It was late in the practice Tuesday against the Houston Texans when Danny Trevathan came to the Broncos‘ rescue.
OK, so the crutches Trevathan hobbled out on limited his heroic abilities. Which was fine, because Trevathan didn’t see things the way Peyton Manning saw practice Tuesday.
The way Trevathan saw it, his Broncos teammates didn’t need any help.
“All I saw was us flying around,” said the Broncos’ injured weakside linebacker. “(The Texans) were getting kind of tired because of the altitude. Them boys ready. Wait till I get back. You’re really going to see it.”
Trevathan made an appearance on the Broncos’ practice field for the first time since suffering a fractured left tibia last week. Trevathan was working against the No. 2 offense at that time when rookie running back Brennan Clay kept chugging even though he had been grabbed for a tackle well before.
“The running back kept running, and a lineman stepped on my toe,” Trevathan said. “And my foot got stuck in the ground when it hit, and my leg just went numb.”
Initial tests were negative, and Trevathan thought he had escaped serious harm, as he did the previous October, when he was carted off the field with a knee injury only to return a couple days later.
Instead, a small impaction fracture was detected through a magnetic resonance imaging exam. He will be on crutches for another week, then start rehabbing. He is not scheduled to return until Oct. 4 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Trevathan’s reaction upon receiving the grim diagnosis?
“A lot of stuff was going through my mind,” he said. “Mostly, I had an incident like this last year, and I thought it was just going to be another shake-off. But the MRI proved me wrong. It didn’t feel like a break.”
Trevathan was home Sunday afternoon watching his Broncos destroy the San Francisco 49ers 34-0 in a preseason game in Santa Clara, Calif.
He believes his weakside linebacker position has been capably filled by Brandon Marshall, a former late-round draft pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars who spent most of last season on the Broncos’ practice squad.
“I sit next to him and talk to him in the meetings,” Trevathan said. “Just a cool guy since he’s been here. Coming from the bottom, I know how that feels. So when you get the opportunity, you’ve got to make the most of it. I’m proud of him. He went out there and balled. I can’t wait to get out there with him.”
