Denver Broncos defensive lineman Matt Henningsen was finally getting another chance to put last year’s injury behind him. Instead, training camp brought back the same nightmare.

Henningsen suffered another torn Achilles during Friday’s practice. The injury happened on the opposite leg from the Achilles tear that ended his 2025 season, striking almost exactly a year to the day after the first one. The Denver Post’s Luca Evans described Henningsen as visibly emotional as he was being carted off the field, and the tear is expected to end his season before it began.

Henningsen tore his first Achilles during a joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers on 7th August 2025, roughly an hour into the session, in a 1-on-1 rep against one of the 49ers’ offensive linemen. He spent the season recovering, then made it back onto the field this summer, only for this year’s tear to come in an individual pass-rush drill.

Broncos coach Sean Payton made clear how badly last year’s injury had hit the team, speaking to reporters after Denver’s preseason win over San Francisco:

“He’ll be having surgery when we get back to Denver. And it did come back as an Achilles tear,” Payton said. “So unfortunately I hate that for him. And that’ll put him out for the season.”

The 27-year-old had worked his way back into Denver’s plans this offseason. Denver had also lost starting defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers to Tennessee in free agency, thinning the position room, and the Broncos re-signed Henningsen to a one-year contract worth $1.145 million in March after he missed all of 2025.

The defensive lineman had also looked healthy during offseason work and was pushing for a reserve role, reportedly turning in some of the steadier reps on Denver’s second- and third-team line in the weeks before Friday.

Henningsen’s NFL career had already been built around fighting for his place. Denver selected him in the sixth round (No. 206 overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin, and he appeared in all 34 games during his first two seasons, recording 40 tackles, a sack, two quarterback hits and two passes defended.

He then spent the 2024 season on Denver’s practice squad before the Achilles injury wiped out his 2025 campaign. A stretch that means Henningsen has not appeared in a regular-season game since 2023. The Broncos still brought him back this spring, giving him another opportunity to compete for a spot in Sean Payton’s defensive rotation.

For Henningsen, the focus now shifts back to recovery; another full rehab, just months after finishing the last one. He’s set to become a free agent again in 2027, this time carrying two torn Achilles tendons into that negotiation.