Broncos Lose Safety Talanoa Hufanga for 2-3 Weeks to Ankle Injury

The Denver Broncos are officially down a key piece of their secondary just as the schedule starts to grind.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, safety Talanoa Hufanga is expected to miss two to three weeks with an ankle injury.

"Jeremy Fowler reported: 'One source estimated about 2-3 weeks, depending how he recovers.'"

The exact timeline depends on how the ankle responds to treatment, but the immediate reality is that Denver has a sudden hole to fill in the defensive backfield.

Losing a starting safety to an ankle tweak is the NFL equivalent of your car's check engine light coming on right before a cross-country road trip. You might still get to your destination, but you are going to be sweating every single bump in the road.

The timing is less than ideal for a Broncos squad coming off a tight 23-17 divisional win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Now, they have to pivot and prepare to host the Seattle Seahawks without one of their primary enforcers patrolling the deep third of the field.

For anyone eyeing the totals or defensive props in Denver's upcoming matchups, Hufanga's absence is the exact kind of variable that swings a game script. A backup safety getting tested deep changes the math in a hurry.

Denver will have to shuffle the rotation and hope the pass rush can mask the missing coverage. We will see if the next man up can keep the roof from caving in against Seattle.