Payton drops info on Radio Row about expectations, plans for the Broncos

No doubt you all know Sean Payton made the rounds on Radio Row at the Super Bowl last week. It seemed like he was popping up everywhere - Good Morning Football, Rich Eisen Show, KOA...you name it, if there was a mic, he was on it.

And one of the most entertaining, of course, was the Pat McAfee Show. If you don’t know him, the former Colts’ punter is raw and hilarious and has parlayed his pro football and wrestling careers into a fun YouTube bit that when not giving Aaron Rodgers a forum is also a really informative show.

Payton elaborated on many of the stories he’d been highlighting elsewhere - such as Drew Brees telling Payton to hurry up and decide because his neighbor Russell Wilson was wearing him out with questions - as well as repeating many of the same talking points - such as the quarterback always needing a good offensive line and running game.

And speaking of running game, there was an impromptu gem on the show where Latavius Murray was walking by the set and Payton called him to come up where he praised him as a running back.

“He’s a real good runner, a good wide-zone runner. Still got speed. But makeup, character, toughness, all that...man, five-star.”

Then Payton shares some details of getting “recruited” by Murray and “his backfield teammate.”

In fact, Murray texted to Payon on Dec. 23: “Hey my backfield teammate and I, we hope you come to Denver.’ And I’m thinking, what backfield teammate?” Payton said. “I’m looking up who the other running back is, I’m like ‘Who are you talking about?’ And he sent ‘No. 3.’ So I’m like, we’re in the middle of the season here, I text him back: ‘Be careful what you’re asking Santa Claus for.’”

Here’s the irrelevant-now-but-interesting-twist to that story - the date of that text was the Saturday before the Rams destroyed the Broncos and left Nathaniel Hackett’s soul at SoFi Stadium. And it was two days before the first-time head coach was fired 15 games into the season.

So if you’re paying attention, Murray and Wilson were actively recruiting their new head coach before the current one had even been officially fired. Further evidence of the disaster brewing in the Broncos’ locker room.

Also, if you’re paying attention - Murray is likely coming back to be reunited with his old coach.

Payton mentioned that fixing the culture in Denver starts with great people and paying attention to details (while pointing at Murray).

Aside from clearly hinting at bringing Murray back to his fold, Payton also dropped a few other gems on the PMS, including that starters will play in the preseason and also that he’s very interested in using Zebra technology to monitor player reps in practice so he can be mindful of soft-tissue injuries for overuse.

“I don’t believe in sitting all our players during three preseason games — we’re going to play them,” Payton said. “This whole idea that they’re going to be healthier — we haven’t seen the data, there’s nothing that tells us [sitting out prevents injuries].”

And near the end of the half-hour conversation, McAfee just asks, “So you think you can have a lot of success with Russell Wilson?”

“Absolutely,” Patyon answered. “Absolutely.”

Broncos/NFL News

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