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Report: Edge rusher Randy Gregory will undergo arthroscopic surgery and will miss at least a few weeks

The Broncos dodged a bullet here but still will be without their top pass rusher for several weeks.

San Francisco 49ers v Denver Broncos Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Denver Broncos edge rusher Randy Gregory will need to undergo arthroscopic surgery on the knee he injured during Sunday’s game. He states that the surgery is to trim the meniscus in his injured knee. He is expected to be sidelined for at least a few weeks, but they will have a better idea of the timetable until after the surgery.

Thankfully, Gregory avoided an ACL tear here which was a fear after watching the non-contact injury. So, they dodged a bullet here even with him missing at least a few weeks.

This, however, is still a major blow to the Broncos' defense. Gregory has been one of the better edge rushers in the NFL this year with a high percentage of win rate, so they will need to replace his impact on the field.

Former first-round pick Bradley Chubb has been playing well, so that is a plus, but others will need to step up in place of Gregory. Baron Browning has been receiving snaps throughout the season and is likely to get the start opposite of Chubb moving forward. We will also likely see second-round Nik Bonitto get some passing down reps at edge rusher as well moving forward as well.

The Broncos' depth at edge will be tested this week. They’ll be down Gregory, special teamer Aaron Patrick suffered a concussion during the game and Jonathon Cooper has been out with a hamstring injury as well. So, we’ll see what they do here in the coming days. It sounds like rookie Nik Bonitto will be called on to serve an active role on the Broncos' defense this Thursday Night.

At the end of the day, Gregory will be back this season and hopefully, he can return to his pre-injury form and continue to get after the quarterback when he is healthy.