Brutal Injury News for Broncos’ ‘Brawler’ Defensive Lineman

The Denver Broncos haven’t had to deal with many injury issues throughout training camp — usually the sign of a great offseason program.

While the latest injury update won’t hurt their depth and comes from a player who was probably on the roster bubble to begin with, it doesn’t sting any less after defensive lineman Matt Henningsen suffered what appears to be a torn Achilles tendon during a joint practice on Thursday with the San Francisco 49ers.

Henningsen, a sixth round pick (No. 206 overall) in the 2022 NFL draft, played in all 34 regular season games his first 2 seasons but spent 2024 on Denver’s practice squad.

“The Denver Broncos may have lost one of their more dependable, hard-working defensive linemen for the season as the team fears Matt Henningsen suffered an Achilles injury during the team’s joint practice Thursday with the San Francisco 49ers, a source tells 9NEWS,” Mike Kliis wrote on August 8.

The Broncos open their preseason schedule at the 49ers on August 9.

Henningsen Went From Big Ten to Broncos

Henningsen, 6-foot-4 and 289 pounds was named All-Big Ten in his final year at Wisconsin in 2021 then tested through the roof at Wisconsin’s Pro Day with a 37.5 inch vertical leap and 10-foot broad jump.

“Face-up defender who fires off the ball with a rock ’em, sock ’em mentality that works for him and against him,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation in 2022. “Henningsen is a phone booth brawler … He offers a worthy challenge to the blocker in front of him, but he fails to play with much awareness for the play design at times. He’s not girthy enough to fit as a three-technique but possesses the traits and toughness to compete for a roster spot as a rotational 3-4 end.”

At the time of his injury, Henningsen was listed at third on the depth chart behind NFL All-Pro Zach Allen and Jordan Jackson at one of the defensive end spots.

Broncos Have One of NFL’s Best Defensive Fronts

The fact Henningsen would have likely been on the 2-deep for almost any other NFL team indicates just how incredible Denver’s defense could be in 2025.

That starts up front, where Allen and edge rusher Nik Bonitto are coming off NFL All-Pro seasons. Those 2, combined with nose tackle D.J. Jones, edge rusher Jonathon Cooper and John Franklin-Myers led the NFL with 63 sacks in 2024.

While Franklin-Myers may have been looked at as a possible trade asset before Henningsen’s injury, anything that might impact depth on the roster is going to make an NFL team jittery.

Dealing Franklin-Myers now might not even be something Denver would entertain now.

Bleacher Repoort’s Kristopher Knox listed Franklin-Myers as Denver’s top trade candidate the morning the morning before Henningsen got hurt.

“Denver Broncos defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers will be a free agent in 2026 and has been angling for a new contract this offseason,” Knox wrote on August 7. ” … Presumably, Franklin-Myers would bring a respectable return after logging 40 tackles and seven sacks in 2024. There should be multiple teams willing to acquire and extend him.”