The Broncos officially have a key piece of their front line back for the stretch run.
On Saturday, the club activated starting left guard Ben Powers off injured reserve for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It’ll mark Powers’ first game action since he suffered a biceps tear late in Week 5’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles, as Denver now has three regular-season games to fully integrate Powers back into the fold before the playoffs hit.
After opening Powers’ 21-day window to return off injured reserve last week, Powers had two weeks of limited participation in practice before being upgraded to a full participant Friday. The Post reported last week that Powers was positioned to return in Week 16.
Reserve Matt Peart originally replaced Powers at left guard, but suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 6. Alex Palczewski has stabilized the Broncos’ offensive line since switching from tackle to guard for eight straight starts, and will now slide back into a reserve role with Powers’ return. Head coach Sean Payton made clear this week, though, that the Broncos won’t immediately rush Powers back into playing all full four quarters.
“Understand, there’s always that transition period,” Payton said Friday. “So we’re never going to throw someone in there for 65 (snaps). There’s a transition period for anybody who’s coming off an injury like that.”
The 29-year-old Powers has been a staple of Denver’s offensive line since signing as a free agent in 2023, starting all 34 games in 2023 and 2024. He was authoring one of the strongest starts of his career as a pass-blocker in five games this fall before sustaining the biceps tear.
Other moves. With starting safety Brandon Jones down for at least four weeks after the Broncos placed him on injured reserve, the club’s elevating a longtime veteran off the practice squad for his first game action of the season: safety Delarrin Turner-Yell.
It’s been a long, long road back to NFL reps for Turner-Yell, a 2022 fifth-round draft pick who played in 16 games in 2023 and recorded 34 tackles. Turner-Yell saw his 2024 season wiped out by an ACL tear, however, and has spent the entire 2025 season on the team’s practice squad.
He could see some special-teams snaps against the Jaguars Sunday, particularly as the Broncos will miss linebacker Justin Strnad (out with an ankle injury) and downgraded key special-teamer Karene Reid to out. Reid, who’s been on injured reserve since early November, was a full participant in practice this week, but Denver didn’t have any open space on its 53-man roster without making a corresponding move.
Denver is also elevating QB3 Sam Ehlinger for the second straight game.
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