Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Tom Compton is officially back on the 53-man roster. View the full recap of the team’s moves below.
The Denver Broncos brought in two players for tryouts — including long snapper Tucker Addington — and made five roster moves on Tuesday.
Here’s a quick recap of the team’s transactions going into Wednesday’s first practice of the week leading up to the Las Vegas Raiders game.
One candidate to help replace Billy Turner is Tom Compton, who might return this week.
Denver Broncos right tackle Billy Turner is “week-to-week” with a knee injury, coach Nathaniel Hackett announced Friday.
Turner was expected to become the Broncos’ starting right tackle when they signed him this offseason, but his recovery from a lingering knee injury sidelined him for the first five weeks of the season.
When Turner was sidelined earlier this year, the Broncos started Cam Fleming in his place. Turner won the starting job once he was cleared to play, then Fleming was moved over to left tackle when Garett Bolles went down with a season-ending broken leg.
Fleming is currently sidelined with a quad injury so Calvin Anderson started in his place against the Tennessee Titans. When Turner left Sunday’s game with a knee injury, practice squad call-up Quinn Bailey was thrust into right tackle duties, giving the team third-choice options at both tackle spots.
Denver is also down to its third-choice option at center after losing Lloyd Cushenberry (groin) and Graham Glasgow (shoulder) to injuries. Right now, the only regular starters remaining on the offensive line are Dalton Risner and Quinn Meinerz, the team’s two guards.
It remains to be seen how the Broncos will replace Turner at right tackle. If Fleming returns from his injury, he could start at one of the tackle spots with Anderson across from him. If Fleming is going to miss more time, Bailey would be in line to start this week.
Denver also still has Tom Compton, who has been on the reserve/physically unable to perform list all season with a back injury. Compton was designated to return two and a half weeks ago. If he is not elevated to the 53-man roster within three weeks (by Wednesday), he will have to spend the rest of the season on reserve.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Broncos activate Compton this week even if he isn’t quite ready to play. The team is running out of options on the offensive line and they can’t afford to miss Compton’s window for a potential return this season.
Once healthy, Compton will be a candidate to start at right tackle.
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#Broncos OL Tom Compton (back) is expected to start the season on the PUP list, ruling him out for at least four games.
Denver Broncos offensive lineman Tom Compton (back) won’t be on the team’s initial 53-man roster as the team plans to leave him on the physically unable to perform list to begin the regular season.
“He’s going to start on the PUP,” coach Nathaniel Hackett said Monday. “He’s continually working through his back. It’s another guy that we’re so lucky that we’re going to be able to have him later on in the season. He brings so much veteran presence and he’s great in the meeting rooms with all those guys, so we just have to be sure we get him back the right way.”
Compton will transition from the active/PUP list to the reserve/PUP list once the regular season begins. He will be required to sit out at least the first four games of the season. After that, Compton will have a five-week window to return to practice. Once he returns to practice, Denver will have a 21-day window to active him to the 53-man roster.
If Compton is not activated within three weeks after returning to practice, he will spend the entire 2022 season on reserve. It sounds like the Broncos expect him to return, though, and he’ll provide valuable depth at both tackle and guard this season.
Elsewhere on the injury front, Hackett said cornerback Michael Ojemudia (elbow) will not need surgery. Ojemudia is still expected to be sidelined for several weeks, though, giving him an uncertain status for Week 1.
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Broncos OL Tom Compton (back) will be placed on the PUP list. Denver’s also without OL Billy Turner (knee) to begin training camp.
After opting to let Bobby Massie walk during free agency, the Denver Broncos re-signed Calvin Anderson and brought in veterans Billy Turner and Tom Compton. The trio of tackles were set to compete for the right tackle job at training camp, but Anderson is now the last man standing.
The Broncos placed Turner (knee) on the physically unable to perform list on Tuesday, then Compton (back) was held out of practice on Wednesday.
“He had a back procedure, so he’s going to be out for a little bit and he’s going to be put on PUP,” coach Nathaniel Hackett said after practice.
Compton did not appear on the NFL’s transaction wire on Wednesday, so he will presumably officially go on the PUP list tomorrow.
“It’s something that has come up in the past and we wanted to make sure we took care of it as soon as we could,” Hackett said of Compton’s injury.
Hackett said Compton will be out “for a little bit,” but he wasn’t willing to give a timeline for when Turner will return.
“We are just playing that whole thing by ear,” the coach said. “We just want to be sure that we work him in the right way. Billy is so great with his body. [He] understands it. We just communicate. We have been together for a while, and I know what he’s all about. We will get him in at the right time.”
With Turner and Compton both sidelined, Denver brought back Cam Fleming on a one-year contract.
“We always try to have 15 healthy bodies at that position,” Hackett said. “That’s why there are always three groups to go, especially with the preseason game. I think that’s just one of those things that because of that, we want to be sure we have good depth there.”
Until Turner and/or Compton return, Anderson will be the front runner at right tackle.
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“We feel really good about this team,” Broncos GM George Paton said.
The Denver Broncos took to the practice field for Day 1 of training camp on Wednesday. Following the arrival of a new coaching staff and a new star quarterback in Russell Wilson, expectations are high in Denver.
“We know expectations are higher than they’ve ever been here,” general manager George Paton said during his pre-camp press conference on Tuesday. “We’re not blind to that. We embrace expectations, but we have a long way to go. We haven’t won here in five, six years.
“We won seven games last year. We’re 0-0 now. The work starts now, [and there’s] a lot of work to be done. I know we’re going to embrace the process, and I look forward to the journey with Coach [Nathaniel] Hackett, with this team, and everyone involved.”
Here are five quick notes on the Broncos following the first day of practice at the team’s UCHealth Training Center in Englewood.
The Broncos did not draft a right tackle, but they have capable in-house options for at least the 2022 season.
The Denver Broncos selected nine players in the 2022 NFL draft and they filled several key positions of need, but they did not add a new right tackle.
Denver did not set out to avoid the position going into the draft — their board just didn’t have a tackle fall to them at an opportune time.
“We wanted to add depth to a number of positions,” general manager George Paton said on Saturday evening. “It just didn’t fall at those two positions [OT and LB]. It fell at nine others. You can’t fill them all.
“We had nine picks is what we finished with. We like the players we have — like I said, we feel like we helped our depth.”
Paton also noted that the team would add more tackle depth through undrafted free agent signings (they went on to sign Sebastian Gutierrez and Michael Niese, who both have experience at tackle).
Those two UDFAs will improve the team’s depth but neither of them will be asked to start as a rookie. So what is the Broncos’ plan at right tackle?
Billy Turner, who spent the last three years playing under coach Nathaniel Hackett in Green Bay, has plenty of starting experience and he is the presumed favorite to start this fall. Even if Denver had drafted a tackle, Turner still might have been the most likely starter in 2022.
The Broncos also signed veteran Tom Compton this offseason and backup swing tackle Calvin Anderson has proven capable of stepping in when needed. Quinn Bailey will provide additional depth as well.
Denver will likely go into training camp saying there’s a “competition” at right tackle, but Turner’s the clear favorite and while he might not be a long-term answer at the position, he’s a suitable option for at least this fall and the Broncos will have adequate depth behind him in Anderson and Compton.
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As the roster stands now, Tom Compton would presumably get a chance to compete with Calvin Anderson for the Broncos’ right tackle job.
The Denver Broncos are going to sign offensive lineman Tom Compton to a one-year contract, Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post reported Wednesday.
Compton (6-6, 315 pounds) is a journeyman offensive lineman who has spent time with six NFL teams, playing as a left guard, right guard and tight tackle. He most recently played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2020-2021.
Compton, 32, entered the league as a sixth-round pick out of South Dakota with the Washington Football Team in 2012. He spent the first four years of his career in Washington before going on to play for the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets before joining the 49ers two years ago.
Compton has started 44 games in his career, including seven games in San Francisco last season. He was penalized twice and allowed five sacks with the 49ers in 2021.
Compton’s only season in the NFL as a full-time starter came with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018. He was penalized six times and allowed six sacks in 14 starts that year.
As the roster stands now, Compton would presumably be given an opportunity to compete with Calvin Anderson for the starting right tackle job. Denver will also likely consider adding a tackle in the NFL draft.
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The San Francisco 49ers have re-signed offensive lineman Tom Compton to a one-year deal, adding some added depth on the line’s interior.
The San Francisco 49ers announced that the team re-signed interior offensive lineman Tom Compton to a one-year deal. Compton appeared in seven games and started three games for the team in 2020.
Originally drafted by the Washington Football Team in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft, Compton has carved out a long career as a versatile blocker across the offensive line. Over his ten-season career, Compton has appeared in 106 games (37 starts), primarily at guard. While the 49ers have several young players set to compete for playing time at right guard, Compton will likely join that competition and serve as a primary backup if he makes next season’s roster.
The San Francisco 49ers depth chart has a couple question marks at center and right guard heading into Week 1 of the regular season.
The starting right guard spot was one of the biggest question marks for the 49ers heading into camp. With less than two weeks until the regular-season opener though, their questions are further from being answered than they were when training camp kicked off.
Center Ben Garland, who was starting in place of Weston Richburg while he works through a knee injury he suffered late last season, hurt his ankle in camp – leaving his status uncertain for Week 1. That leaves two spots open on the offensive front, and each of the players competing at right guard are also competing at center.
The result is a mix-and-match situation that Kyle Shanahan still hasn’t sifted through yet to make a decision. He told reporters following Wednesday’s practice that he’s still figuring out the best combination of players on the interior.
“We don’t know the health of Garland yet, how he’s going to be next week and how that’s going to go for both the positions. So, it’s kind of a nice situation for me because we know that we had a competition to see who is our starting right guard,” Shanahan said. “And it’s kind of been hard to have a true just starting competition at right guard when both of those guys have got to be playing center and the possibility of starting at center and what gives you your best combination for Week 1. So, all that’s going into play, which makes it to where I wouldn’t want to give you the answer, but I truly don’t know the answer anyways because of the situation. I know Garland is not going to be trying to come back until next week and we’re going to have to play that out, see how it goes and see what the best line up is.”
Tom Compton and Daniel Brunskill were rotating in at right guard when Garland was healthy, and now one will play right guard and the other will play center if Garland can’t go.
One issue that arises is whether one is better at both spots. The 49ers would then have to decide whether they wanted to have four starters and a reserve center, or a better reserve center, but a worse starting right guard who goes to the bench once Garland returns.
It’s not a good problem, but the 49ers are well-equipped to handle it thanks to a host of versatile interior offensive linemen. The bigger key will be whether they can be healthy for the playoff push late in the year with an entire starting offensive line intact. For now, it remains a question, and the team’s early success could rely heavily on how well they’re able to find the right solution.
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The Jets have signed veteran offensive lineman Josh Andrews.
Joe Douglas continued to beef up the Jets offensive line on Saturday.
According to his agent, Brett Tessler, Josh Andrews is signing with New York. The veteran guard has spent time with the Eagles, Vikings and Colts.
The 28-year old Andrews spent the first three years of his career with Philadelphia. Joe Douglas was there when Philadelphia brought him in as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon State in 2014. Andrews appeared in a total of 16 games in 2015 and 2016 after spending the 2014 season on the practice squad.
After the 2017 season, Andrews signed with the Vikings but was placed on injured reserve in September and was later released. A few weeks later, Andrews had a second stint with the Eagles on their practice squad. In November 2018, Andrews was signed by the Colts and played in nine total games in just under two seasons in Indianapolis.
Andrews is a depth signing for the Jets after the lost fellow backup Tom Compton in free agency.
