Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton will be heading to Canton this week, but his team will still be competing.
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton is heading off to Canton, Ohio to present his former star quarterback, Drew Brees, as Brees is inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend, but Payton has his coaching situation planned and accounted for, according to the latest camp update from Jeff Legwold of ESPN.
Payton also flashed his trademark sense of humor as he noted that the Broncos will have more of what he called a “scrimmage format,” as several other members of the coaching staff will join him in Canton.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will run practice while Payton’s away, he explained, and he proceeded to deliver his bon mot on the situation.
“Look, we've got more coaches than we know what to do with, we'll be fine without seven (of them),” Payton said, and Legwold also noted that former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan joined him at practice and got a tour of the team’s new $178 million training facility.
The serious side of this beneath Payton’s crack is that the Broncos are dealing with an alarming array of early injuries in camp so far. Star linebacker Nik Bonitto went down this week with a lower body injury, and he’s reportedly still having issues with ongoing pain, and receiver Jaylen Waddle also left due to what was described as “muscle tightness.”
It would be surprising to see either of them in the scrimmages over the weekend, although receiver Cortland Sutton did return to practice after being given what was called a “veterans day.” Payton has also said that “we’ll be smart” in evaluating Waddle, but he’s notorious for going six days a week in practice during training camp.
Payton will also be doing at least a meet-and-greet with another former New Orleans Saints star. Taysom Hill was a multipositional favorite back when Payton coached the Saints, and rumors about a possible Hill return have been making the rounds for a couple of weeks now.
Meanwhile, the Broncos secondary receivers stepped up this week. According to Legwold, both Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant both made explosive plays in team drills on Wednesday, and the writer added that Franklin may have had his best day in camp overall so far. This is a group that’s been challenged by Waddle’s arrival, and Marvin Mims Jr. has also been making big plays in practice.
The biggest news so far is that quarterback Bo Nix looks health, with a real competition going on behind him between last year’s backup, Jarrett Stidham, and third-stringer Sam Ehlinger.
