Broncos OT Ryan Clady tears ACL, according to report

The Denver Broncos suffered a sizable blow on Wednesday, as offensive tackle Ryan Clady tore his ACL in practice, according to Adam Schefter. The San Francisco 49ers face the Broncos in Week 3 of the preseason.

This is of note more because it reinforces my feelings about players choosing to skip OTAs. Injuries are not super prevalent, but it is understandable if players grow wary of the potential for injury in voluntary activities. This brings us back to Alex Boone. He has skipped the team's entire voluntary program, but Matt Maiocco has reported on multiple occasions that he is expected for mandatory minicamp and training camp.

It is certainly possible a player could get hurt in the mandatory portion of camp. However, given the fines a player receives for skipping such parts of camp, obviously a player is going to be there. And it is football, you cannot avoid injuries forever. However, I can understand why Boone would want to skip voluntary portions. While some skip voluntary activities to leverage the team, his absence seems more likely to just be a matter of avoiding injury if at all possible as he approaches free agency next year.

In reporting back to the 49ers last year, Boone got an adjustment to his deal. His bonus money became guaranteed, and the team agreed not to franchise him next year when he hits free agency. I have to think both sides have effectively recognized Boone will not be back. With that in mind, it makes sense Boone would do the minimum required in terms of offseason obligations. If he sits out minicamp and training camp again, then it gets a bit more annoying. But if he reports for those, that would hopefully prevent a repeat of last year's slow start. It is not an ideal situation given the implementation of offensive changes. I won't argue that. But it is understandable in my mind.

Sure, I would prefer Boone and Davis be there the entire time. I still don't know exactly why Davis chose to skip this year. I suppose it could be due to injury, but I'm not entirely sure what is up. For both, I am operating under the assumption they will be in town for June minicamp and July/August training camp. As long as they get in for those, these situations are at least a little bit manageable.