Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett told reporters Wednesday that S Justin Simmons will miss "some time" with a thigh injury he suffered in Monday night's opener. NFL Network's James Palmer reports that he's "hearing" Simmons will land on short-term IR. That would mean at least 4 missed games. Caden Sterns and P.J. Locke look like the fill-in candidates. Denver also added S Anthony Harris to the practice squad Wednesday.

Broncos RB Javonte Williams totaled 108 yards in Monday’s road loss to Seattle. He played 38 snaps (vs. 27 for Melvin Gordon) but was out-carried by the veteran, 7-12. Williams delivered in fantasy on the strength of 11 catches for 65 yards. But his night should have been better, as he fumbled right at the goal line. Gordon actually fumbled in the same spot — so neither guy was benched for the miscue. At bottom, we’re likely headed for more games with heavy rotations going forward. Williams at least looks in peak tackle-breaking shape. Look for his efficient ways to continue Sunday vs. Houston.

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton tallied 4 catches for 72 yards in Monday’s loss at Seattle. Sutton tallied 30 yards on a scramble-drill play, then drew an overthrown end zone target on the very next snap. Later, he drew a pass interference call on another deep pass. On the day, Sutton matched Jerry Jeudy in targets (7). It’s only a matter of time before the deep balls hit here, especially as the entire offense settles into a new system. Next up is a home date with Houston and top draft pick (CB) Derek Stingley.

Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy finished Week 1 with 4 grabs, 102 yards and 1 score. His first target didn’t come until late in the 2nd quarter, but Jeudy made it count on a 67-yard deep ball on 3rd and 2. He roasted the CB on that one and dodged 2 tacklers en route to the end zone. Jeudy added a late drop on a short-range pass, but the takeaway here remains overwhelmingly positive. He matched Courtland Sutton in targets (7) and led the team in yardage. Next up is a home game with Houston.

Broncos WR K.J. Hamler (knee, hip) is active for tonight's game vs. the Seahawks. He'd been listed as questionable after a limited week of practice. There's a chance that Hamler is on some type of snap count tonight, his 1st action since last September's torn ACL and dislocated hip.

Broncos LB Josey Jewell is doubtful for Monday night's game against the Seahawks with a calf injury that kept him out of practice both Friday and Saturday. That clears the way for Jonas Griffith to work as lead LB in the opener. Griffith missed most of the preseason with an elbow injury suffered early in the 1st exhibition, but he practiced in full all week and is off the injury report. Denver also lists EDGE Randy Gregory as questionable with shoulder and knee issues. We'd plan to not use Gregory in Week 1 IDP lineups, given the late kickoff.

Broncos WR K.J. Hamler (hip, knee) is listed as questionable for Monday night's game vs. the Seahawks. He was limited in practice all week. We're expecting Hamler to be active on Monday, but it's possible that he's on some type of snap count in his first action since last September's torn ACL and dislocated hip. Hamler would be a shaky Week 1 fantasy play.

Benjamin Allbright, a Broncos insider for KOA Radio in Denver, says those who draft RB Javonte Williams are "gonna be mad." He says it "looks like a 55/45" split between Williams and Melvin Gordon, "with some Mike Boone sprinkled in." Allbright adds that Gordon "is getting the situational work (GL, short yardage, etc)." The fact that we're getting varied reads on the situation from different reporters points to no one really knowing for sure what the Broncos' plan is. The sheer uncertainty adds risk to Williams at his Round 2 ADP and value to Gordon in Round 8.

ESPN's Dan Granziano believes Broncos RB Javonte Williams "takes control of the backfield" this season. "I think [RB Melvin] Gordon, who has had a strong camp by all accounts, still has a role, but that it's a far more secondary role than he had last year," Graziano adds. It seems certain at this point that Williams will lead this Denver backfield. What we don't know is if it will be something like a 55/45 split, or more like a 70/30 split. You're banking on something closer to the latter if you're taking Williams in the 2nd round of fantasy drafts.

The Broncos and QB Russell Wilson agreed to a 5-year, $245 million contract extension with $165 million guaranteed, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Wilson is now the league's 2nd-highest-paid QB, behind only Aaron Rodgers. More interestingly, he's now signed for the next 7 seasons. Wilson will have just turned 40 when his current contract is up. We'll see if he's able to play through the life of it.

The Broncos placed TE Greg Dulcich (hamstring) on IR, knocking him out for at least the first 4 games of the season. It's not a surprise after the rookie missed most of the offseason with core and hamstring injuries. GM George Paton said Dulcich will "100%" be available come Week 5, but he's not worth stashing on standard redraft benches. TE Albert Okwuegbunam will have a chance to lay claim to the lead role in September.

The Ravens released RB Tyler Badie. The 6th-round rookie had a surprising amount of fantasy buzz this summer but never looked like a great bet for 2022 value. We'll see if he signs elsewhere or lands on Baltimore's practice squad.

Broncos WR K.J. Hamler will play a “couple snaps” in the team’s final preseason game. “Him getting into football shape and being out there in full pads, watching him run, you feel some of that speed that he has and he brings,” HC Nathaniel Hackett said. “There’s also an attitude he brings that you love to have out there. He’s just got to continually build into it.” Hamler missed most of last season following hip and ACL surgery. A fine best-ball pick at ADP, Hamler figures to be an inconsistent performer in lineup setting leagues.

Broncos LB Jonas Griffith has a chance to be ready for the regular-season opener after hyperextending his left elbow in the 1st preseason game. "Yeah, we're definitely hoping for Jonas to be ready Week 1," HC Nathaniel Hackett told the team website Wednesday. "That's kind of our aiming point. We very much dodged a bullet on that one." Griffith isn't yet a lock for the opener and has been working on a side field so far this week. But this is much better news than the initial 4-6 week expected return timeline. We've moved Griffith back up our IDP rankings some and consider him late-draft sleeper with big upside.

According to The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider, TE Greg Dulcich’s Week 1 status is “in doubt.” Dulcich hasn’t been healthy all camp due to a nagging hamstring issue. At this point, the rookie is unlikely to make an early-season impact.

When asked about RB Javonte Williams getting the first snaps at practice, RB Melvin Gordon said, "The want 'Vonte to be the guy," per insider Zac Stevens. That, of course, doesn't tell us anything specific about how snaps and touches will be divvied in this backfield. But it at least seems like confirmation that Williams will lead the way. We'll see if we get any clues on workload distribution in Denver's final 2 preseason games.

One of the biggest fantasy football questions in Denver this year is who will lead the team in receiving, both in terms of targets and production. ESPN Broncos reporter Jeff Legwold says a trend has emerged: "[Russell] Wilson has shown in training camp he's going to move the ball around to find the matchups he likes. But he's also shown in practices and the joint workouts with the Dallas Cowboys that when he really needs a completion or has been moved off his spot by the pass rush, he's going to look for [Courtland] Sutton. There is always the question of whether those tendencies will hold up in games. [Jerry] Jeudy is too good a route-runner -- and Wilson has spent plenty of time working with him -- to not be a factor (Jeudy often attends the quarterback meetings)." Legwold goes on to compare the situation to when Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker both put up big numbers with Peyton Manning in 2012. Thomas beat Decker by 19 targets and 9 receptions that season, but both finished among the top 9 PPR wideouts. "If both are healthy all the way through the season, they're both going to likely have their best years," Legwold adds. If we get production like that, this question ultimately won't matter because both WRs will have paid off their ADPs. Nevertheless, it's a question we'll all keep trying to answer until fantasy-draft season ends.

If you've been waiting for Russ to cook, then your time might have come. Here's what Peter King heard from an unnamed source: "Coach [Nathaniel Hackett] and Russell [Wilson] are not coach-player. They're partners." And Wilson seems to agree. "It's the ownership of the players owning our own offense," the QB said. "This has to be a player-ran kind of team. Coach Hackett gives us the keys to do that." Take this as confirmation of what we all hoped Wilson would be getting from the move out of Seattle.

The Broncos activated EDGE Randy Gregory off the PUP list Monday. He has been working back from offseason shoulder surgery, but it was an issue known to the team before Gregory signed a big-money deal in free agency. "(The shoulder issue) was something I've been dealing with for 2, 3 years now," he said, according to The Denver Post. "We got to the point where it was kind of hindering my play, so (the surgery) was something that was important for me to do long term, for the good of the team." Gregory added that he expects to be ready for the regular-season opener.

Broncos LB Jonas Griffith dislocated his left elbow in Saturday night's preseason opener and is expected to miss about 6 weeks, according to Troy Renck of Denver7. Griffith has been in line to start at ILB next to Josey Jewell. In the wake of his injury, the Broncos signed veteran LB Joe Schubert. We'll see about Griffith's actual return timeline and how the team proceeds at the position.