With Riley Moss out, the focus is back on the Broncos’ backup corners

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – It will be another week of Riley Moss waiting.

The second-year cornerback, whose emergence before his MCL injury Nov. 24 in Las Vegas energized the Denver Broncos’ secondary, was ruled out for a second straight game after not practicing all week. Moss did stretches with his teammates on all three days of practice this week, but remained focused on rehab and recovering from the injury.

So like the Broncos against the Cleveland Browns, they have to adapt. The question now is: with whom? Levi Wallace started and struggled in a 41-32 win over Cleveland, weighed down by a career night from Jerry Jeudy.

Wallace then confirmed his performance in the game. But defensive coordinator Vance Joseph absolved Wallace of blame.

“Obviously I didn’t call it a great game if he didn’t have a great game,” Joseph said. “It’s the first thing I notice. It’s never the player’s fault. It’s my job to make his job easier.”

In the final moments of that game, Joseph and Sean Payton relieved Wallace in favor of rookie Kris Abrams-Draine, who was making his first professional career appearance.

“Well, when you recruit these young players to certain positions, it takes longer for those guys to develop and be ready to play for you,” Joseph said. “Obviously corner is a position where it could be a bad deal for you if you’re not ready.

“But he practiced well. He’s smart, he attends meetings, he’s ready to play. You know, he did well on Monday night, so the more he plays, the more he’s going to improve.”

Payton also noted Abrams-Draine’s intelligence.

“He’s smart. He’s got a lot of skill about him,” Payton said. “I think he’s getting stronger physically and I thought he mastered his role on Monday night, you know, going in and playing. I thought he played a pretty good game in the kicking game. This is important. So overall I was satisfied.”

Presumably that means he’s comfortable enough to contact Abrams-Draine again if necessary. But as Joseph took the burden of responsibility from Wallace and placed it on his own shoulders, he showed that within the Broncos’ walls, faith remains in the veteran Wallace, who was once neck-and-neck with Moss in terms of playing time before an injury Training camp.