Money, not locker room chatter, does all the talking in sports.

To a man, the Broncos will say they have full confidence Chris Clark can replace all-pro left offensive tackle Ryan Clady, who was placed on season-ending injured reserve Wednesday.

But never mind the spoken compliment. Look at the contract’s dollar signs. On Friday, two days before Clady suffered his Lisfranc tear that will require surgery to repair, the Broncos agreed with Clark on a two-year contract extension that included a $677,000 up-front signing bonus and $1.077 million in guaranteed money.

While not starter money, it’s what a backup player would call a pat on the back.

The loot demonstrates how much the Broncos believe in Clark, even though he has never started an NFL game at left tackle in his six seasons. He did get six starts as a “jumbo” tight end during the Broncos’ run-heavy season of 2011. But his first start at left tackle will come Monday night against the Oakland Raiders.

“It’s not about filling a guy’s shoes for me,” Clark said at his locker Tuesday. “It’s about me creating my legacy — just helping the team the best way I can and doing my job.”

The timing was eerie. Clark spent two years on practice squads, then three years on the bench. He agreed to a contract extension Friday (it wasn’t signed until Monday morning) and two days later became a starting left tackle under unfortunate circumstances for what has so far been a juggernaut, Peyton Manning-directed offense.

Clady is done just two games after receiving a five-year, $52.5 million contract extension that is paying him $15 million in salary and signing bonus this year. Tough sport, football.

As Clady goes on injured reserve, the Broncos replaced him on the roster with veteran Winston Justice, who played with the Indianapolis Colts last year. Justice was a second-round pick out of Southern California by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2006 draft. He has 42 of his 43 NFL starts at right tackle, so make no mistake, Clark is the Broncos’ left tackle going forward.

The Broncos have scored 90 points in their 2-0 start to the 2013 season in large part because Manning has thrived in the passing game with his strengthened stable of receiving weapons.

Losing Clady, though, is a blow to a team that has been listed as the consensus Super Bowl favorites. Since Clady was the Broncos’ No. 12 overall pick in the 2008 draft, he has earned three Pro Bowl berths and two all-pro selections. He had played in 85 consecutive games, including playoffs. That came to an end with a little more than three minutes left in the Broncos’ blowout win at MetLife Stadium. A Giants defender fell into the back of Clady’s left foot during a running play.

The Broncos had shopped around Clady’s initial medical findings to multiple doctors in recent days. But the only reason people seek second opinions is because they don’t like the first analysis.

The Broncos were hoping Clady’s injury would have been a three-month recovery without surgery, which would have meant putting him on IR with a designation to return. Although the IR designation would have allowed Clady to return in eight weeks, the Broncos never focused on him returning that fast.

There was some hope he could return in the final two games of the regular season or playoffs. However, the tear was such that all doctors concurred there was little other choice but season-ending surgery.

Bronco receivers Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker each had Lisfranc injuries going into the 2010 draft. The Broncos still took them in the first and third rounds, respectively. The tentative expected recovery time is six months, so Clady should be ready by the team’s 2014 training camp.

As for 2013, it’s now up to Clark. He knows the team believes he can do it. They even showed him the money.

Mike Klis: mklis@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikeklis