ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The hope for a breakout season by defensive end Randy Gregory in his first with the Denver Broncos hasn't come to fruition.

Gregory, who missed all of the team's offseason work after shoulder surgery, had two sacks and seven quarterback hits in a three-game span before suffering a knee injury in the Broncos’ Week 4 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Gregory returned to practice this week, and is expected to play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox).

“It’s hard to replace a guy like that,’’ Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett said. “He’s a presence. How he attacks the edge, sets the edge and rushes the passer -- that’s something that we can really use.’’

Gregory has never played more than 14 games or started more than 11 in any of his previous five seasons due to suspensions or injuries. But his five-year, $70 million contract represented the Broncos' second biggest offseason acquisition behind the trade for quarterback Russell Wilson.

At minimum, the Broncos are ready to see what Gregory can do over their final four games.

“I like to call those types of guys ‘game-wreckers.’ Run game or pass game, he just goes in there and messes everything up," Broncos safety Justin Simmons said.

The Broncos have hovered among the league’s defensive leaders for much of the season and, even after the Kansas City Chiefs’ 431-yard, 34-point outburst this past Sunday, the Broncos remain fourth in scoring defense, seventh in total defense and seventh in pass defense.

But even with those numbers, they don’t sack the quarterback as much as they had hoped they would -- they’re 15th -- and they don’t always defend the run as well as they should (17th). Gregory helps with both of those items.

“On paper, you have this run gap, but when (Gregory) and those guys are in there, and they blow the gaps up, you’re just playing football at that point,’’ Simmons said. “That’s a lot of what he does and he’s obviously super talented at getting to the quarterback and helping us out in the back end with coverages and things like that."

“It always goes together, how we cover and the rush,’’ Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II said. “When you are getting both of those things, you can make some plays, us in the secondary and everybody up front.’’

Since trading Bradley Chubb and losing Gregory to injury, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has unveiled a variety of four- and five-man pressure packages along the way. But the sacks haven’t always followed. Chubb is second on the team in sacks with 5.5, one behind Dre'Mont Jones, and Gregory is tied with the fifth-highest total with two.

Gregory, who practiced Wednesday for the first time since his injury, is on injured reserve as the Broncos gauge his progression through a full week of practice before making a decision to play him Sunday or next week against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Broncos will have a different defensive approach against the Cardinals than they may have thought they would need last week. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee against the New England Patriots last Monday night. Murray is a far bigger run-pass threat than backup Colt McCoy.

The 36-year-old McCoy is in his 12th season and has seen plenty of defensive strategy. But this season, he has run the ball 12 times in the three games he’s played in and been sacked 11 times in 111 dropbacks (or one sack for every 10 dropbacks).

“You definitely miss (Gregory),’’ Hackett said. “Like I said, his ability to set the edge and rush the passer -- it’s very good. That’s why he’s here. We’re excited to have him out there and hopefully get after it.’’