Safety Justin Simmons, cornerback Michael Ojemudia and tight end Greg Dulcich have all returned to practice

According to reports, safety Justin Simmons, cornerback Michael Ojemudia and rookie tight end Greg Dulcich have all returned to practice. This is noteworthy because all three are currently on the injured reserve, but can be activated to rejoin the 53-man roster as early as this week.

Dulcich and Ojemudia were eligible to start practicing last week, but entering a short week likely led to the Broncos waiting until this week to get these two out there.

The Broncos selected UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The explosive tight end figured to be an intriguing weapon for the Broncos' passing offense, but injuries have kept him off the field pretty much since he was drafted. A lingering hamstring injury is why he was on the injured reserve, but hopefully, he has fully recovered from this injury. I do not think he’ll be activated this week, but we should see him out on the field sooner rather than later.

The tight-end position has been disappointing so far this year. Albert Okwuegbunam has barely played and appears in the coach's doghouse and we have seen veterans Eric Saurbet and Eric Tomlinson receive more playing time than they probably should. Dulcich would immediately become the Broncos' best pass-catching option of this group and could help quarterback Russell Wilson get back on track.

As for Michael Ojemudia, he should be fully recovered from the dislocated elbow he suffered during the Broncos' second preseason game. I think we will see him activated off the injured reserve as early as this week and likely play some snaps this upcoming Monday vs. the Chargers. The Broncos just lost veteran Ronald Darby for the season, so getting Ojemuda back does help the depth at cornerback a good bit.

As for Justin Simmons, he is arguably the best safety in the NFL right now, so getting him back will help this defense immensely. He suffered a quad injury during the Broncos' week one loss to the Seattle Seahawks and has been on the injured reserve since. This is the first week where is eligible to be activated, so we shall see how he progresses. Second-year safety Caden Sterns has really stepped up in-place of Simmons and potentially has earned himself a starting role alongside Simmons for the remaining portion of the season.

In the end, some rare good injury news is a welcomed sight to see when it comes to the Broncos. We have seen multiple key members of this team see their season end prematurely because of injuries, so getting some back should hopefully help get this team back on track.