Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

A day after the Broncos suffered a major blow with Brandon Marshall's suspension, their offense took another hit. Rookie tailback Ryan Torain suffered a broken elbow in practice this morning and he will miss 6-8 weeks. Torain is expected to have surgery in the coming days.

The loss of Torain is potentially major. The fifth-round draft pick has been a standout in training camp and was set to get plenty of playing time in the early season. Torain was pushing No. 1 tailback Selvin Young. But because Young has had durability issues, Torain was going to get his share of carries anyway.

Shanahan paid Torain a huge compliment Wednesday when discussing the loss by using Terrell Davis as a comparison.

"It's a big loss. I thought he had a chance to compete to be the starting running back," Shanahan said after Denver's practice. "He's one of the most gifted running backs I've been around for a long time. He is very similar to Terrell Davis when he came in. Obviously he has a setback that he has to deal with. It's tough with these guys. He has to take it day-by-day as well, but any time you break a bone in that elbow area obviously it's a setback. I'm just hoping there is not too much ligament damage, but we will find out, obviously, after the MRI."

With Torain out likely until early October, tiny tailback Andre Hall and Michael Pittman will have to take the load off Young. Pittman has moved to fullback but Shanahan said he will still play some tailback.