During their joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, the Denver Broncos had defensive lineman Matt Henningsen go down. The team fears that it could be a season-ending Achilles injury for the veteran player.
The Broncos and 49ers had a joint practice in preparation for Saturday night’s preseason game between the two teams. The Broncos have been relatively fortunate in the injury department in the last couple of years, but injuries are starting to add up for the team in training camp.
Drew Sanders, Alex Singleton and Dre Greenlaw have all dealt with injuries already. Sanders, who already missed most of last season with an injury, is likely to miss time into the start of the regular season. Greenlaw has been nursing a quad injury and has not been in pads during practice sessions this week, and Singleton is dealing with a broken thumb.
So far, there’s no cause for panic just yet, but it is somewhat concerning. Now, it looks like you can add Henningsen to that list.
Unfortunate news comes out of San Fran
Coach and Raj react to reports about Matt Henningsen’s Achilles injury@Coach_Sanford2 @RajOnRadio #BroncosCountry #BroncosCamp #FTTB https://t.co/fYlfqKe7w9 pic.twitter.com/Q0hPp9TF8b
— 92.5 FM – Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio (@AltitudeSR) August 8, 2025
Henningsen, a sixth-round pick in 2022, is entering his fourth year in Denver. He is a bubble player on this year’s roster but he has good experience, having played in 34 games in his career and would likely be kept around on the practice squad as a worst-case scenario.
A season-ending injury would obviously change that.
The Broncos aren’t exactly deep on the defensive line. The starting trio is solid with D.J. Jones, John Franklin-Myers and Zach Allen. The depth behind them is led by Malcolm Roach, Jordan Jackson and Henningsen.
If Henningsen does in fact have an Achilles tear, he will miss the entire 2025 season. That would place the spotlight on players like Eyioma Uwazurike and Jordan Miller to step up and make some plays in the preseason to show that they belong on this roster.
READ: Sam Ehlinger making his case for Broncos to do the same thing as last year
Sai’vion Jones, a player the Broncos traded back into the third round of the draft to select out of LSU, is a guy who could get more of a look as a rookie due to a lack of depth on the defensive front. Jones feels like a player the Broncos could groom into a replacement for Franklin-Myers, who is set to become a free agent at season’s end, but they may be forced to use him more than they originally planned to in his rookie season.
Henningsen has 40 career tackles and one sack, but his experience is a valuable asset.
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