The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t the type of team anyone wants to be shorthanded against — the defending Super Bowl champions would prefer a grind-it-out style of football that flies in the face of how the game wants to be played right now.
It’s also a style that almost routinely results in wins. The Eagles have won 20 of their last 21 regular season and playoff games dating back to Week 6 of the 2024 regular season and are off to a 4-0 start.
The Denver Broncos have scrapped to a 2-2 start that’s brought more questions than answers but are relatively healthy headed to Philadelphia — with the notable exception of veteran tight end Lucas Krull.
The Broncos are going to be without TE Lucas Krull for multiple weeks at least and plan to place him on injured reserve with a foot injury, sources told The Denver Post,” The Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel wrote on October 3. “An IR placement would knock Krull out for a minimum of four games. Krull didn’t practice Friday, and the team ruled him out on the final mandatory injury report of the week. Krull will not make the upcoming road trip with the team, sources say. Denver is traveling to Philadelphia late Friday for Sunday’s game and then continuing on to London for next week’s matchup against the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.”
Krull’s injury seems bound to land him on the IR. One report indicated Krull broke his foot at practice on October 2.
“Per source, Broncos TE Lucas Krull learned after practice yesterday he suffered cracked bone in his foot,” Mike Klis of Denver 9 News wrote on his official X account on October 3. “Going on short-term IR. He finished practice yesterday but pain increased afterwards. ILB Garrett Wallow figures to be a strong candidate for 53 as he reached max 3 PSquad elevations.”
Krull Serving as Third Tight End in Offense
The Broncos will miss Krull, 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, in one very specific aspect of the game. In the first 3 games of the year, Krull made 3 starts as the Broncos have made a concerted effort to establish a run game.
In a Week 4 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, veteran running back J.K. Dobbins became the first Denver player since Latavius Murray in 2022 to crack 100 yards in a single game.
Through 3 games, Krull had been on the field for approximately 1/3 of the Broncos‘ offensive snaps — almost exclusively running downs — and has 2 receptions for 15 yards on 4 targets.
Roster Spot Not Secure Headed Into Season
Before the season, all signs pointed to Krull being the odd man out after 3 seasons with the Broncos, including a career high 13 games in 2024.
The Broncos identified tight end as one of their 2 weakest position groups in the offseason and made several moves to try and revamp, signing 2-time Pro Bowler Evan Engram to a 2-year, $23 million free agent contract and drafting Utah tight end Caleb Lohner in the seventh round (No. 241 overall).
While Engram has underwhelmed to this point, Lohner didn’t even make the 53-man roster and has been stashed on the practice squad since August.
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