Broncos guard Max Garcia will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL, according to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link).
It’s unclear exactly when Garcia tore his ACL, but it sound as though it may occurred during practice on Thursday. Per Klis, Garcia took every snap at practice yesterday, but felt discomfort in his knee afterwards. A subsequent MRI revealed the ACL injury and will now knock Garcia out for the rest of the year.
Denver’s offensive line has already been decimated by injury this year, and the loss of Garcia will only further deplete the unit. Veteran guard Ronald Leary went down with a Achilles tear in mid-October, while starting center Matt Paradis suffered a fractured fibula and ligament tears earlier this month. Per Klis, backup Billy Turner now figures to take over as the Broncos’ starting left guard, meaning Denver will now field an interior offensive line that is entirely different than its Week 1 configuration.
Garcia, 27, was a Broncos fourth-round pick in the 2015 draft. Although he started 32 consecutive games from 201-17, Garcia wasn’t a deployed as a starter this season until after Leary got hurt. Indeed, Garcia didn’t play a single offensive snap until Week 6, but has since been on the field for every play.
Garcia is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next spring, but his market will certainly be affected by his ACL tear and subsequent recovery. He’ll join a class of free agent guards that also includes Rodger Saffold, Quinton Spain, Mark Glowinski, Ramon Foster, and Mike Iupati.