Broncos Place DE Walker On IR, Sign TE Manasseh Garner

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (The Sports Xchange) - The Denver Broncos placed defensive end Vance Walker on injured reserve Friday and signed free agent tight end Manasseh Garner.

The 6-foot-2, 305-pound Walker is an eighth-year pro who suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during practice Monday.

Walker, who had just returned to practice from an ailing back, sustained the injury during 7-on-7 drills and remained on the ground for several minutes as he was tended to by team trainers. He had an MRI exam that determined he had torn his ACL.

Walker, 29, was projected to be Denver's starting right defensive end after Malik Jackson left as a free agent for Jacksonville during the offseason.

Walker has appeared in 104 regular-season games (32 starts) and seven postseason contests (two starts) during his career with Atlanta (2009-12), Oakland (2013), Kansas City (2014) and Denver (2015).

The 6-2, 239-pound Garner is a first-year player who joined the Broncos on a future contract on Jan. 13 before being waived on July 28. He entered the NFL with Kansas City as a college free agent on May 11, 2015, and spent training camp of his rookie season with Cleveland. Garner was signed to Buffalo's practice squad for the final week of the 2015 season.

Garner, 24, appeared in 23 games (14 starts) at wide receiver, H-Back and tight end for the University of Pittsburgh after beginning his career and playing 20 games at Wisconsin. He totaled 52 catches for 637 yards with five touchdowns in 43 career college games.