Denver Broncos defensive end Vance Walker out for season after tearing ACL

Walker was expected to start at defensive end in Malik Jackson’s place.

CHRISTIAN-lighter
Christian Clark

A post shared by Vance Walker (@vdubz96) on

There are two major goals of the NFL preseason. One is to make sure everybody’s on the same page: learn the playbook, get familiar with each other. The second is to avoid injury.

Unfortunately, one key member of the Denver Broncos couldn’t do that Monday. Defensive end Vance Walker will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee, the team announced.

Walker, entering his eighth NFL season, was supposed to replace Malik Jackson, who left for Jacksonville in free agency. Now he’ll have to watch from the sidelines as the Broncos try to defend their Super Bowl title.

This is Walker’s second year in Denver. Last season, he registered 33 tackles and two sacks. Walker’s primary duty was to stop the run.

Fifth-year pro Jared Crick and rookie Adam Gotsis should get most of the snaps opposite Derek Wolfe in Walker’s absence. Crick has 5 1/2 sacks in four NFL seasons. Denver chose Gotsis in the second round of May’s NFL Draft.

Weird times

Denverite is powered by you. In these weird times, the local vigilance, the local context, the local flavor — it’s powered through your donations. If you’d miss Denverite if it disappeared tomorrow, donate today.

Support our work

You’re our superpower

Denverite supporters have made the decision to financially support local journalism that matters to you. Ready to tell your networks why? Sharing our “About” page with your own personal comments could really help us out.

Here’s that page

You’re our superpower

Denverite members have made the decision to financially support local journalism that matters to you. Ready to tell your networks why? Sharing our “About” page with your own personal comments could really help us out.

Here’s that page

Tagged

Vance Walker, Vancouver, Denver Broncos, Denver Public School