ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The revolving door at running back keeps on spinning for the Denver Broncos. Ronnie Hillman, who has the team’s only two 100-yard rushing games this season, suffered a mid-foot sprain to his left foot in Sunday’s 41-27 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
Hillman is expected to miss at least two to three weeks, but Monday Broncos head coach John Fox said the third-year back would “be day-to-day moving forward.”
Hillman limped off the field after a second-quarter reception and visited with the Broncos’ medical staff. His foot and ankle were re-taped at that point and Hillman then jogged back and forth behind the Broncos’ bench several times under the watchful eye of trainer Steve Antonopulos.
At that point Hillman nodded and he played a smattering of snaps in the second half, including runs for no gain and minus-3 yards to go with an 8-yard reception in the third quarter.
Hillman had been the starter in each of the last five games for the Broncos, but because of either injuries or the proverbial hot hand, the Broncos have four different running backs with at least 30 carries.
Sunday it was C.J. Anderson’s turn as he finished with 90 yards rushing to go with 73 yards receiving, including a 51-yard catch-and-run play for a touchdown with 2 minutes, 44 seconds left in the first half that gave the Broncos momentum that they never surrendered.
“Speaks to the depth we have, we’ve been pretty fortunate with some guys, next man up stepping in doing a good job,” Fox said. ” … Tribute to those guys staying on top of their craft.”
Montee Ball, who was the team’s No. 1 back until he suffered a right groin injury Oct. 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, is poised to return to the lineup after missing the last five games. The Broncos are hopeful Ball, who practiced on a limited basis this past week in his first team workouts since the injury, will be able to fully participate some this week.
Ball is hoping to return beyond simply getting back in the lineup, “to try and get my old job back.” He is a St. Louis-area native and the Broncos will play there against the Rams Sunday.
On Monday, Fox cited health as the ultimate factor in deciding which back will be at the front of the line this week.
“It’s who’s healthy, No. 1 first and foremost. We’ve been evaluating that week to week … we’ll evaluate it again come Wednesday,” Fox said. “Doesn’t matter how I feel, it’s how they feel … Time heals, we’ll see how they feel come Wednesday.”
Hillman is the Broncos’ leading rusher with 378 yards and is tied for the team lead with rookie Juwan Thompson, with three rushing touchdowns. Anderson and Ball each have 172 yards rushing this season, but Anderson has reached that total, at 5.7 yards per carry, in 25 fewer carries.
“I just try to play my role,” Anderson said. “Whenever they tell me to go in, I’ll go in. We know our job is to be ready so we all try to get ready. Every guy in that room wants to be in there and we all want to see each other do well.”
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