ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga, who left Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Chargers with an ankle injury, is expected to miss multiple weeks, sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday.
Hufanga did not practice in the shortened week leading up to the Broncos' Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks. One source estimated that Hufanga could miss two to three weeks, depending on how he recovers. That could push Hufanga's absence through the Broncos' Week 10 bye.
Hufanga's impact on the Broncos defense has been especially evident over the past three weeks. In the win over the Los Angeles Rams to close out September, Hufanga became just the fifth safety in NFL history to have two interceptions, an interception return for a touchdown and a sack in the same game.
In the first quarter of Sunday's win over the Chargers, he forced a fumble on Chargers tight end Charlie Kolar and recovered the ball. It led to the Broncos' first touchdown of the game four plays later.
"[Turnovers] are purposeful," Broncos coach Sean Payton said Tuesday. "It happened with [Hufanga] early in the game. ... Those are huge, huge swings of momentum."
Hufanga was injured with 2 minutes, 50 seconds left in the third quarter when he tackled, with defensive tackle D.J. Jones, Chargers running back Omarion Hampton for a 2-yard loss. Hufanga did not return to the game and did not participate in the team's on-field work this week.
He is fourth on the team in tackles with 23. Devon Key, who was a first-team All Pro selection as a special-teamer last season, has played in Hufanga's safety spot alongside Brandon Jones and is expected to start Thursday against the Seahawks.
Hufanga's absence, in addition to cornerback Pat Surtain II's ankle injury -- Surtain missed Sunday's game and will not play Thursday night -- does limit the Broncos' ability to play their dime (six defensive backs) package at times.
