ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Add it to the list of things that haven't gone the way the Broncos had hoped, but right tackle Menelik Watson's attempt to have "a good, healthy season'' ended Wednesday when Denver moved him to injured reserve.
Coach Vance Joseph said the injury that moved Watson to IR is a torn tendon in his foot, although Watson is also dealing with a calf injury.
Watson, who had never played more than 12 games in any of his previous four seasons in the league because of a variety of injuries, had consistently expressed the hope that his work with the Broncos' training staff would improve his odds.
But Watson originally suffered his calf injury in the Broncos' Oct. 15 loss to the Giants and then missed the following game -- against the Chargers. He had been limited in practice in the weeks since, but had started the Broncos' last two games -- losses to the Chiefs and the Eagles.
After Sunday's 51-23 loss to the Eagles, when Watston injured his foot, he was clearly in discomfort as he limped from the training room through the locker room. The Broncos have signed former Buffalo Bills tackle Cyrus Kouandjio to the roster.
Kouandjio started seven games in 2015 and 2016 combined for the Bills. The Broncos had started Allen Barbre in Watson's right tackle spot against the Chargers, in what was a difficult day for Barbre and the Broncos' offensive line overall in the shut-out loss.
Watson was one of the Broncos' first targets in free agency this past offseason, along with guard Ron Leary, when he signed a three-year, $18.75 million deal with the team. He has flourished at times in the run game but has been inconsistent in pass protection as the Broncos have struggled to protect their quarterbacks.
The Broncos have allowed 28 sacks in eight games -- tied with the Texans for the third-highest total in the league.
In four previous seasons with the Raiders, Watson missed time in every season with injuries, including previous calf and groin injuries to go with a ruptured Achilles tendon that cost him the entire 2015 season.
But when he signed with the Broncos, he said he hoped he had left those issues behind him.
"That is why I'm here,'' Watson said back in March. "We've got the best strength staff in the world. I've talked diligently with those guys. Me moving forward in my career, I've done a lot of learning my first four years in the NFL ... I'm putting myself in the best place, along with their assistants, are some of the greatest in the world. We can put all of those things in the past and just move on, focus on getting on the field and just smashing heads together.''