The Denver Broncos will give young players plenty of snaps against the Atlanta Falcons in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday evening. That’s partly because they don’t want to risk injuries to starters and partly because at least eight players will be sidelined with injuries.
The list of players expected to be held out of the game includes wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (Achilles) offensive guard Ron Leary (undisclosed), tight end Jake Butt (ACL), inside linebacker Todd Davis (calf), wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton (hamstring), tight end Bug Howard (ankle), cornerback Bryce Callahan (foot) and offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James (leg).
Most of the team’s remaining regular starters will be healthy scratches, including quarterback Joe Flacco and star outside linebacker Von Miller. Denver will start Kevin Hogan at quarterback and rookie Drew Lock will play after him.
At least six regular starters will play: left tackle Garett Bolles, left guard Dalton Risner, center Connor McGovern, kicker Brandon McManus, punter Colby Wadman and long snapper Casey Kreiter. Those three offensive linemen probably won’t get many snaps, but they will start.
Thursday’s game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. MT on NBC.
