Broncos’ offensive lineman Tom Compton to start season on PUP list

The situation with the offensive line, especially at right tackle, has been a concern for the Denver Broncos all throughout training camp. However, they did get Billy Turner back this week and he is expected to be a go for Week 1. That left Tom Compton dealing with a back issue. An issue that head coach Nathaniel Hackett believes will need more time to heal. He announced on Monday that Compton will start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

“No, he’s going to start on the PUP.” Hackett said on Monday. “He’s continually working through his back. It’s another guy that we’re so lucky that we’re going to be able to have him later on in the season. He brings so much veteran presence and he’s great in the meeting rooms with all those guys, so we just have to be sure we get him back the right way.”

Compton had a back procedure in late July beginning training camp on the active/PUP list. That rehab will go into the regular season, but we could see him back in action by October at the earliest. We’ll just have to monitor that situation. Once activated to return to practice, the Broncos will have 21 days to move him to the active roster.

Full reserve/PUP list definition:

A player who finishes the preseason still on the PUP list can then be moved to the reserve/PUP list. Such players must sit out the first four weeks of the regular season. At that point, teams have a five-week window in which to allow the player to begin practicing; from the day the player begins practicing, teams have an additional 21-day window in which to decide whether to activate the player to the 53-man roster. If either of those deadlines pass, the player must remain on the PUP list for the remainder of the season.

The Broncos signed Compton to a one-year deal in March after the 33 year old had two solid seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. Once healthy, he should provide much needed depth for Denver at various positions along the offensive line.

Zac Stevens from DNVR made an interesting point regarding Tom Compton today. If Denver designates him as reserve/PUP today, then they will only have to trim their roster down by four players instead of five. Given that, I would expect them to go ahead and do just that.