With the NFL playoffs soon approaching, the Denver Broncos are getting healthy at just the right time. They will go into their Week 16 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at nearly full strength with starting guard Ben Powers returning from injured reserve.
But the team will be without one key player on defense as inside linebacker Justin Strnad has been ruled out with a foot injury. Strnad is the top backup to starters Dre Greenlaw and Alex Singleton, leaving a bit of a hole on the roster if one of them goes down.
The next man up is undrafted rookie Jordan Turner. Turner was recently promoted to the 53-man roster after spending this season on the team's practice squad. Turner had a solid preseason and looked good in training camp this summer.
Turner had over 200 tackles in college to go along with eight sacks and five interceptions. He played three seasons at Wisconsin before transferring to Michigan State for his senior season. He will likely see few, if any, defensive snaps against the Jaguars, but he has a chance to be a strong contributor on special teams.
The Broncos could also get back undrafted free agent Karene Reid for this game. Reid, out of Utah, was a surprise addition to the Broncos' 53-man roster to begin the season. But a hamstring injury has kept him out for the past month. He has five tackles on the season.
The Broncos will look to have Greenlaw and Singleton be the defensive leaders that they are, but both Turner and Reid could play key roles down the stretch of this regular season.
As for Strnad, the Broncos are hoping to get him back on the field before the regular season ends, but the team won't rush him. As volatile as the inside linebacker position has been this season, the team needs to take it easy with him as he could still play a huge role in the postseason.
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The Broncos will have to lean on the undrafted rookies they kept around to help bridge the gap until Strnad is back healthy. Levelle Bailey, who is on the team's practice squad, would be another option.
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