Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles was penalized four times for holding during a 16-14 loss to the Bears on Sunday (only two of the penalties were accepted). Despite Bolles’ rough outing, Denver plans to continue starting him at left tackle.
For the sake of conversation, what would happen if the team did want to bench Bolles? Do the Broncos have somebody to replace him with?
The short answer: no.
Denver could move guard Dalton Risner to tackle and have Austin Schlottmann move to guard (or have Connor McGovern move to guard and Schlottmann move to center) but that would put an offensive lineman with no regular season experience (Schlottmann) in the starting lineup.
Elijah Wilkinson began the year as the backup offensive tackle but he’s now starting at right tackle after Ja’Wuan James went down with a knee injury. Jake Rodgers was promoted from the practice squad last week to serve as the new backup tackle. Rodgers has never played in the regular season, either.
“That could be a possible move, but it’s one of the reasons we brought Rodgers up to not have to do that move,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said Monday when asked about the possibility of moving Risner to left tackle.
So unless Denver is comfortable with an inexperienced guard or center joining the starting lineup, it sounds like Bolles won’t be benched anytime soon. James’ injury has crippled the team’s depth at offensive tackle.
