Broncos Offer First Drew Sanders Injury Update in Months
On Wednesday, we heard mention of Drew Sanders' name for the first time in months at Denver Broncos headquarters. The third-year linebacker has spent the entire season on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury early in training camp.
Wednesday's practice report brought good news on Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II and linebacker Alex Singleton, both of whom returned to the field. Conspicuously, Sanders wasn't on the practice report.
There was hope that the Broncos might start Sanders' clock coming out of the bye, but he's not quite ready yet. However, head coach Sean Payton emphasized that the Broncos are still planning on returning Sanders this season, and perhaps sooner than later, unlike running back J.K. Dobbins, who was placed on IR ahead of Week 11.
Payton leans on the report of Broncos V.P. of Player Health and Performance, Beau Lowery, to get progress on IR players, like Sanders.
“It’s going to be later, but yes. We monitor the progress," Payton said on Wednesday. "Beau goes through the report. I don’t have the game, and honestly, the same can be said with Dobbins.”
The Sanders Injury
Sanders underwent surgery in July to repair a ligament in his foot. The injury occurred on July 26 and was originally billed by Payton as one that would take "north of four to six weeks."
Fast forward to late November, and we're obviously well beyond the initial prognosis, though it's not as if Payton was being dishonest. It has been "north of four to six weeks," just well north of it.
It's unclear whether Sanders suffered a setback in his recovery, or if the delay in his return has more to do with the Broncos' current roster math. The trio of Singleton, Dre Greenlaw, and Justin Strnad have performed well this season.
Singleton is only a few weeks removed from a scary cancer diagnosis, which saw him miss Week 11's game. But after his surgery to remove a tumor, he's already back to full practice.
Garrett Wallow rounds out the Broncos' linebacker room on the 53-man roster. The Broncos also have a couple of linebackers on the practice squad in Levelle Bailey and Jordan Turner.
Since they're not desperate at linebacker, perhaps the Broncos haven't seen a need to push Sanders back onto the field. Or, at the very least, it has afforded the team and player with all the time he needs to fully recover.
And that could be the philosophy here. Sanders has been plagued by injuries since arriving as a third-round pick out of Arkansas in 2023, and the Broncos likely want to do everything within their power to give him the best possible chance at staying healthy when he returns.
Sanders was available for all 17 games as a rookie, but didn't start seeing action until the end of the 2023. What he showed was intriguing, to be sure, but as the Broncos hit the 2024 offseason, he suffered an Achilles tear during workouts.
That injury saw Sanders miss all but four games of the 2024 season, but the Broncos did bring him back, and he even appeared in the team's Wildcard playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. Hopes were high that he would finally get a full offseason to be healthy and enter a season prepared and ready to rock.
Devastating Luck
When the injury bug struck Sanders again early in training camp, it was devastating. It felt like a black cloud was just following the uber-athletic and talented young linebacker around.
This is a long-winded way of saying that the abundance of caution the Broncos are taking with Sanders this time around is well-founded. And, frankly, with how good the team's three-man rotation is playing this season, there's no need to return Sanders at all this season, provided the linebacker room can stay healthy.
However, the Broncos have some big decisions to make at linebacker next season, with both Singleton and Strnad set to be free agents. Having a healthy Sanders could help make those decisions a little bit clearer, which is another reason why the timetable Denver is taking with his injury makes sense.
At some point, Broncos Country will hopefully get to see Sanders again at 100%. The Broncos believe he can be a starter, but he needs to create a little distance between himself and that virulent insect known as the injury bug.
Dan Quinn’s Controversial Move Sends Shockwaves Through Commanders Locker Room
WASHINGTON, DC. November 26, 2025
Dan Quinn wanted answers. Instead, he may have sparked the biggest internal storm of the Commanders’ season. What should have been a steady reset after the bye week has turned into a simmering locker-room drama — one created not by injuries or losses, but by Quinn’s own decisions as Washington prepares for a must-win stretch.
The first signs of trouble came quietly. Quinn began adjusting rotations, shifting snaps, and reevaluating personnel on both sides of the ball. Moves that looked small from the outside carried major weight internally. Veterans felt unsettled. Younger players sensed opportunity. And the locker room, already shaken by weeks of inconsistency, suddenly felt divided by who Quinn trusted and who he didn’t.
Only in paragraph three does the core issue surface.
Quinn has taken control of the defensive play-calling — a bold, controversial step that instantly changed the power structure within the building. Washington’s defense has crumbled in recent weeks, allowing opponents to score far too easily, and rather than let his staff steer the ship, Quinn decided he would take the wheel himself. The decision sent a clear message: patience is over.
But messages like that always have consequences. Coaches demoted quietly. Players unsure of their roles. A defensive room tense enough to feel in the air. And a fanbase trying to decide whether Quinn just made the aggressive move needed to save the season… or opened a can of chaos the team wasn’t ready for.
Personnel changes only added fuel. Quinn’s push toward younger, “upside” players — particularly at wide receiver and in the secondary — came across as both hopeful and destabilizing. Fans want development. Veterans want stability. And the balance between the two is razor-thin when a season is slipping away.
For all the noise, Quinn’s intentions are clear. He is trying to shake Washington out of its spiral. He wants urgency. He wants accountability. He wants a defense that stops breaking at the worst possible moments. But the question is no longer what Quinn wants — it’s whether the locker room can absorb this kind of midseason jolt without fracturing.
If Quinn navigates this carefully, the Commanders could emerge tougher, more focused, and finally aligned heading into December. But if he mismanages even one part of this delicate reset, the fallout could linger far beyond this season.
Right now, Washington stands at a crossroads. And Dan Quinn’s boldest call may be the one that defines everything that happens next.
Stay tuned to ESPN!
