Where have you gone, Reuben Droughns? Bronco Nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Don’t look now, but the Broncos are about to go back-to-back seasons without a 1,000-yard runner. Nothing unusual there except that they had 11 in Mike Shanahan’s first 12 seasons, making the Broncos the NFL’s version of Tailback U.
The Broncos sans a 1,000-yard runner? At the moment, they would settle for a healthy body to line up behind Jay Cutler. Impressive 40 time is strictly optional. As long as your name isn’t Maurice Clarett, the Broncos want you.
“I’ve seen a lot of running backs drop in a year, but not all at the same time,” Broncos fullback Peyton Hillis said. “It’s really tough. Not just on the players, but the coaches, trying to figure out who’s going to fit where.”
Andre Hall and Michael Pittman aren’t going to fit anywhere. They’ve joined the growing legion of names on the Broncos’ injured-reserve list. With Pittman, the team’s leading runner with 320 yards, gone for the season, Shanahan is hoping Selvin Young is good to go Thursday night at Cleveland.
Young, whose stated preseason goal was 2,000 yards, has missed the past three games with a pulled groin. If he can’t play Thursday night, the Broncos would be forced to use rookie Ryan Torain extensively. He missed the first seven games with a dislocated elbow before making his NFL debut Sunday vs. Miami. His box score? Three carries, 1 yard.
So, Shanahan was asked Tuesday, could he envision Torain getting 20 carries against the Browns?
“If he’s the only one out there, he’s got a good chance,” Shanahan said.
If he’s not, and if Young can’t go, practice squad alum P.J. Pope could get a call. Who knows? Maybe Hillis, he of the 116 receiving yards against the Dolphins, will get a look-see at tailback.
“At this point, I really don’t know,” Hillis said.
“Everybody is down about it, but the only way you can move is forward. We know that, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
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He can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
