Shane Ray Ready To 'Take It To Another Level'
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4) - On Sunday Shane Ray scored his first NFL touchdown with a 15-yard fumble return. On Monday he joined CBS4 Broncos analyst Mark Schlereth and CBS4 Sports Anchor Michael Spencer for Xfinity Monday Live.
"Out of the corner of my eye I see this burst of lightning come through and hit the quarterback," Ray said, in reference to Von Miller who forced the fumble. "Naturally I just jumped back outside to see if I could get it (the football). I picked it up, and ran it in.
"I wasn't going to waste any time."
Sunday's game against Indianapolis came at a cost. The Broncos lost DeMarcus Ware for 4-5 weeks after he fractured a bone in his forearm.
Ware will undergo surgery on Tuesday. His departure means that Ray will be called upon to play an even bigger role in the Broncos defense moving forward.
"DeMarcus is obviously a huge mentor to not only myself, but a lot of guys in the locker room," said Ray.
Ware missed OTAs and a majority of training camp while dealing with a lingering back issue, and had been on a play count during the first two games. Ray and Shaq Barrett received his practice reps, and had been splitting reps when Ware was on the bench.
"They've prepared me for this all offseason," Ray said of his opportunity to replace Ware. "I'm comfortable. I've had a lot of reps, and have been able to get a lot of good work in, and now, for me, I just have to take it up to another level."
The Broncos travel to Cincinnati for their first road game of the season Sunday. You can see the game at 11 a.m. on CBS4.
Michael Spencer is a Sports Anchor at CBS4. Read his bio or connect with him on Twitter @MichaelCBS4.
