Broncos wide receiver Pat Bryant was carted off the field in the second half of Sunday's game against the 49ers with a right high ankle injury. Bryant went down and stayed down before trainers helped him onto the cart, and the Broncos have not yet announced a diagnosis or a timetable. It is another setback for a young receiver whose second season has been building toward a bigger role.
A high ankle injury, involves the ligaments above the ankle joint that hold the two lower leg bones together. It tends to take longer to heal than a typical low ankle sprain, often several weeks, and more severe cases can require surgery. That makes how the Broncos characterize the injury after imaging an important detail to watch. Denver plays at the Chargers next Sunday, then returns on a short week for Thursday night football against the Seahawks on October 15, with its bye in Week 10.
This would be Bryant's first reported ankle problem, but he has a pattern of other injuries. As a rookie, he missed the Week 15 game against the Packers with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, and in the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots he hurt his hamstring in the first quarter and was ruled out. He has also been carted off before. In December 2025, he was placed on a backboard after a hit from the Jaguars' Montaric Brown, taken to the hospital, and diagnosed with a concussion before being released that night. He suffered another concussion in the divisional round, so his rookie year ended with two hamstring injuries and two concussions.
Bryant was competing for the WR3 job behind Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton this season. If he is out, expect Marvin Mims Jr. and the rest of Denver's receiving group to absorb his snaps. How the injury is classified, and what the Broncos do with the roster this week, will determine whether this is a short absence or something longer.
