ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Tight end Noah Fant (ankle) and wide receiver KJ Hamler (hamstring) are "iffy" to play in Week 5 and could miss multiple weeks, Head Coach Vic Fangio announced Friday.
The two players suffered injuries on Thursday night against the Jets and were still being evaluated when Fangio spoke to the press on Friday. Hamler was ruled out as the second half began, while Fant exited after a 9-yard catch on a third-and-8 in the third quarter.
"They may or may not miss some time," Fangio said. "We'll probably have more of a definitive answer when we come back on Tuesday, but it's iffy whether they'll be ready to play or not this week. … Could be, could be not. Also could be a couple weeks for both of them."
Fangio said Hamler injured the same hamstring that he hurt during training camp, but that it was a new injury in a different part of his hamstring.
Cornerback A.J. Bouye, who was injured in Week 1, may also miss the team's Week 5 game. He is eligible to return from injured reserve after his three-week stint, but the team may keep him on the reserve list for now.
"[I'm] probably not as optimistic with him as I am with Drew [Lock]," Fangio said of Bouye. "He's less than 50-50."
Fangio said Friday that Lock was 50-50 to play against the Patriots. Lock has not practiced since suffering his injury against the Steelers.
With Bouye out of the secondary, Fangio shuffled the Broncos' secondary on Thursday as he shifted Bryce Callahan to the slot and put De'Vante Bausby at the outside cornerback position opposite Michael Ojemudia. Callahan had been playing outside with Essang Bassey in the slot, but Fangio said Thursday he wanted Callahan to match up with Jamison Crowder. After Bausby recorded three pass breakups, Fangio seems poised to keep the secondary in its current alignment.
"When 'Baus' came in there at the end of the first half and we left him in for the entire second half, I thought he had some really good plays, obviously," Fangio said. "Got his hands on a couple balls [and] broke them up. Had a chance for a pick there at the end but didn't get it converted. Had some other plays that he'd like to do over, but I think with our current status of our secondary, I'm inclined to leave him in there and play [him] more."
The Broncos should also feature Phillip Lindsay in Week 5, as the running back was "ready to play mentally and physically" for the team's prime-time win over the Jets.
"I didn't feel comfortable playing him without any practice," Fangio said. "He essentially hadn't practiced since sustaining the injury. Last week's practices were all walkthrough-type practices. I didn't think it would be the fair thing to play him nor the prudent thing, so we didn't play him. He should be able to play this week."
