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Scheffler breaks foot, out two months

Tight end to have surgery Monday

Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 19, 2007 at midnight

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The Broncos suffered their first major injury of the offseason program Friday when second-year tight end Tony Scheffler broke his left foot during the third day of the team's passing camp.

The second-year player, who made a major late-season contribution to the passing offense as a rookie, will undergo surgery Monday.

Scheffler came up limping after running a route during a seven- on-seven drill during the first half of practice. He was able to exit the field under his own power but didn't finish the rest of the workout.

CBS 4, which first reported the story, said Scheffler will be out two months, which would allow him to return by the start of training camp.

Scheffler had discussed his offseason to date with several reporters only hours before he was hurt.

He initially had bulked up nearly 20 pounds since the end of last season but lost 10 to 12 pounds through his work in the Broncos' strength and conditioning program. Scheffler talked about wanting to be down another five pounds or so to the 245-pound range by the start of training camp while also improving upon his speed, which still hadn't returned fully at this early juncture.

"I'm trying to knock the rust off here in the first couple days," Scheffler said after his last full on-field workout Thursday. "But we've got a heck of product out there on offense, and it's going to be fun to watch."

Or not, now that he's one of the observers.

His injury will mean more practice time in the short term for the likes of Daniel Graham, Stephen Alexander, Chad Mustard, Nate Jackson and Mike Leach.

Coach Mike Shanahan was unavailable for comment but is expected to address the media on Monday when passing camp resumes.