Vic Fangio wakes up most days with calls from Broncos head athletic trainer Vince Garcia and director of sports medicine Steve ‘Greek’ Antonopulos. 

And this season, Fangio — who is in his second year as Denver’s head coach and 34th year coaching in the NFL — is getting restless with all the bad injury news Garcia and Antonopulos have given him. 

“It’s gotten that way with Greek (Antonopulos) for sure,” Fangio said Monday. “I think I’ve told you guys before that I hear from him every morning — either wake up to a call or a text from him as it relates to COVID. Vince is the guy that brings me the news on the injuries. So, yeah, those two guys haven’t been my best friends lately.”

Fangio received more bad news Monday morning, finding out that rookie tight end Albert Okwuegbunam tore his ACL in Sunday’s 34-27 loss to the Falcons. 

“Albert did get an ACL injury and he will miss the rest of the season,” Fangio said. “The fortunate thing of it is that it’s just the ACL and the ACL only. Many times, when you get an ACL it involves some other ligaments. So, his rehab and repair should go clean and he should be back good as new next season.” 

Fangio added that he expects starting corners Bryce Callahan and A.J. Bouye will be back practicing this week, as well as defensive tackle Shelby Harris who was under covid protocol. He also said he’s “optimistic” about starting right tackle Demar Dotson and tight end Noah Fant playing Sunday against the Raiders, after both got banged up in Atlanta. 

But as for Okwuegbunam, who had caught 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown, he will join 12 other Broncos on the injured reserve list: Mark Barron (LB), Andrew Beck (FB), LeVante Bellamy (RB), Jake Butt (TE), Jurrell Casey (DT), Austin Fort (TE), Von Miller (DE), Mike Purcell (DT), Justin Strnad (LB), Courtland Sutton (WR), Derrek Tuszka (LB) and Elijah Wilkinson (OL). 

With Okwuegbunam heading to the IR, the Broncos now have the second most players in the NFL currently listed on the IR, trailing only the San Francisco 49ers who have 14. Denver also has the highest total cash on the IR in the league, totaling $43,339,685 according to spotrac. 

Fangio said he’s not sure why there’s been so many injuries this season, but one could certainly point to the unique offseason as a major factor. 

“It’s hard to pinpoint any one or two things as to why it’s happened,” Fangio said. “Obviously, when you look at it thoroughly — is it the training? The guys didn’t train here all offseason and we didn’t see them until training camp. Is that part of it? I don’t know. The short preseason and no preseason games? I don’t know. I think in each and every case it’s something different, but I don’t think you’re able to pinpoint one or two things right now.”

Since arriving in Denver, Fangio hasn’t been one for excuses and while his team may be suffering more injuries than usual, and at key positions, he’s not changing his approach. 

“You just have to deal with it,” Fangio said. “A good carpenter doesn’t blame his tools, he’s just got to find a way to go and get the job done. That’s my mindset. With the players that we have — and I love all our players — they’re out there busting their ass each and every week in preparation and during the game they’re giving us great effort. It’s my job to find a way to get the solutions that will lead us to a win.”