Broncos tight end (knee) missed a second consecutive day of practice Tuesday, putting his availability for Week 1 in doubt.
Butt played 11 snaps against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, his first action since tearing his ACL (third such injury) last fall.
“When he starts to feel good and he plays and practices, it flares back up again,” coach said. “Itap just something we’re going to have to deal with. He won’t play in this game (Thursday vs. Arizona) and he may miss some time.”
If the Broncos place Butt on injured reserve before Saturday at 2 p.m., his season will be over.
The news is better for rookie tight end Noah Fant (foot). He practiced Monday but was held out Tuesday as a precaution. New to the injury list were inside linebacker Jamal Carter and running back Khalfani Muhammad (both undisclosed).
Cutdown procedure. The Broncos will be making a flurry of roster moves to get down to 53 players by 2 p.m. Saturday.
Fangio said he won’t “necessarily” meet with every player that is released.
“(Director of player personnel) Matt (Russell) spearheads that operation and I’ll be available for anybody who does want to meet,” Fangio said.
Trust in Callahan. Cornerback Bryce Callahan (foot) will end the preseason with no snaps played.
Does Callahan’s experience in Fangio’s system with Chicago allow the Broncos to be more cautious with his rehab?
“Him knowing the system is an advantage and yes, it does help in that regard,” Fangio said.
If healthy for Week 1, Callahan will play opposite and stay outside on sub downs when Harris moves inside.
Last preseason practice. The Broncos held their final practice of the preseason on Tuesday. Their next workout will be on Labor Day. The Broncos were the first team to report to camp (July 17).
“I think it was a benefit and we took advantage of it in a few ways,” Fangio said. “One, it gave us more practice time, which particularly for a new staff and we’re basically a pretty young team, was good. (Second,) what we did after the (first two) preseason games, we gave the players two days off where most teams give them one day off.”
Footnotes. Fangio’s reaction to the ESPN article in which coaches (San Francisco), Sean McVay (Rams) and Matt LaFleur (Green Bay) said his defense is the most challenging to call plays against: “They said that? Well, that was nice of them. Better than the alternative and saying we were the easiest. I appreciate it.” … Fangio on receiver , one of the punt return options: “Since he’s come back from his (oblique) injury (early in camp), I think he’s getting better and better. He could be our punt returner. He fulfills a good role as a backup wideout in that he can play all of the positions both mentally and physically so he has given himself some versatility and some value.”
