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Through much of this past season, the Denver Broncos were without the services of veteran linebacker Shane Ray due to a bothersome wrist injury that forced him to sit out half of the year.
It looks like these injury issues are continuing to bother the 25-year-old as head coach Vance Joseph stated on Monday morning that he is still dealing with nagging problems that could lead to him being little to not involved at all in training camp this offseason, according to James Palmer of the NFL Network.
Vance Joseph told me they are going to be smart with Shane Ray. Training camp is what they want him ready for. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t do much at all the rest of the spring. It’s same wrist that put him on the shelf last year.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) June 4, 2018
These health issues have been a part of preventing Ray from truly making an impact with the Broncos in his brief NFL career. Since being selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, he has struggled to breakthrough as he had his best campaign in 2016 with a career-best 8.0 sacks while making 48 tackles with two forced fumbles. Through his first three years, he has made 13.0 sacks while missing 10 games in the process.
This will be a critical season for Ray as he's set to enter the fourth year of his rookie deal that the fifth-year option was not picked up by the Broncos. This has placed a tremendous amount of importance on the 2018 season for him to show that he is worthy of a lucrative contract next offseason as Denver may have found his replacement in terms of a pass rusher with rookie defensive end Bradley Chubb.
The Broncos don't look like they are rushing to get Ray back in the fold if he's still dealing a with a wrist injury that has cost him a sizable chunk of this past season and likely a chance to garner new deal this summer. Instead, he is in the position to prove himself this upcoming season that he is worthy of being considered a long-term part of the franchise's future.
