Nick Gargiulo was painting his masterpiece in the second preseason. He’d seamlessly flipped between left and right guard, looking every bit the versatile, high-IQ lineman who captained both Yale and South Carolina . Then, the brushstroke snapped. Midway through the third quarter, on a routine 9-yard run by Blake Watson , Gargiulo got clipped low from behind. The impact was sudden, brutal, silent save for the gasp rippling through State Farm Stadium. He went down hard, clutching his right knee.

The response was instantaneous, visceral. “Cart out for Broncos guard Nick Gargiulo, who is in pain with an apparent lower body injury,” tweeted Mike Klis . The urgency was palpable. “They’ve got his lower leg in an aircast. Absolutely hate injuries like that,” noted Cody Roark grimly.

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