Broncos Elevate RB Tyler Badie & TE Lucas Krull vs. Chargers

The Denver Broncos have had their personnel losses to the injury bug, but this is a remarkably healthy team heading down the stretch. It hasn't been easy to cope with the pre-season injuries to offensive playmakers Tim Patrick and Greg Dulcich and young safety Caden Sterns, but the Broncos have weathered the storm quite well.

Entering Week 14's tilt with the Los Angeles Chargers, the Broncos only have one player with a sketchy outlook, and that's running back Samaje Perine with a knee injury. Perine is listed as questionable for Sunday's action, which saw the Broncos elevate running back Tyler Badie and tight end Lucas Krull from the practice squad. 

An elevation isn't the same as a practice-squad player being signed to the active roster. It's a gameday transaction that allows each team to call up two practice-squad players to dress for the action. Typically, they move back down to the practice squad following the game without being exposed to the waiver wire. 

The Broncos can do that with each player twice without risking them to the wire. After the third elevation, a player can be sent back to the practice squad, but he has to pass through the waiver system unclaimed first. 

Badie is in his second year, originally drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round in 2022. He landed in Denver last year and managed to find the end zone on an electric 24-yard touchdown catch in Week 18 against the... you guessed it... Chargers.

Krull joined the Broncos after final roster cuts around the NFL in September. Going undrafted out of Pittsburgh last year, he entered the league with the New Orleans Saints and has appeared in three games (one start) as a pro. 

While Russell Wilson hasn't quite been able to connect with Krull, the speed the young tight end brings to the table has been a nice change of pace compared to the plodding efforts of Adam Trautman and the uber-blocker Chris Manhertz. Wilson looked Krull's way on that game-ending interception thrown in the end zone last week in Houston. 

Earlier this week, head coach Sean Payton teased a new tweak to the Broncos' offense relative to how he scripts plays to open each half. It'll be interesting to see whether Badie and/or Krull will play a part in it.