clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Denver Broncos Training Camp Day 2 news and notes

News and notes from day 2 of Denver Broncos Training Camp.

By Scotty Payne
Casey Barrett

Day two of Denver Broncos Training Camp is in the books! We have updates on the quarterback battle, a sick one-handed catch by Sunshine, defense making plays, Von Miller continuing his progress, Shane Ray and Shaq Barrett getting valuable reps, unfortunately, some injury news and more.

Quarterback update:

Today we saw Mark Sanchez struggle some, Trevor Siemian take a few more first team reps because of Sanchez's struggles, and Paxton Lynch continuing to grow.

Sanchez on a play where he would have been sacked by outside linebacker Shaq Barrett threw a bad pass to receiver Emmanuel Sanders, but cornerback Chris Harris Jr. made a diving interception. This lead to Sanchez not playing with the 1st team for a bit, and Siemian took some first team reps.

Overall, Head Coach Gary Kubiak was happy with what he saw.

"I need to go back and look. We got after it pretty good today. We did a lot. We split fields so some things I can't see until I go back and watch. I know Mark has practiced really well for a couple of days and I think Trevor has done fine. Young kids like this go through a really good period and a really rough period, but are very talented. I like the way we've pushed through. Got a little tired out there today, but out at the end we pushed through and had another good day."

On Thursday, the Broncos had Mark Sanchez start out with the 1st team, and today we saw Siemian start with the first team. Kubiak continued to say that they're going to continue splitting these reps up to get a good look at each quarterback.

"We're going to come out here and practice the way we're set. We're trying to go up there every night looking at an equal amount with each kid. That'll probably stay consistent here for a couple of weeks."

The "That'll probably stay consistent here for a couple of weeks."  makes it sound like Kubiak would like to see someone separate themselves from the group by the 2nd preseason game.

As for Paxton Lynch, he spent time with the third team getting "double the amount of reps" and continuing his progress and development. It will be interesting to see if he will get any first or second team reps in the coming days and weeks.

Sunshine with the sick one-handed catch:

I'm sure you have already seen it by now, but wide receiver Jordan "Sunshine" Taylor made a sick one-handed catch during today's practice.

One of the biggest thing a young player can do is be noticed by the coaches for doing something good or spectacular. Well, this catch by Taylor definitely caught the coaches and everyone else's attention.

Kubiak called the catch "something special".

"I saw it from like 75 yards away, so it was obviously something special. I'll go take a peak. Jordan is an interesting kid. It seems like the harder things get and the longer we practice and those types of things is when he starts to play at his best. His legs got a little tired today, but he keeps going. I think his conditioning level gives him a chance to be a really good player."

Taylor is fighting for a roster spot and so far so good for the exciting young receiver. He has a lot of positive momentum working for him. Let's see if he can keep it going throughout Camp and the Preseason.

Shane Ray and Shaq Barrett starting at outside linebacker:

With Von Miller easing his way back into action and veteran DeMarcus Ware being sidelined for most of camp Shane Ray and Shaquil Barrett have been your starters at outside linebacker.

Gary Kubiak expects this to be the case for about the next three weeks.

"Yeah, well they’re starters. In all honesty they’ll probably be starters for this team for about three weeks as we work Von up and wait on DeMarcus to get back. What an opportunity for them. They had a great off season—both of them. And we know how Shaquil played for us last year, and Shane came on especially late in the season. I’m just excited about both of the opportunities for them."

This is a big opportunity for both players because a "starting opportunity" is likely available for one of these guys. DeMarcus Ware will likely be used in a situation role this year and have his reps limited, so some extra snaps will be available for one of these guys.

Barrett is coming off an impressive 2015 season, and Shane Ray has big expectations for himself heading into his second season.

This will be a fun battle to watch.

Von Miller should be full go by mid-next week:

After an offseason where Von Miller didn't attend any OTA's or Minicamps, the Broncos have decided to ease Von back into action.

Fortunately, it appears Von has stayed in great shape and really hasn't been missing a beat since returning to the Broncos, and Kubiak thinks he'll be doing everything sometime next week.

"I know Von went one more period today, so he’s about halfway through practice now. I would like to think that mid-week next week he’ll be out there full time."

There's always concerns about a player being out of shape or not being in "football shape" after skipping most of the offseason workouts, but Von appears to be just fine.

News and notes:

Injury updates:
  • Cornerback Aqib Talib remains on the NFI list because of his knee injury. He hopes he is activated soon because he is getting bored.
  • Edge rusher DeMarcus Ware also remained on the NFI list, but the Broncos don't seem to be in a hurry to put their veteran pass rusher through the rigors of Training Camp.
  • Nose tackle Phil Taylor who has a history of knee injuries suffered a knee injury today and will get an MRI on it.
  • Starting nose tackle Sylvester Williams left practice with a shoulder injury but Kubiak didn't mention anything about an MRI.(Update: Sly appears to be fine and is at the team's walkthrough tonight)
  • Offensive tackle Donald Stephenson rolled his ankle in practice but stayed in and will be okay according to Kubiak.
Tweets from Practice:

Notable quotes:

Gary Kubiak on wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders

"I think Emmanuel had a really good offseason. He’s here every day and works extremely hard. Emmanuel wears his emotions on his sleeve. If you watch him practice, he loves to play and he’s competing against the best out there  I’m excited about him and I think he’s developing a rapport with Mark and Trevor. He’s doing a great job."

Kubiak on building the chemistry on the offensive line

"You've got to play together. We're at a stage right now where you're always thinking about your team four weeks from now. As a coach, I've got some things going on. How I'm dealing with [T Russell] Okung stuff. He did practice more today, but you want them out there together, you want them working, that's how they get better and how they play. Last year we were playing with seven guys for the most part. I think we've got the chance to settle down, but we're going to settle down with five if they do their job. We'll see."

Rookie running back Devontae Booker on competing for the starting role

"It's kind of weird, but at the end of the day, we're all helping each other to go out and compete against each other. I'm pretty sure you don't want to just look at a guy that's struggling out there in the field and you're just blowing right by him in reps. We just try to be helpful to each other so can go out and compete against each other to make it a very competitive day in practice."

In This Stream

Broncos training camp 2016: Everything we know

View all 125 stories

More From Mile High Report