Broncos Get Encouraging Updates on Jaylen Waddle, Nik Bonitto After Camp Injury Scares

The Denver Broncos got their scare out of the way early this week — and by Thursday, it looked like precisely that: a scare, not a setback.

Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and pass rusher Nik Bonitto both left Broncos training camp practices this week with injuries, sending a jolt through a fan base that watched the team win the AFC’s No. 1 seed a year ago. By Thursday’s session, both players were back on the field in some capacity, and head coach Sean Payton’s read on the situation was cautiously optimistic.

What happened to Bonitto and Waddle

Bonitto went down first. The Pro Bowl edge rusher suffered an apparent lower left leg injury during a 9-on-7 run-game drill on Tuesday and did not return, leaving the field under his own power with trainers alongside him. Payton kept it brief afterward, telling reporters Bonitto “will be fine” but that there was no further update.

It wasn’t the answer anyone wanted, but it also wasn’t alarm-bells territory. Bonitto was back at the facility the very next day — out of pads, but moving well. According to a report from Predominantly Orange, citing 9NEWS Broncos reporter Mike Klis, Bonitto was seen walking without a noticeable limp the day after his exit — a strong early sign given how the injury looked in the moment.

Waddle’s situation surfaced a day later and carries a bit more clarity, for better or worse. The receiver, still just months into his Broncos tenure after a March trade from Miami, exited Wednesday’s practice early and was seen limping and favoring his left leg. Payton confirmed Thursday it’s a strain, telling reporters he expects Waddle back within four to five days, per Broncos Wire.

That’s a real, if short, absence — not the vague “he’ll be fine” treatment Bonitto got. Denver appears to be taking a cautious, no-rush approach with both players this early in camp, working them through side-field rehab drills rather than pushing them back into team periods.

Why this matters for Denver’s season

Both players are central to what the Broncos are trying to build under Payton. Bonitto has led Denver in sacks in each of the last two seasons — 13.5 in 2024, a career-high 14 in 2025 — and is now drawing Defensive Player of the Year buzz entering Year 5. Losing him for any real stretch during camp would be a problem for a Denver pass rush that’s become the identity of Sean Payton’s defense.

Waddle carries a different kind of weight. The Broncos gave up a 2026 first-round pick along with third- and fourth-rounders to pry him from Miami this offseason, hoping his speed and explosiveness finally give Bo Nix the vertical threat this passing game has lacked. Denver finished with one of the league’s worst explosive-play rates last season, and Waddle was brought in largely to fix exactly that. Any missed practice time cuts into the rep count he needs to sync up with Nix before Week 1.

With Waddle sidelined, Denver has leaned on its receiver depth — Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant and Marvin Mims Jr. have all gotten extra run in his absence, which at least gives Payton and offensive coordinator Davis Webb useful camp film on the rest of the room.

What’s next

Neither situation appears to be the kind that lingers into the regular season, based on what Payton and the training staff have said publicly so far. But training camp injuries are worth tracking closely precisely because they can shift fast — a strain that’s supposed to cost four or five days can occasionally cost more, and soft-tissue setbacks have a way of recurring if players are brought back too early.

The Broncos open the 2026 season on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs on “Monday Night Football,” set for Monday, September 14, at Arrowhead Stadium — Denver’s first-ever season-opening trip to Kansas City. Getting Bonitto and Waddle full camp reps between now and then matters, but neither injury currently looks serious enough to threaten their availability for it.