According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Denver Broncos safety Caden Sterns suffered what is expected to be a season-ending injury against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Sterns tore his patellar tendon on his second snap of the game. After missing 12 games due to injury in 2022, he will
now most likely miss the remaining 16 games of the 2023 season.
The Broncos selected Sterns (6-1, 207 pounds) in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Texas. Sterns was listed as a co-starter on the team’s strong safety depth chart this summer, after spending his first two seasons as a rotational defensive back.
Sterns and Jackson were both named starters prior to Sunday’s game, but Jackson was assigned to the team’s base defense opposite Justin Simmons. Jackson will continue to start, with Delarrin Turner-Yell and rookie JL Skinner serving as backups (P.J. Locke will be able to return from injured reserve following Week 4).
Sterns, 23, has 49 tackles, nine pass breakups, four interceptions, and two sacks in 21 NFL games. His rookie contract is valid until the 2024 season.
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Report on Security Caden Sterns will miss the rest of the season due to a patellar tendon injury.
Caden Sterns, a promising safety for the Denver Broncos, has suffered a setback. He’s finished for the season.
Caden Sterns, a third-year safety for the Denver Broncos, will miss the rest of the season due to a patellar tendon injury in his knee, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He was taken off the field early in the game against the Las Vegas Raiders after injuring himself. As he was being escorted back to the locker room, he was spotted banging his fist into the cart.
Sterns, who was a co-starter with veteran safety Kareem Jackson, has been placed on injured reserve. Safety P.J. Locke was just placed on injured reserve and will miss at least the first four games of the season, reducing the depth at the position. Now that Sterns is out for the season, second-year safety Delarrin Turner-Yell and rookie JL Skinner will get more playing time. I would also anticipate the team adding defensive back Devon Key, who is now on their practice squad, to their 53-man roster to cover the hole, at least for the time being.
Sterns missed much of last season due to a hip injury sustained early in the season and was hoping for a breakout season this year. However, another terrible injury will keep him out for the whole season, effectively killing any hope of a breakout season this year.
With Sterns out for the season, veteran Kareem Jackson is expected to take over as the full-time starter going forward. The 35-year-old defensive back intercepted a Raiders pass in the end zone in Week 1 and has shown he still has some juice left in the tank. Second-year safety Delarrin Turner-Yell and rookie JL Skinner will compete for playing time behind him.
This is a sad injury for Sterns, who will enter next season in the final year of his rookie contract after missing the previous two seasons due to injury. He showed a lot of promise as a rookie and in the few games he played last year, but injuries happen, and they stink. The next man up is veteran Kareem Jackson, with two young players having the opportunity to step up and show themselves moving ahead.
