The Denver Broncos will play the remaining games of the regular season and go to the playoffs without safety David Bruton Jr. who was placed on injured reserve (IR) Tuesday due to a fractured right fibula.
Bruton showed great toughness in Sunday's 34–27 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing the entire game after suffering the injury in the first quarter following a collision with teammate cornerback Aqib Talib.
But the contact with Talib was not the only one endured by Bruton as according to ESPN, two plays after getting injured, he also received a helmet-to-helmet hit from Steelers center Cody Wallace.
The report added that after the loss to the Steelers, Bruton was assisted by linebacker Danny Trevathan and a trainer to the locker room as he was limping on his right leg.
Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak even praised Bruton for staying in the game despite the injury and said, according to ESPN, "Played the entire game, amazing gut check."
Kubiak added, "Obviously, David's going to miss some extensive time here and we'll how that plays in with the remainder of the season."
Unfortunately for Denver, Bruton will no longer be joining the team as Tuesday marked the end of the season for him, being placed on IR.
In another report by ESPN, the 28-year-old safety landing on IR also meant that the two longest tenured players for the Broncos are both out for the season.
Offensive tackle Ryan Clady was placed on IR even before the season began after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the Broncos' organized team activities (OTAs) last May.
ESPN added that to take Bruton's roster spot, the Broncos signed safety Shaun Prater who may have a role as a member of the special teams.
The Broncos will play their Week 16 game on Monday taking on the leaders of the AFC North, the Cincinnati Bengals.
