The Denver Broncos wrapped up their 2024 organized team activities on Thursday and if the NFLPA has its way, it might have been the final installment of OTAs for the Broncos in its current format.
The players’ union has proposed eliminating spring OTAs and replacing them with a longer ramp-up period for training camp starting in mid-June or early July. If approved, the new offseasons schedule could begin as early as 2025.
Denver coach Sean Payton was asked about the proposal on Tuesday.
“It’s a topic every year that gets brought up,” Payton said. “Is that three, four, five years from now? I don’t know. I try to focus on the things that are like — when you get older and you hear those things, you’re just like, ‘All right. I don’t need to worry about that right now.’
“Ultimately, you’re going to have a period of time where the players are working prior to the season, and you’re going to have a time where they’re gone. I think I have a grasp as to what the proposal might look like. It just is what it is. I’ll worry about that when we get there.”
While we wait to see if OTAs will be scrapped in the future, here are 10 takeaways from the Broncos’ third and final week of 2024 OTAs.
1
Injury report: Pat Surtain is healthy
Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain was among five players who worked on a side field at Tuesday’s practice, but Payton indicated the star cornerback is healthy.
“We’re being smart with the rotation,” Payton said. “I don’t know how many snaps he had today. He’s healthy. I think he’s doing well, and then once he saw that [Steve] Foley is at 44 [career interceptions] and he’s at [seven], he knows he has some work to do still. That’s pretty impressive, 44.”
Also working on the side was safety Brandon Jones (unknown), cornerback Reese Taylor (unknown), safety Caden Sterns (unknown) and tight end Greg Dulcich (foot). Cornerback Levi Wallace was not spotted at practice and wide receiver Courtland Sutton was absent again.
2
Courtland Sutton to report next week
Courtland Sutton skipped the team’s voluntary OTAs as he seeks a new contract. Payton said he expects the receiver to report for mandatory minicamp next week.
“Yes, I think he’ll be here for minicamp,” Payton said. “I mean, it’s mandatory. When I’ve been asked about Courtland — and I’m going to say this — I just know his work ethic. I know the player. There’s a list of things that race through your mind this time in the offseason as a head coach. And respectfully when I say this to him, because he and I have talked, I think that will work itself out. I think he’ll be here, yes, but I don’t know that for sure.”
If Sutton skipped all three days of mandatory camp, he would be fined $101,716. Payton downplayed skipping the voluntary part of the offseason program and suggested that the fines have cut down on holdouts during mandatory parts of the offseason.
“Well look, it is what it is,” Payton said. “This was more of an issue before the [20]11 CBA. I’m going to date myself, but at training camps, it was very normal to have a player or two that wasn’t signed yet and even in the offseason programs. Then after ‘11, it wasn’t as much of an issue. I think guys staying away from OTAs — that can happen and one of our players will occasionally miss a day. It’s, ‘Let’s go.’ I mean, we’re training.
“Relative to the CBA, it’s been a minute, but yes — and don’t come away from this with, ‘He is threatening to fine [him].’ The mandatory part of the offseason is the minicamp, and then training camp is mandatory and there we go.”
A few days after Payton’s remarks, Sutton said during an interview with DNVR Sports on Thursday that he plans to report to minicamp next week.
3
Payton chimes in on the Bo Nix comparisons to Drew Brees
Bo Nix has been oft-compared to Drew Brees and Payton was asked Tuesday if there’s anything about the rookie quarterback that reminds him of Brees.
“Their personalities are different,” Payton said. “I’d say — all right, we’re looking for similarities — I would say mentally, [Nix] wants to know as much and as fast as he can. He’s the son of a coach. Drew wasn’t necessarily the son of a coach, but this group of quarterbacks in general are kind of like gym rats. They enjoy the process. It’s been a good room.
“When you talk to Davis [Webb] or Joe [Lombardi] or myself, these guys are doing well. They’re pushing each other. We were on this odd day where every day you came, Bo was running with the [No.] 1’s. Today I think it was Zach [Wilson]’s turn. You’ll see in minicamp. I think there’s maybe a maturity level because again, he’s played 61 games and when [the Saints] got Drew, it was off of his rookie contract and coming off an injury. He locates the ball well and he’s accurate and I think Drew was.”
Payton’s not forcing the comparison, but when asked to ponder it, there are some similarities. That doesn’t mean Nix is “the next Drew Brees,” but it certainly doesn’t hurt Nix’s outlook.
4
The offense's terminology was quite an adjustment for Jarrett Stidham
The offenses Jarrett Stidham played in before he arrived in Denver used significantly different terminologies from Payton’s scheme. The quarterback has picked it up, though, and Payton suggested all three QBs are getting things down quickly.
“When we got Jarrett, he came from — there’s about three strains of language in our league,” Payton said. “I’d say you have the West Coast strain, you’ve got the old digits system and then you have kind of what the Patriots have run, Ron Erhardt, Bill Belichick and [Bill] Parcells. So Jarrett had come from that strain, and I’d say there’s a pretty significant iPhone to Android adjustment there. Whereas in Zach’s case, there are a little bit more similarities relative to how things are called. Not all, but these guys picked that up pretty quickly.”
5
Zach Wilson seems to be falling behind in QB race
While things have been slow and steady for Nix and about what you’d expect from Stidham, Wilson might be falling behind in the QB competition. He practiced with the first-team offense on Tuesday and reporters on hand indicated that the QB is struggling with consistency.
Wilson certainly doesn’t seem to be the favorite to win the starting job, but the Broncos felt it was worth giving up a mere sixth-round pick in exchange for Wilson and a seventh-round pick in April.
“We just felt like, ‘Man, we’d love to work with this guy,’” Payton said. “It wasn’t too long ago we remembered grading him. [We] felt the investment was worth it relative to his skill set and his talent. So it took a while. We spent the better part of a month and a half working on that trade.”
It’s still early, and it’s possible that Wilson could bounce back, but Stidham and Nix appear to be ahead of him at the moment.
6
P.J. Locke has 'put himself in a good position'
After releasing Justin Simmons this offseason, the Broncos now have three safeties — Brandon Jones, Caden Sterns and P.J. Locke — competing for two starting jobs.
In today’s pass-happy NFL, there will be plenty of snaps left for the third-string safety, but Locke wants to start in 2024 instead of coming off the bench. Locke stepped up last year when Caden Sterns was injured and Kareem Jackson was suspended, and Payton likes what he’s seen from him this spring.
“Last season, I think he began to create that vision for himself, to his credit,” Payton said. “[He was] closer to the ball as a pressure player, also in coverage. [It is] great to see him out there healthy. I think he earned some of those snaps and the confidence level for him. He’s one of the players when I talk about, ‘You see confidence through demonstrated.’ He saw it and felt it and then we saw it. It’s pretty powerful.
“He’s smart and he’s tough. The first time I remember talking to him for a long time about his role was when we were on a plane to go to Justin [Simmons]’s father’s funeral and his grandmother’s funeral. P.J. Locke was on that plane, and we had a long conversation about that. Those are snaps he’s earned, and he’s put himself in a good position.”
7
Jaleel McLaughlin's work ethic has impressed Payton
As things stand now, Javonte Williams remains the Broncos’ starter and Samaje Perine is the team’s top pass-blocking back. Jaleel McLaughlin emerged as a change-of-pace back as a rookie last fall and he’s hungry for a larger role in 2024. The running back’s dedication has not gone unnoticed.
“You see him protecting the football and he is very disciplined as a change-of-pace route runner,” Payton said. “I know he wants to continue to work on his role in the passing game. He’ll come up and wear me out asking for cut ups and looking at certain routes. So, it’s one-to-two.
“But he’s here at 5:15 [a.m.], even in the offseason, [and is the] first one here running in the weight room. By the time he’s at breakfast and most people are arriving, he’s put in a good hour and a half’s worth of work. It’s just the way he’s wired, and it’s impressive.”
8
Baron Browning has gained confidence
After missing seven games due to injury last season, Baron Browning is now healthy entering his fourth season in the NFL. He has begun to emerge as a leader on Denver’s defense and has gotten more comfortable with his coach and his assignments.
“He and I have five conversations a day, and I don’t know if we had five the first half of last season because you’re trying to get to know everyone,” Payton said. “But he’s much further along. There is a confidence about him. He reminds me a little of an Ohio State player [the Saints] had, Will Smith. And I’m not saying that necessarily [because] they played the same position. His personality reminds me a lot of Will, the late Will Smith. They both played there. He’s in good shape. He’s been working hard, and I’ve gotten to know him and I enjoy coaching him.”
9
Payton continues to praise Lucas Krull
Lucas Krull seems to be one of the big winners of the spring for the Broncos. After previously praising Krull earlier in the offseason, Payton was asked about the tight end again on Tuesday.
“[He’s] a bigger target,” Payton said. “He has good vertical speed. He’s young, so we think there is room to grow. That was one of the reasons we signed him. So these camps benefit certain players — like I said the other day — a little bit more than others because you can get into your patterns and see some things. So he’s doing well.”
Krull will attempt to jump Greg Dulcich on the depth chart this summer while competing with Adam Trautman for snaps at tight end.
10
Sean Payton remembers late Cowboys guard Larry Allen
Pro Football Hall of Fame guard Larry Allen died at age 52 earlier this week. He overlapped with Payton in Dallas from 2003-2005. The coach was asked for his memories of the late lineman after Tuesday’s practice. You can read his complete response below.
“I was [in Dallas] three years, and then in my first year in New Orleans, [20]06, we lost the NFL Championship Game,” Payton said. “Back then, that was played after the Super Bowl, so I was the head coach of the NFC Pro Bowl [team]. So I had Larry even in the Pro Bowl. There was a funny story. He was a tremendous player and a tremendous person. He was very quiet, but he was smart. The first meeting you have at the Pro Bowl was in a ballroom. You have your whole team there, and there are probably 10 laundry bins of footballs that are going to be signed. They put them in the front row, and they just start going [around the room]. This is going to take an hour. They’re going to sponsors, whoever. Everyone is signing the balls, and I don’t know what Pro Bowl it was for Larry, but it was 10, 11, [or] 12. Our third-string quarterback at that Pro Bowl was Tony Romo. It was his first. He was not a rookie but he was young. Of course, I coached Tony in Dallas and I heard at the Pro Bowl — and this was over in Hawaii — if you could get someone’s room number, that was like gold. All the teams stayed at the same hotel with their families. Your incidentals can spike pretty quickly for a week. We are signing these balls and I said, ‘Tony, my son, Connor,’ — and Connor knew Tony of course from [Dallas] — I said, ‘My son, Connor, has made a picture for you and wants to bring it up to your room. What number are you in?’ He said, ‘1118.’ Larry Allen was signing balls and quietly looked at me. A day later, Tony had to check into another room. I would say aside from being a great player and a great person, he was smart. This league will miss him. I think it’s been said a number of times, the Hall of Fame is the greatest — that’s the top of the mountain. Bill [Parcells] and I would have these discussions and I would say, ‘Let’s pull a starting lineup from the Hall of Fame.’ I would say he would be unanimously the starting left guard. There aren’t many players you can say that about because the one thing about Larry was as broad as he was, he turned [one] way, he was that deep. That ability to punch a linebacker in a running play and watch this linebacker be lifted off their feet — he was a tremendous player.
“One last story because they really just honor him, Bill had a conditioning test at the start of training camp and we would run [three] three-hundreds. We would start at the goal line and group one would be the receivers, running backs and defensive backs. You go to the fifty and back then take a break. They’d go to the fifty and back and take a break — no, they were shuttles, excuse me. Fifty and back, fifty and back, fifty and back. We would do three of those three-hundred-yard shuttles. Then the second group would come and that would be the linebackers, tight ends and quarterbacks and they would have their times. They were a little bit slower. Fifty and back, fifty and back, fifty and back. Three-hundred yard shuttles then you would wait a minute. Finally the last group would be the offensive and defensive lines and they would run their shuttles. Around the third or second shuttle, Larry now was crossing the line when the group was starting. At that point, you know Larry was not going to make his times. Then maybe he didn’t finish. Bill was old school, so that meant Larry was going to be ‘PUP’ and on the bike for a few days and we’re running offense versus defense and we’re in pads. None of us coaches are going to tell Bill it’s time to get Larry back because we’re not running the ball well and he’s never going to have to run three-hundred yards ever.
“Day four, Bill would say, ‘Where are we at with Larry?’ Maurice Carthon sat right to his left and he knew that if we gave him, ‘Bill, let’s get him back in the fray. Let’s get going here with our offense,’ that there would be a bark back. We were going to take that bark back and he would be back the next day. All of a sudden, these running plays looked outstanding. That kind of came like the sun comes up in the east every day. Each training camp, Larry is going to be on ‘PUP.’ What day is he going to come back? Then all of a sudden, life is good with the offensive run game. He was magnificent. I can’t speak as a former player with him, but I can speak as an assistant on that side of the ball that he just had a grin, a smile and a work ethic. He loved playing, he was very genuine and he was tremendous as a player. I will always remember that grin that he had once in a while. When he got Romo’s room number, that was significant.”
