ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Following cornerback Bryce Callahan's knee injury against the Washington Football Team, the Broncos made several moves at the position.
Denver placed Callahan on injured reserve and designated cornerbacks Essang Bassey, Duke Dawson Jr. and Mike Ford for return from IR, the team announced Wednesday.
Callahan suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game as his leg planted awkwardly into the ground as he defended a pass. Under the NFL's IR rules, Callahan must miss at least three games before he can return to action. Head Coach Vic Fangio has not yet provided an update on the severity of Callahan's injury.
Callahan has recorded four passes defensed, a sack, 21 tackles and three tackles for loss in eight games.
Bassey, Dawson and Ford, meanwhile, are now eligible to return to practice with the team.
Bassey and Dawson spent training camp and the first eight weeks of the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list after suffering ACL injuries during the 2020 season. Bassey injured his knee against the Chiefs on Dec. 6, while Dawson suffered his injury on Dec. 13. Ford suffered a knee injury in Week 5 of the 2021 season in Pittsburgh and was placed on IR ahead of the team's Week 6 game.
Bassey, a second-year player, made the Broncos' 2020 roster as an undrafted rookie and appeared in 12 games. He started three contests and recorded an interception and two passes defensed as he worked as the team's slot cornerback.
Dawson, whom the Broncos acquired in a trade ahead of the 2019 season, has appeared in 26 games for the Broncos over the last two seasons. He has four starts, two passes defensed, a fumble recovery and 27 total tackles during his time in Denver. In 2020, Dawson appeared largely on special teams for Denver.
Before his injury, Ford was a major special teams contributor for the Broncos. He played at least 68 percent of the special teams snaps in every game in which he was active, including a season-high 84 percent of the snaps against Baltimore. Denver claimed Ford off waivers in September.
The Broncos also signed tight end Caleb Wilson to their practice squad. The 2019 seventh-round pick appeared in five games for the Eagles in 2020, largely as a special teams contributor.
