ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- As the Denver Broncos continue to work through their offseason questions and put a few things on the drawing board, they have some decisions to make on the medical side.

Many of the players who finished the season on injured reserve are also among those who are either poised for free agency or among those the Broncos need back in a big way in 2017 or maybe both.

Running back C.J. Anderson, who went on injured reserve just before Halloween with meniscus damage in his knee, had the Broncos' only 100-yard rushing game this past season and it was in the game he suffered his season-ending injury.

The Broncos’ hopes to spruce up that consistently struggling run game essentially went to the sideline with Anderson, who is still on the hunt for his first 900-yard rushing season. The Broncos also had to put running back Kapri Bibbs (ankle) and fullback Andy Janovich (ankle), who had already played with a fractured hand earlier in the season, on injured reserve as the season wore on.

That’s a big chunk of the plan at the position. Anderson, who will count $3 million against the salary cap next season, believes he will be back "better than ever" and said he has altered his offseason workouts in order to have "the kind of season I believe I have in me, I believe in my abilities."

Bibbs is an exclusive rights free agent so the Broncos will have to tender him an offer and if they do, Bibbs can’t negotiate with any other teams. Janovich, who was playing at a Pro Bowl level earlier in his rookie season, will likely be a significant part of newly-hired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy’s offense in the coming year.

The Broncos’ run game was a sore spot in the team’s struggles overall on offense. Their inability to move the ball -- the Broncos were 27th in the league in rushing -- influenced how the team called plays and often resulted in formations with an empty backfield in short-yardage situations because the thinking was they couldn't win the line of scrimmage to gain the yards needed if they went with a run play.

“It was something we kept working at," former coach Gary Kubiak said at season’s end. “We had some things go on there, but that is something we wanted to do better."

So much so that Justin Forsett started a game at running back for the Broncos fewer than two weeks after joining the team in December. It’s why Anderson’s recovery will be such a big consideration in any offseason plan.

The Broncos have retained running backs coach Eric Studesville on Vance Joseph’s staff and McCoy was on the team’s coaching staff in Anderson’s rookie year in 2013, so there is familiarity with how Anderson might fit in any new playbook.

The Broncos’ other significant medical questions revolve around two team captains in DeMarcus Ware and Kayvon Webster. Ware had surgery to repair a ruptured disk in his back late in the season and given his previous back troubles, he is a significant question mark to return.

Ware will turn 35 just before training camp opens and is an unrestricted free agent. Ware has indicated he’d like to play next season, but the Broncos face a decision about whether it will be for them, especially since the plan is for Shane Ray to take another step in terms of increased playing time.

Webster, who was named the special teams captain for the first time this past season, will also be an unrestricted free agent in March. Webster’s athleticism and work ethic have always been two of his attributes the Broncos have consistently pointed to, but he has not been as involved with the defense as they’ve expected.

Webster was selected in the draft in Elway’s tenure and the Broncos have tried to retain as many of their homegrown players as possible as those initial draft classes hit free agency.

In the end, executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway said he wants the Broncos back in the playoff conversation and that all roster decisions will be made with that in mind.

“Our job is to support (the coaches) the best we can on the personnel side," Elway said earlier this month. “That’s what we’re here to do. We’re here to support Vance and give him the best opportunity and hopefully give him the best players."