Chris Harris Jr. Tops List Of Inactives For Bears vs. Broncos

By Zack Kelberman

(247 SPORTS) - To say the Denver Broncos are thin in their secondary is a massive understatement.

The team announced several members of the No-Fly Zone will be inactive for Saturday's preseason contest against the Chicago Bears. Chief among them is Pro Bowl cornerback Chris Harris Jr., who's dealing with an oblique injury and is considered "day-to-day," according to head coach Vance Joseph.

Tramaine Brock, signed in free agency this offseason, is making his Denver debut and will start in place of Harris, opposite Bradley Roby. Rookie Isaac Yiadom and second-year man Brendan Langley round out the CB corps. Deep reserve Michael Hunter (migraines) is also inactive, meaning Marcus Rios and C.J. Smith will absorb reps.

As for safeties, the Broncos are without Su'a Cravens, who missed a chunk of training camp due to knee soreness. He's expected to return to practice next week and should play against his former team, the Washington Redskins, in the regular season dress rehearsal. Dymonte Thomas (hamstring) is a scratch, as well; Joseph said on Aug. 13 he's "probably a week or two away."

Justin Simmons and Darian Stewart will start at safety, with Will Parks, newly-signed Shamarko Thomas, Trey Marshall and Jordan Moore mixing in as backups.

The Broncos are weak along the offensive line, too, as guards Menelik Watson (pectoral) and J.J. Dielman (knee), and backup center Sam Jones (back) are out. Max Garcia and Billy Turner will likely spell starting left guard Ronald Leary and right guard Connor McGovern, respectively.

Another notable no-go is outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett (hamstring), who will be spelled by Jeff Holland and Marcus Rush. Rookie tight end Troy Fumagalli (groin) is also inactive, leaving touches to Jeff Heuerman, Austin Traylor, Jake Butt, Matt LaCosse and Brian Parker.

Denver is expected to leave its starting units on the field for about a quarter before bringing in the second-teams. The Broncos and Bears practiced jointly on Wednesday and Thursday in preparation of this exhibition contest.

"We're going to play quite a bit," said Joseph. "Not too much where we expose guys, but we're going to play. We have to play. We played about six or seven snaps last week on offense and about 14 on defense. I'm looking at a quarter, maybe a quarter and a half with our ones. And our twos will play until we see progress. We'll play our threes late."

Joseph hopes the solid week of practice -- no pun intended -- carries over to live action, unlike in last week's disconcerting loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

"No one game plans yet, but sometimes when you show your base stuff for two days and both squads don't game plan, there are going to be some vulnerabilities out there on Saturday," he said. "We'll see. I'm concerned about our mindset, not really going out there and winning by a certain number, but just how we play and how we start. That's my concern for Saturday."

Kickoff from Broncos Stadium at Mile High is set for 7:05 p.m.