Broncos Training Camp: Day 13 News and Notes

Day 13 of Denver Broncos training camp is in the books and we have just two training camp practices left. Today, the Broncos were back at it after a closed practice on Monday and were back in full pads.

Today we have quarterback Russell Wilson continuing to stack solid performances, Brett Maher feeling the heat, safety P.J. Locke getting carted off the field but apparently avoiding serious injury, a lengthy injury/attendance update, news and notes, notable quotes, and tweets from Broncos camp.

Russell Wilson has another good practice

Last week ahead of their preseason opener, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson started to put together multiple good and great practices in a row. That continued into the preseason where Wilson was solid despite being the most pressured quarterback during the week, and ended his night with a touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy.

He continued with another strong showing during yesterday’s closed practiced and did it again today. Wilson had a long competition down the middle of the field to tight end Greg Dulcich and had a “perfect” red zone period where he capped off his drive with a touchdown to Samaje Perine.

After starting training camp slowly, he and the Broncos' offense have progressed throughout camp and have continuously looked better as the days progressed. We saw some flashes of that during the preseason opener, but it was not perfect, and hopefully, we see more growth for them throughout the week and during their second preseason game this weekend.

Compared to last year, it sure does seem like Wilson is having a better training camp this time around. We did not hear a ton of positive buzz from Wilson, but this year, we are getting plenty of it, especially these past few weeks, and saw him make some good plays against Arizona. So, I am cautiously optimistic about Wilson and I think we will only see bigger and better things from him as we head into the regular season.

Brett Maher has a “good day” according to Sean Payton

Earlier today, we learned that the Broncos have waived kicker Elliott Fry with an injury designation. This left embattled kick Brett Maher who went 0 for 2 in field goal attempts in the preseason opener as the only kicker left on the roster.

Maher had a good day overall as he made 7 of his 9 kicking attempts including a 59-yarder to end practice. Payton told reporters after practice that Maher had a good day but despite Fry no longer being on the team, Maher is still facing competition for his job

We’ll go day-to-day with where we’re at with the kickers. I’ve said this to you guys before. [K] Brett [Maher] had a good day today. He’s competing. He’s competing with himself because he’s got 31 other teams. There are probably seven teams that have a real kicking battle, so he’s competing with those guys that come out of those clubs. That doesn’t discount us, possibly, if we wanted to bring in another player.”

Payton notes there are about seven other teams who have kicking battles, so kickers will become available during the cutdown period and Maher is competing against those players as well.

So, Maher is still on the hot seat despite being the only kicker currently on the roster. He will need to show more consistency than he did in the preseason opener if he wants to stick around. He has zero guaranteed money tied to his contract so the Broncos have nothing to lose if they wanted to part ways. So, he will be someone we need to keep an eye on in the coming days and during the Broncos second preseason game vs. the 49ers.

P.J. Locke gets carted off, but Payton says he’ll be fine

The Broncos had another injury scare today, but it appears, that they dodged anything significant. During a coverage drill early in practice, safety/core special teamer P.J. Locke went down and was favoring his left knee/ankle. He could not put any weight on it and was eventually carted off the practice field.

Thankfully, it appears that Locke escaped major injury and will be okay.

After practice, Payton told reporters that “He’s going to be fine.” when asked about P.J. Locke. He did not explain further, but thankfully, it sounds like he escaped major injury.

The Broncos safety position is suddenly starting to look pretty thin. Justin Simmons continued to miss practice with a groin injury and Caden Sterns and Kareem Jackson sat out practice as well. So, with Locke going down, that left three healthy safeties for the Broncos for today’s practice. It is unknown how long Locke will be sidelined currently and we don’t know why Jackson and Sterns have not been practicing, so we could see some safety depth added soon. If we do not, that should be a good sign about their injuries.

News and Notes

• Broncos have waived kicker Elliott Fry with an injury designation and signed long snapper Jack Landherr IV to the roster.
• Sean Payton confirmed that running back Javonte Williams will play in week two of the preseason vs. the 49ers.

Injury/attendance Report

• After sitting out yesterday’s closed practice, cornerback Patrick Surtain II and Courtland Sutton are practicing.
• Wide receiver Kendall Hinton also returned to practice.
• Nose tackle D.J. Jones who suffered a concussion early in the preseason opener has progressed quickly through the protocol and is practicing today.
• CB K’Waun Williams S Kareem Jackson, S Caden Sterns, S Justin Simmons, CB Riley Moss, EDGE Nik Bonitto, IDL Forrest Merrill, RT Mike McGlinchey, TE Chris Manhertz, TE Tommy Hudson, and WR Brandon Johnson all did not practice today for various reasons.
• Safety P.J. Locke was carted off the practice field with a lower left leg injury. After practice, Sean Payton said that Locke is going to be fine.

Notable Quotes

Head Cach Sean Payton where he specifically sees TE Greg Dulcich playing and fitting into the offense

“That’s a good question. We’re not into specific gameplan plays that would involve certain players. He’s one of those guys that we’ll have packages that are designed [for him]. [That] doesn’t mean he gets it, but he’d certainly be a primary. We’re still in installation. Today, we’re installing another group of third down plays and another group of red zone plays. We’ve already done red zone third down, but not the whole package. Today, they got a little bit more of red zone, and a little bit more of third down. As we get closer to the season, you’ll see us customize it a little bit more.”

Head Coach Sean Payton on conversations he’s had regarding the importance of leg strength for kickers

“We’ll get a feel. [K Brett Maher is] hitting it well. He has good leg talent. We always wait for game day. Before the start of the game, [Special Teams Coordinator] Ben [Kotwica] or [Assistant Head Coach] Mike [Westhoff] will tell me, ‘Hey, we’re 35-yard line in this direction, and we’re 38 going the other way.’ Maybe it’s a heavy wind, and it’s 30 one way, and 40 [the other]. We’ll always know kind of where the yard line is, and not only for us. Conversely, I’ll ask what’s [the yard line] for the opponent when we’re defending. That came up last week. ‘Are they in range yet?’ [Special Teams Coordinator] Ben [Kotwica] right away said, ‘He’s got the leg for this.’ That’s something we do during a game week, and the day of the game. Obviously, there’s more carry here. I don’t know what the one field goal was that he hit. I think it was 59. We’ll just get a feel for how he’s hitting it and what are the conditions.”

Head Coach Sean Payton on the amount of injuries the team is currently dealing with

“I would say this, though. I think the idea that we’ve had a run is exaggerated. If you look around the league—we get the reports. Obviously, we had a tough one early with [WR] Tim [Patrick] and then the following day or two, we had an ACL [with ILB Jonas Griffith]. Outside of that—a sports hernia. I think the guys are handling the practices well.”

Head Coach Sean Payton how he evaluates players

“It’s all of these other periods. It’s what you saw. It’s the nine-on-seven. It’s the team run, it’s the team drop back screen and draw. The players were off on Sunday, and we met for two-and-a-half hours and discussed every player on the roster. We talked about the vision and where they are at. We’ll have those meetings twice a week. I think the body of work that you have on tape is what you have to look at.”

Head Coach Sean Payton what he likes about T Demontrey Jacobs

“No. 1, he’s competing. There is a toughness with him. We’ll see how it goes. I think he understands what to do. Now, it’s taking the technique and applying it from the film room out onto the field.”

Tweets from Broncos Camp