Vance Walker Injury: Updates on Broncos DE's Knee and Recovery

The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl last season behind the leagues top-ranked defense, but the unit took a hit Monday, when it lost defensive end Vance Walker for the 2016 campaign because of an ACL injury, according toMike Klis of 9News in Denver.Continue for updates.Walker Reportedly Carted OffMonday, Aug. 15Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post noted Walker, who just returned from a back injury Monday, was carted off the field after suffering a torn ACL during nine-on-seven drills.We think the world of Vance, and well support him through his recovery, Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said,per Troy Renck of Denver7.Last season was Walkers first with the Broncos, and he appeared in 15 contests, tallying 33 combined tackles and two sacks. He also played for the Atlanta Falcons from 2009 to 2012, the Oakland Raiders in 2013 and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014.The Georgia Tech product, who has 12 regular-season sacks in his career, finished with five combined tackles in three postseason games on the way to Denver's Super Bowl title last year.According to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com, Walker was expected to nail down a starting role as the replacement for 2015 breakout star Malik Jackson. Jackson signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the offseason, while linebacker Danny Trevathan signed with the Chicago Bears.That means Denvers strong front seven from a season ago needed Walker to account for some of the lost production, but he will reportedly be sidelined for all of 2016.Wesseling noted the Broncos will look to defensive end Jared Crick as well as a combination of Billy Winn, Adam Gotsis, Sylvester Williams and Derek Wolfe to shoulder the load along the defensive line."Gotsis offers the highest ceiling, according to Wesseling. The2016 second-round pick impressed in Denvers preseason opener with two quarterback hurries.Denver won the Super Bowl last season largely because of its strong defense, but Gotsis and the rest of the defensive line will have more pressure this year following Walkers injury.
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