The Denver Broncos will have plenty of bodies on the field when they hold a rookie minicamp next week.
In addition to the five members of their draft class and 16 undrafted free agent signees, the Broncos are also inviting at least 12 rookies on a tryout basis as well as several veteran players.
“There’ll be some tryout players at that camp,” coach Sean Payton said after the NFL draft last week. “There’ll be some veteran tryout players. Let’s call it four different groups of players: draft picks, signed free agents, tryout free agents and veteran tryouts.”
Undrafted players often face long odds to make the 53-man roster, and tryout players face an even tougher uphill battle. But once they get an opportunity, any player can stand out and impress Denver’s coaching staff.
“[O]nce they’re sitting in that meeting room, how they arrived is of no importance to us at that point,” Payton said. “We’re playing the best players. … I think it’s important for every one of them. They’ll all have a piece of tape on the front of their helmet with their last name, and we’re just going to go by what we see.”
So far, we know the names of two veterans — running back Jacques Patrick and outside linebacker Trent Harris, who were standout players in the XFL this spring. More names will likely be added to the list in the coming days.
The Broncos are expected to hold rookie minicamp from May 12-15.
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