Jarvis Moss may have a busted leg and wretched ankle. He also has personal history to aid his recovery.
The rookie defensive end and the Broncos’ first-round draft pick will take the first step back from his latest severe injury this week when he undergoes surgery to repair torn tendons and ligaments in his right ankle and a fractured right fibula. The operation will occur either Monday or Tuesday.
“If I was talking to Jarvis, I would tell him at this point, just let his mind drift away from football and concentrate on his own personal healing process,” said Simeon Rice, the Broncos’ veteran defensive end who has struggled to rebound from shoulder surgery last year. “Reflect on your career and know how much it means to get back and perform on a level that you see yourself at.”
When it comes to overcoming injury, Moss may not need much advice. During college at Florida, Moss received a medical redshirt his freshman year in 2003 because of hip and hernia problems, then missed all but the season opener of his freshman season and the opener of his sophomore season because a pelvic staph infection.
Lynch questionable. Although John Lynch has been cleared to play today against the Detroit Lions, the Broncos may exercise caution and give the safety’s injured neck another week to heal.
Lynch, 36, is nearly four years removed from neck surgery but suffered nerve damage in the neck and shoulder area Monday. A decision on Lynch’s playing status against the Lions won’t be announced until before the game.
Make room in the vault. If a football coach ever wanted to show his kids the value of playing until the whistle blows, exhibit “A” would be the spirited play between Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall and Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman in the Monday night game.
It was the fourth quarter, the Broncos were trailing 13-10 and at the Green Bay 41 when Marshall took a reverse handoff from quarterback Jay Cutler. Marshall was supposed to throw the ball back to Cutler, but Kampman was closing in on the receiver.
Kampman rammed into Marshall, but the receiver spun away. Now the receiver-turned-thrower had turned ball carrier. As Marshall took a couple steps up field, Kampman scrambled to his feet and tried to tackle Marshall.
But Marshall again broke the tackle. He got about 20 yards away from where he was first hit, but just as it appeared Marshall had found space, Kampman caught him from behind for a 3-yard loss.
“I wanted to make something happen,” Marshall said. “I didn’t want to throw it out of bounds, so I tried to reverse field and try to make something happen, but it didn’t work out in our favor.”
