTR
The Bears tonight without Cutler, 0-27 SF, wow, please protect Peyton.
Broncos will become the best Defense for years to come! My prediction and just my opinon!
FTR.
Out
49ers D not too shabby either. I’m out, night all.
Good night to all and to all a good night with Orange star shine and Blue firelight…….
In the glow of a Super Bowl trophy we delight….
I give thanks to John Elway, once again, tonight…
Amen….
ILMSDB – I LOVE ME SOME DENVER BRONCOS
GET WELL SOON WILLIS ! ! !
I think it will be Knowshon’s position to lose. Stud’s will bring up Double J and de-activate the low man on the totem pole before game time.
We will see if Knowshon has been on the shelf because He’s in the Dog House, or maybe Coach Fox has been sneaky like a fox and has been just stashing Knowshon away knowing some one was gonna get hurt at some piont…
Whatever the reason I don’t care, next man up is Knowshon Moreno…
KC wont be a push over, they have been improving every week as well dispite what thier record say’s. That KC D is good and Richardson is on tough cookie, this smells like a trap game to me…just sayin.
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
one tough cookie…
Jay Cutler is 7-1 with that offensive line. Let it sink in.
Mile High Salute FTR! I think Carter and Harris are definitely playing pro bowl level. A little ridiculous that Carter had to cover a guy two feet taller than him on Sunday and all things considered, he did an okay job! LOL
I just had a happy thought of Von Doom chasing around Brady Quinn and releasing some pent up aggression on him after not being able to hit him last year… Has anyone heard which QB will be starting for KC?
bay- I joke. I know you know everything.