A formality at this point, the Broncos ended their starting running back’s season. Phillip Lindsay is now on IR, and late-season wide receiver addition Andre Holmes will join him.
Denver added outside linebacker Aaron Wallace and cornerback Horace Richardson to take their roster spots. Neither player was on the Broncos’ practice squad previously. Richardson will come to Denver from the Chiefs’ practice squad, while Wallace previously resided on the Bengals’ taxi squad.
Lindsay became the first UDFA offensive player to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie and will conclude his first NFL season as the Broncos’ first rookie 1,000-yard back since Clinton Portis in 2002. Lindsay is signed through the 2020 season; because of his UDFA status, the Denver native’s contract can be renegotiated after next season.
Royce Freeman and Devontae Booker will take handoffs for the Broncos against the Chargers, and the tandem may well be the Denver OTA ball-carriers. Lindsay is expected to need as many as four months to recover from the wrist surgery he is scheduled to undergo Friday, per Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter).
Claimed off waivers just after Emmanuel Sanders tore one of his Achilles’ tendons, Holmes caught one pass during his Broncos tenure. He is under contract through 2019, but that deal has no additional guaranteed money left on it.