The Broncos might be on a short week, but they’re setting up the return of a couple of potentially key pieces Thursday night at New Orleans.
Denver opened the 21-day practice window for right tackle Mike McGlinchey (knee) and outside linebacker Baron Browning (foot) on Tuesday. Both are on injured reserve but have been designated to return and can do so at any point over the next three weeks. The team listed them as limited participants in practice.
The Broncos also have cornerback Damarri Mathis on injured reserve but back to practice.
The team created a pair of spots on its 53-man roster Tuesday by releasing inside linebacker Kristian Welch and waiving safety Tanner McCalister, meaning two of the three guys on injured reserve should neatly fit onto the roster against the Saints.
Head coach Sean Payton on Tuesday said the team modified practice somewhat so that a few players could get at least a little bit of contact work in despite it otherwise being essentially a walkthrough day.
“The different challenge is — you see how we’re dressed (for practice) — you’d like to be in shoulder pads and helmets,” he said. “We had a few guys that we put in shoulder pads and helmets on. So this day counted as a day that we were full because we had a few players that were full.
“It’s a little bit different.”
In addition to McGlinchey returning to practice, the Broncos also had Alex Palczewski (ankle) back to work, too, in a limited capacity Tuesday. He left a Week 5 win over Las Vegas with a high-ankle sprain and then missed Denver’s Week 6 loss to the Chargers.
Browning was off to a terrific start Week 1 and early Week 2 before he sustained his foot injury against Pittsburgh, but the Broncos’ pass rush has also mostly held up well without him. Palczewski played well in McGlinchey’s absence but then got hurt himself, so getting one or both back this week would be a good outcome for Denver.
Mathis injured his ankle in the final preseason game and started the season on injured reserve.
Ready or not. Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi on Tuesday reiterated a point Payton made recently about the way Thursday night games often go.
Play the hits, stick to the basics and do everything you can to get off to a fast start.
“These games are all about energy and execution more than scheme anyway,” Lombardi said. “Hopefully these guys come out with that mindset.”
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said most of what gets dialed up on these short weeks, “comes down to your system. It’s a system week. You don’t have time to dive into heavy game plans. Your installs one through four, your basic system has to win these games. The teams who overcome the ‘It’s Thursday, I’m tired and I’m sore,’ that’s who wins these games.
“But it won’t be schematic. It’s going to be a mindset to overcome the short week. Just lost a football game — they didn’t win on Sunday, either. So whoever can get back to a mindset of ‘Let’s play’ wins these games.”
Back on the horse. Payton said he turned to rookie quarterback Bo Nix at one point while the Broncos were down against the Chargers on Sunday — they trailed by as much as 23 points in the second half — and said, “This NFL thing now, it’s not like college.”
“In a lighthearted moment, I just said, ‘We don’t have any Such and Such University on our schedule,’” Payton continued. “Each week you can catch yourself right away.”
Nix and the Denver offense were shut out through three quarters and he completed just 4 of 14 passes over that span before racking up 189 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Denver cut a 23-0 deficit to 23-16.
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