The Denver Broncos need any sort of help they can get on offense in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, where they already know they will be without starting quarterback Bo Nix.
That help might come with the return of veteran running back J.K. Dobbins, who has been on the injured reserve since he injured his foot in a Week 10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders which required surgery and was previously thought to be a season-ending injury.
“Sources: Broncos are opening the practice window for RB J.K. Dobbins, who suffered what was thought to be a season-ending foot injury in Week 10 against the Raiders,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account. “Dobbins has a chance to play in Sunday’s AFC championship game vs. the Patriots.”
Hopes started to rise Dobbins might return last week, when he was seen doing some minor workouts during practices before Denver’s 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round.
“Broncos RB J.K. Dobbins was doing side-field rehab work at practice today,” The Denver Post’s Luca Evans wrote on X on January 14. “First time I’ve seen him out and over there since he went on IR in November.”
Without Nix, the Broncos are 5.5-point underdogs at home against the Patriots.
“If J.K. Dobbins is even close, this changes Denver’s offensive math,” NFL statistician Dabs wrote on X. “Opening the window for an AFC title game isn’t procedural — it’s intent.”
Dobbins on Pace for 1,000-Yard Season Before Injury
Dobbins was on pace to become the team’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2019, with 772 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns through 10 games and averaged a robust 5.0 yards per carry.
Before the injury, Dobbins represented a pretty robust return on investment for the Broncos, who signed him to a 1-year, $2 million contract on June 10.
With Dobbins and rookie second round pick RJ Harvey, the Broncos have gone from having arguably the NFL’s worst rushing attack in 2024 to having one of its best with Dobbins and Harvey both healthy.
Denver has still been formidable with just Harvey, who rushed for over 1,400 yards in each of his final 2 seasons at UCF and had 896 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns in 2025.
Harvey Likely Featured Back for Broncos in 2026
Whether Dobbins returns for speculative appearances in the AFC Championship Game or the Super Bowl, there’s a good possibility this is his lone season in Denver.
As long as he’s healthy, it would be difficult to envision the Broncos not having Harvey as the featured back in 2026. Conversely, Dobbins may have done enough to earn another 1-year contract somewhere else.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay predicts Dobbins will join the Dallas Cowboys and become the second Broncos running back in as many years to do so following Javonte Williams, who cracked 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career with the Cowboys in 2025.
“Dobbins will be well worth rolling the dice on for a cash-strapped club like the Dallas Cowboys,” Kay wrote on December 30. “The team could be priced out of retaining Javonte Williams and will want to make up that lost production by coming to terms on a cheap, incentive-laden deal with Dobbins.”
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