A rash of injuries forced the Denver Broncos to play most of the preseason without two of their starting tackles, Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris. Clady, who underwent offseason knee surgery, will start Sunday's season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, coach Josh McDaniels announced Thursday, but Harris, who has a sprained left ankle, is questionable.
"Clady will play. Ryan is getting better every day," McDaniels said. "I don't think he's going to be out there today. We're going to give it all week and see what happens, but Clady will definitely play. No question."
Clady, a Pro Bowl pick last season, saw action in the Broncos' preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings, less than six months after blowing out his left knee. As Clady returned to the field, the Broncos lost Harris to an ankle injury.
Doctors cleared Harris to play after his 2009 season was cut short by a dislocated right big toe, which he suffered during the Broncos' Nov. 1 game at Baltimore. He missed five games, then aggravated the injury during the first quarter of a Dec. 6 game at Kansas City -- just 10 snaps into his return. Medical tests revealed bone and ligament damage, so the Broncos placed Harris on season-ending injured reserve.
"We've got a system in place that we're going to use and a style of offense that we're going to run regardless of who's in the game," Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, McDaniels confirmed that he will activate just two quarterbacks for his 45-man roster Sunday, but a third will suit up as the emergency quarterback, *The Denver Post* reported. According to The Post, rookie Tim Tebow will back up starting quarterback Kyle Orton, with Brady Quinn as the third-stringer. However, the most recent depth chart has Quinn ahead of Tebow.
Also, running back Knowshon Morenosaid his recovery from a pulled right hamstring is going well and he's "ready for whatever the coaches need me to do" Sunday. If Moreno isn't fully recovered from the injury, which occurred Aug. 1, Correll Buckhalter, who carried just three times in the preseason, could start.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
