Ronnie Hillman Injury: Updates on Broncos Star's Shoulder and Return

Updates from Sunday, Nov. 2

The Broncos confirmed that Ronnie Hillman is active for Sunday's game vs. New England on the team's website.

Updates from Friday, Oct. 31

ESPN's Jeff Legwold has an update on Ronnie Hillman's status for Sunday:

"

Denver Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman, who had been limited in Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practices because of a shoulder injury he suffered in Wednesday’s workout, participated fully in Friday’s practice.

Hillman is formally listed as a probable for Sunday's game in Foxborough, Massachusetts, but he is expected to start against the New England Patriots and be available for his usual workload.

"

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 30

Jeff Legwold of ESPN reported on Ronnie Hillman from Broncos practice:

Original Text

The Denver Broncos are having a hard time keeping their running backs on the field. First it was Montee Ball who went down to injury. Now his replacement, Ronnie Hillman, also may miss some time. 

Mike Klis of The Denver Post had the news from Wednesday's practice: 

Troy Renck of The Denver Post provides comments from Hillman:

The third-year running back was thrust into the starting role in Week 6 after Ball went down with his injury. Hillman certainly got off to a strong start for Denver, rushing 24 times for 100 yards in his first start of the season against a tough New York Jets run defense. 

The fact that the Broncos even have solid depth at running back, despite being a team renowned for its passing attack, has to be frightening for the rest of the NFL. Indeed, after making such a solid debut as the starter, Hillman spoke about Denver's well-rounded offense.

“I felt like [the Jets] said, ‘You’re not going to beat us with the pass today,’" Hillman told David DeChant of DenverBroncos.com. “They paid for it. You’re going to have your days when teams are going to pick their poison, and they picked the wrong one.”

Always an intriguing talent, Hillman never quite clicked in Denver coming into this season, with just 545 rushing yards and two touchdowns in his first two years. The former third-round pick had shown promise when getting the ball out wide or in space, where he could make defenders miss, but had never shown the overall game to be an every-down back for the Broncos.

Elsa/Getty Images

He had appeared to take a step in the right direction in that regard this year, however, making his injury all the more disappointing. 

Still, the Broncos have to be relieved to know they have depth on the roster, with Juwan Thompson and C.J. Anderson behind both Ball and Hillman. Hillman may not be as important to this offense as Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas or Emmanuel Sanders, but he's proved this year that he can succeed in the role he's been designated. 

That makes getting him healthy as quickly as possible very important for Denver.

Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes, too. It's more fun than math class with Jason Pierre-Paul.