Evan Engram, Dre Greenlaw out for Broncos’ Week 3 matchup with Chargers

There was no miraculous recovery on the side field in Dove Valley on Friday afternoon Broncos inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw quad and tight end Evan Engram back will both miss the Broncos first AFC West matchup of the season Sunday as the organization ruled both out against the Chargers on Friday s injury account There s no current end in sight to Greenlaw s long rehab stint as the inside linebacker has made just one appearance during the viewing period of practice limited last Friday since mid-August Head coach Sean Payton noted Wednesday that he felt Greenlaw was on the organization s schedule but his recovery timeline was a little nebulous The Broncos have slow-played the inside linebacker but the decision to not put Greenlaw on injured reserve is now butting up against Week A source described Greenlaw as day-to-day to The Denver Post on Friday afternoon Denver did receive particular good injury news as inside linebacker Justin Strnad was a full participant Friday after a foot injury kept him out Wednesday He s set to start in place of Greenlaw for a third straight week He already has two sacks on ILB blitzes early in the year Still the Broncos will need a more nimble effort from both Strnad and starting ILB Alex Singleton against the Chargers in coverage after Daniel Jones and the Colts filleted the middle of Denver s defense last week He s a guy that can play in coverage Payton declared of Strnad on Friday and it s good to see him with the production rushing the passer The Broncos will go without Engram their ascribed Joker for the first time this year Sunday Payton declared his back became a factor during last week s competition against the Colts when Engram had just one catch Payton emphasized that Engram s injuries weren t a factor in his overall utilization through two games Yet through two games in Denver Engram has played roughly half the percentage of offensive snaps that he did last year in Jacksonville It s presumably too early to tell Payton mentioned of Engram s utilization Certainly it s he s going to play a big role for us The Broncos will gain a weapon in the tight end room with dual-function fullback Nate Adkins set to make his season debut against the Chargers Adkins won t replace Engram s role in the pass battle but he can help open up the Broncos ground encounter as a blocker I think quietly Nate was one of those players that I don t know got a lot of attention and yet there was a lot of respect around the league and in the locker room for the way he did a number of things Payton disclosed in August So it ll be good to get him back when we do Referee-scouting habits If you re set to man an officiating crew on Sundays in Denver be prepared for Payton to try to find out everything about your track record And we mean everything This morning we do the officiating summary we do last year s numbers we do this year s numbers Payton noted Friday Then we do special teams defense and offense What are the fouls they re calling Where does that rank And then we do a backdrop on the referee Where is he from How did he get this job How long has he been in the league Wife and children s name Related Articles A year after ACL injury Broncos ILB Alex Singleton working to get fully secure It s good to have our captain back Broncos RB J K Dobbins motivated to show he s back to being one of those top-end backs to Chargers and to NFL Broncos scouting review Can Chargers QB Justin Herbert handle Denver s blitz and vice versa Broncos DC Vance Joseph on Chargers QB Justin Herbert Supposedly the MVP right now Broncos special teams coach Darren Rizzi pushes back on Colts description of fateful FG penalty We know our tendencies The Broncos were called for eight penalties Sunday against the Colts Payton described the crew for Broncos-Chargers as in the lower end of flags historically thrown Time to hold Court After the Broncos No receiver caught just one pass across four targets against the Colts Payton disclosed it d be vital to get Courtland Sutton more touches against the Chargers in Week I think it s central in the third down I think it s significant in the red zone and then throughout the battle plan Payton commented Sutton has seven catches for yards and a touchdown thus far this season He is second on the Broncos in receiving yards to Troy Franklin Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis