[ad_1]
There are nine rookies against zero 10-year vets. The kicker and punter are senior members of the Broncos’ roster.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — All those kids at the back end of the Broncos’ roster have created the feel of youth.
There are — gulp! — nine rookies on the Broncos’ active roster and zero 10-year veterans. Broncos with the most NFL experience are kicker Wil Lutz and punter Riley Dixon, each with nine years.
And the kicker and punter shall lead them!
Among regular position players, the seniors are left tackle Garett Bolles and defensive tackle D.J. Jones. They were drafted in 2017.
Youth is often intrinsically linked with the term rebuilding. Outsiders who have low expectations of the Broncos point to how the team took a $53 million dead cap hit from Russell Wilson’s release this year, and not $35 million, as was an option. Take the lumps this year. Build for better days ahead.
“Yeah, I’d definitely say it’s rebuilding but as far as losing a lot of games rebuilding, I wouldn’t say that,’’ said running back Javonte Williams, who is in his fourth year. “Hopefully, like coach is preaching, we can start out strong. I know we’re young but we’ve got a lot of people that are hungry and ready to get out there, so if we just start fast I feel like we’ll be all right.”
In all there are 22 players on the Broncos’ roster who were rookies last year or younger.
“No,’’ said inside linebacker Alex Singleton with an incredulous laugh at the thought. “We’ve got to win football games. No, we’re trying to win, trying to win now. If a player or coach or anyone stood up here and told ya we were rebuilding, they’d probably be full of (bleep). That would suck. I’m 30. I would be very disappointed.”
The team and its youthful core is centered around quarterback Bo Nix. He’s a rookie, a first-round draft pick who beat out two veterans, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson, for the starting quarterback job.
Nix’s first two starts will be Sept. 8 at Seattle and home Sept. 15 against Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Get your popcorn.
“I’m never one to make predictions at the start of the season,’’ said head coach Sean Payton. “Playing well early, I’ve talked about that. What does that mean? We can’t get off to the start we did a year ago (0-3 and 1-5) and dig ourselves in a hole. I think that’s important. …
“I never in a team meeting talk about what our record should be. I discuss things like the division. I discuss things like playoffs, what it takes. I discuss things like the opponents.
“We’ll look at the first quarter-pole of the schedule and then really focus in on Seattle. I’m excited and look, I’m excited to see how we stack up.’’
[ad_2]
Source link
