Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton played the team’s starters in their preseason opener on Friday evening. Playing starters for at least a portion of preseason to get reps before the regular season seems to be the conventional strategy for most NFL teams. It comes with risks, though.
The biggest risk to playing starters in preseason is the risk of injuries. The Broncos lost starting nose tackle D.J. Jones to a concussion in the first quarter of Friday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Jones, 28, will now enter the NFL’s concussion protocol. Jones will have to pass through four stages of recovery in the protocol before being cleared to play again. Because every concussion is different and recovery times vary, Jones won’t have an exact timeline for his potential return to the field.
The No. 2 nose tackle on the team’s depth chart would be veteran Mike Purcell, but he is currently on the non-football injury list after undergoing surgery this offseason. That leaves Tyler Lancaster as the fill-in nose tackle until one of Jones or Purcell returns to the field.
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