Tag: minicamp

Quick recap of Broncos’ offseason highlights so far

It’s safe to say the Broncos had a pretty good offseason.

The Denver Broncos didn’t have official on-field organized team activities or a minicamp this spring because of COVID-19 but quarterback Drew Lock did organize some unofficial practices at a Denver area park.

Lock showed great leadership in organizing those practices which should help players transition into training camp smoothly.

The Broncos’ front office surrounded Lock with talent this offseason, drafting wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler after signing running back Melvin Gordon during free agency. Lock’s supporting cast will now include three Pro Bowlers, a promising tight end in Noah Fant and a revamped offensive line.

Denver made changes on defense, too.

Broncos general manager John Elway acquired cornerback A.J. Bouye and defensive end Jurrell Casey through trades, adding them to a defense that ranked 10th in points allowed last season (19.8 per game).

Denver should be relatively healthy going into training camp. Third-year outside linebacker Bradley Chubb (ACL) hasn’t fully recovered yet but he’s making good progress and hasn’t had any setbacks. The big injury status to watch will be that of cornerback Bryce Callahan (foot).

If he’s healthy, Callahan might start across from Bouye as the team’s No. 2 cornerback (it’s uncertain if he will play on the outside or in the slot). Cornerback will be one of the team’s most intriguing positions to watch this offseason after the club lost Chris Harris during free agency.

The Broncos’ wide receiver battle will be another competition to watch as the team has 13 players fighting for six spots on the 53-man roster.

After going 7-9 last season (4-1 with Lock starting), Denver will aim to return to the playoffs this year for the first time since 2015. Broncos coach Vic Fangio will be entering his second year in charge and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will be entering his first season in Denver.

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Report: Broncos won’t have a minicamp this offseason

NFL teams will not have minicamps this year.

The Denver Broncos’ in-person organized team activities were canceled this spring due to COVID-19 and replaced by a virtual offseason program. The team’s scheduled June minicamp has now been canceled as well.

“The NFL has notified teams the virtual period for offseason work will be extended through June 26, but there will be no in-person minicamps this month, per sources,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted on Thursday. “Expected, and now official.”

For teams that have wrapped up their virtual offseason programs, players will now have off for the summer until reporting back for the start of training camp in late July. As of now, the Broncos are still expected to have players report for training camp on time on Tuesday, July 28.

Because of the coronavirus, Denver players have not yet gotten any on-field work in with the Broncos’ coaching staff this offseason. Thanks to quarterback Drew Lock, the players have had multiple unofficial practices at a Denver-area park.

Those practices should help players have less catching up to do when the team reports to the UCHealth Training Center for camp next month.

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Broncos veterans complete virtual offseason program

Broncos veterans have wrapped up their virtual offseason program.

Denver Broncos veterans wrapped up their virtual offseason program on Thursday, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. Because the Broncos will not have a minicamp this month, veterans now have off until reporting back to the team’s facility for the start of training camp on July 28.

Denver rookies still have another week of virtual meetings.

Broncos players have not had any on-field work with coaches this offseason because COVID-19 forced the NFL to move organized team activities and minicamps online. All NFL teams will have their virtual offseason programs wrapped up by the end of the month.

Denver’s first preseason game is scheduled for Aug. 15, two and a half weeks after players report for training camp. The NFL is considering shortening the preseason but as of now, the Broncos’ schedule is set.

Denver is scheduled to face the Tennessee Titans on “Monday Night Football” on ESPN on Sept. 14, one month after the start of preseason.

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Broncos expected to begin training camp on July 28

The Broncos are expected to begin training camp in late July.

The Denver Broncos are not expected to hold a minicamp this summer due to COVID-19 but the team is still expected to start training camp on time.

The Broncos — and 29 other teams — are expected to have their players report for training camp on July 28. Under terms of the league’s new collective bargaining agreement with players, teams will report to camp 47 or 48 days before the start of the regular season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The two teams that won’t report on July 28 — the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans — will report on July 25, which is 47 days ahead of their season-opening clash on Thursday, Sept. 10. The rest of the league will play their first games on Sunday, Sept. 13 or Monday, Sept. 14.

Denver will host the Tennesee Titans on “Monday Night Football” in Week 1, which means Broncos players will be reporting to camp 48 days before their first game. The NFL has not yet said if fans will be permitted to attend training camp practices but it seems likely that teams will practice behind closed doors this summer.

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Cowboys, NFL players closer to returning, but protocol questions remain

The league is telling teams to gear up for the players’ return, which could come for certain individuals by the end of June.

Little by little, life is trying to get back to its pre-COVID state. NFL coaches were allowed back into team offices last week. Their players may not be too far behind.

The league on Monday sent out detailed protocols that explain how 2,000-plus players on 32 teams will go about returning to a workplace where social distancing is impossible. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, no dates have been set, but indications are that certain players may be permitted back inside their club’s facilities before the end of the month.

In a subsequent tweet, Pelissero pointed out the following highlights from the new league protocols:

Locker rooms are to be reconfigured to permit people being six feet apart.

Meetings must be conducted virtually when possible.

Helmets, shoulder pads, and similar pieces of gear are to be disinfected after each game.

Masks will be required except when interfering with “athletic activities.”

It’s an encouraging sign for an on-time kickoff to the 2020 season, though some support remains for a delayed October start. Of course, the season itself will be unusual for many reasons, not the least of which is the likelihood of stadiums at half capacity on gameday. That is a key precaution to be implemented in hopes of preventing a resurgence of the coronavirus. But despite the league’s medical protocols for teams, coaches, and players, there is still a monumental question looming.

How (and how often) players will be tested and what happens if a test comes back positive are still issues to be resolved. But the league is asking everyone to maintain their current practices in the meantime.

Pelissero notes- and SI‘s Peter King has a source who agrees- that team minicamps are not expected to happen, “but the NFL and NFLPA are discussing the possibility of certain players — such as rookies, and veterans who changed teams and need physicals — returning to club facilities on a limited basis before June 26, per sources.”

King gives more detail on the possible timing of players reporting in his MMQB column:

“The new CBA dictates that teams can report 47 days before their first regular season game (a change from the old 14-day rule), meaning the report date for most teams would be July 28. Meanwhile, the joint committee on health and safety is recommending an acclimation period before camp, given the lack of football activity these guys have had, of at least a week or two (and up to three). The good news is, the new CBA builds in a five-day acclimation period. The bad news is players may need more than that under these unique circumstances. So the league has floated the idea of an earlier report date closer to the middle of July, to give players a better chance to get their feet underneath them.”

It’s a fluid situation, and there are still plenty of details to be ironed out. But we are getting closer to football.

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Broncos players might not report to facility until training camp

Broncos players might not report to the team’s facility until training camp in late July.

NFL coaches were allowed to return to facilities last week but players might not report for minicamp this year due to COVID-19.

As of now, Broncos coach Vic Fangio is not expecting players to report to UCHealth Training Center until late July for training camp.

“Right now, we won’t be on the field until training camp,” Fangio said on June 2. “If that changes between now and then, then we will adjust. So our meetings will continue to be virtual. We won’t be behind any more than anyone else is. It’d be different if half the teams were shut down and half weren’t.

“It’s even-steven, and luckily me and a bunch of the other coaches have had experience with the lockout in 2011. From a football standpoint, it’s very similar to that. I’m not too worked up or worried about where we’re at verses where we could be. It so happens that in 2011 I was with the Niners then and we were a totally new staff where everything was new. We hadn’t even met our players and we didn’t meet our players until training camp started, and we did fine that year. I don’t see it as a big issue.”

Following the lockout, San Franciso went 13-3 in the regular season and advanced all the way to the NFC Championship Game in the playoffs. The 49ers then lost to the Giants, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

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Report: NFL teams might hold minicamps in June

NFL teams could potentially hold minicamps in June, according to a new report.

NFL teams had to modify in-person organized team activities this spring, replacing them with online meetings and workouts due to COVID-19.

Teams have been slowly re-opening their headquarters, though, and there’s a new report that head coaches might return to facilities as early as next week.

“If coaches resume their in-house work next week, minicamps including players could be scheduled as early as June 15 or as late as June 27,” according to a report from Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports.

That sounds like a promising step toward NFL teams being able to hold training camps on time in late July but NFLPA president JC Tretter poured some cold water on Robinson’s reporting.

“There is a hard stop date for our offseason program on June 26th,” Tretter tweeted Robinson on Tuesday. “Your source not knowing that and saying June 27th is an option to return should show everyone that this source’s info is questionable.”

The Broncos are still hoping to start training camp on time and the NFL has said that it is aiming to start the regular season on time as well.

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NFLPA president says players haven’t agreed to a re-opening plan

NFL players have not yet agreed to return to team facilities.

NFL teams have started re-opening their facilities but players have not yet agreed to return to training amid COVID-19, NFL Players Association president JC Tretter tweeted on Tuesday.

“Players: our union has not agreed to any reopening plan,” Tretter wrote on his Twitter page, @JCTretter. “Any reports about coming back to work are hypothetical. You will hear from the NFLPA when there are new developments.”

Tretter is the Browns’ starting center. He was voted the NFLPA’s new president in March.

The Broncos have started slowly re-opening their facilities but only players rehabbing from injuries are allowed at the training facility. There have been reports that NFL teams might hold minicamps in mid-June.

Denver is hoping to start training camp on time in late July. The Broncos’ first preseason game has been scheduled for Aug. 15 and their regular-season opener is set to take place on Sept. 14. View the team’s full schedule here.

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NFL coaches could begin to return to team facilities soon as next week

NFL coaches could begin to return to team facilities as soon as next week amidst the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the nation.

NFL facilities around the country have begun to slowly open their doors, must it’s been mostly operational staff who have been allowed to return. A new report now indicates that head coaches could also be allowed back inside the buildings as soon as next week.

“The sources told Yahoo Sports that if coaches resume their in-house work next week, minicamps including players could be scheduled as early as June 15 or as late as June 27, depending on COVID-19 data and whether a handful of franchises get a “go ahead” signal from state governments to resume full operations,” writes Yahoo Sports columnist, Charles Robinson.

Robinson notes that California Governor Gavin Newsom’s actions could be the “key hurdle” to teams opening up around the nation.

“If California is open for [team] operations soon, minicamps can still happen in June – probably late June, I’d think – but maybe even mid-June,” Robinson continues, citing yet another league source.

But with COVID-19 cases around the country starting to climb once again, the NFL may be hesitant to resume full operations too quickly.

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What are Broncos players missing with no OTAs?

Broncos players aren’t getting a traditional offseason experience with no OTAs.

In a normal offseason, the Broncos would hold organized team activities (OTAs) around this time of year, complete with in-person meetings and light on-field practices to prepare players for going full-speed in training camp.

In an offseason impacted by COVID-19, Denver has turned to a virtual offseason program, with meetings and workouts held online. With no OTAs, Broncos players are missing out on hearing and visualizing plays in the huddle and running through their routes.

“You miss the huddle calls,” wide receiver Courtland Sutton said on May 14. “You miss being able to hear Drew [Lock] call out a play in the huddle, us break the huddle and lining up and ready to play. That’s something that’s so underrated. I think people see us at games and it looks so smooth, but that’s over time of practice before you even get to camp. When you start adding this time into is, the OTAs that we’re not getting, those reps that we’re not getting, those are reps that are quality.”

Sutton said one of Denver’s coaches estimated that the team ran through 300 plays during OTAs last spring.

“That’s 300 reps that you don’t have right now, that we don’t get in terms of getting in the huddle, hearing the whole play call, lining up and going and running whether that’s verses the defense or not,” Sutton said. “Being able to do that part as an offense is so huge.”

It’s unfortunate that Broncos players are missing out on those reps but the good news is that every team in the league is going through the same situation. Denver shouldn’t be more behind than any other team.

Sutton believes that when the Broncos are able to get back on the field, it won’t take too long to make up for the OTAs that were missed.

“It does set you back, but I have faith in the coaches and preparing every room,” Sutton said. “I have faith that we as players have taken every opportunity we can with this and running with it so that when we do get a chance to get on the field it’s not going to be something that could take a whole week to get people acclimated to it.

“It would be a couple days because you have such good teachers in terms of the coaches and the vets in each room.”

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