Broncos Scrimmage Features Brand New Unexpected Kicker

The Denver Broncos practiced today with coach Sean Payton in Canton, Ohio presenting former quarterback Drew Brees in the quarterback’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph ran the practice as Denver shifted into scrimmage mode, but having Joseph at the helm wasn’t the only unusual part of the scrimmage, according to a report from Jeff Legwold of ESPN. 

Specifically, the Broncos had a new kicker with Wil Lutz accompanying Payton to Canton, which meant someone else had to step in. According to secial teams coach Darren Rizzi, most of the Australian punters he’s worked with in his long coaching career, including current punter Jeremy Crawshaw, haven’t kicked field goals. 

That left safety Brandon Jones to step in in an emergency role, and Jones managed to go 3-for-4 for the day. His long was from 39 yards out, but Jones said he nailed a 50-yarder back during OTAs. 

Make of that what you will, but Jones certainly made the day entertaining enough. The practice was open to the public, and Jones had a crowd of several thousand fans chanting his name. 

"Have a lot of respect for kickers when the crowd started chanting my name, I got really nervous, and I'm like, 'I'm about to shank this,' but thankfully it went in,'' Jones said.

Jones was 2-for-2 from the center of the field and 1-of-2 from the left hashmark, but there was no word about whether he’ll be added to the depth chart as a “break glass in case of emergency” option. 

On a more serious note, the Broncos are genuinely struggling with a rash of camp injuries. Several have already been documented, including linebacker Nik Bonitto and receiver Jaylen Waddle, but more casualties occurred late in the week, with Marvin Mims Jr., tight end Nate Adkins and defensive lineman Matt Henningsen all departing due to injuries. 

Mims is the most important player in the latter part of this list, as he’s been making big plays in camp so far as he tried to convince the Broncos to give him an extension. His issue appeared to be a hamstring injury, which is well worth monitoring. 

The most serious injury was the one sustained by Henningsen, who ruptured his Achilles tendon last summer and appeared to sustain the same injury this week. The good news is that Bonitto returned to practice last week, albeit on a limited basis, and it will be interesting to see if Payton dials back practices a little when he returns from his Hall of Fame interlude with Brees.