Jalen Virgil’s season is over before it began.

The speedy Broncos wide receiver was placed on injured reserve Tuesday after a meniscus injury suffered Saturday against San Francisco that requires surgery to repair, the team announced.

Dr. Clint Soppe, an orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, said the recovery timeline for meniscus surgery can take up to 4-6 months if the meniscus needs to be repaired. Given where the Broncos are in the calendar, that essentially constitutes the entire season, hence the move to injured reserve for Virgil.

The second-year Broncos wide receiver was injured late in the first half Saturday against San Francisco after hauling in a 50-yard reception from quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Virgil was tackled near the goal line and popped up after the play, only to grab at his knee.

A 2022 undrafted rookie out of of Appalachian State, Virgil was vying for a roster spot amid a receiver group that remains crowded but has been thinned out by injuries to Tim Patrick (torn Achilles) and KJ Hamler (pectoral tear and a heart condition).

Virgil’s calling card is his speed. Before the big play against the 49ers, he took an end-around 25 yards against Arizona in Denver’s first preseason game.

His first career catch last fall went for a 66-yard touchdown against Tennessee. Overall, he appeared in nine games as a rookie and caught two passes.

In a corresponding roster move, the Broncos signed wide receiver Josh Hammond, who most recently played for the XFL’s DC Defenders. The XFL announced the signing Monday and Denver confirmed it Tuesday morning.

Hammond played two games for Jacksonville in 2021 and spent time on New England’s roster last year. Hammond had 34 catches for 331 yards and a touchdown for the Defenders this spring. Hammond worked out for the Broncos in the past couple of weeks.

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