The Broncos on Wednesday placed safety Caden Sterns on injured reserve, the team announced.
Head coach Sean Payton said he expects Sterns’ torn patellar tendon to cost him the rest of the season.
The third-year safety injured his knee on his second defensive snap of Denver’s opener Sunday against Las Vegas. Sterns played in just five games in 2022 before a hip impingement impacted him enough that he had surgery and missed the final 12 games of the year.
The Broncos filled his roster spot by signing wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey to the active roster from the practice squad.