One of the hopes for practice going into the fourth day of Denver Broncos training camp was that the offense could find a way to respond and bring more energy on Saturday after a lackluster showing during Friday’s practice. The offense did just that as Sean Payton and the team continued to ramp things up ahead of Monday’s first padded practice.
Denver Broncos offense responds on Day 4 of training camp
Bo Nix ran with the second-team Broncos offense on Saturday’s Back Together Weekend and found a way to settle in and establish rhythm after he threw an interception.
During the Broncos first team period of the day, Nix looked to connect with Greg Dulcich down the sideline, but veteran cornerback Levi Wallace read the play perfectly and jumped up to snag it. Nix’s interception was the first one thrown by any of the team’s three quarterbacks during training camp.
So, how did the rookie respond? He shook off the interception and responded by throwing three touchdowns on the afternoon. The first one came in the Broncos’ second team period of the day, finding Javonte Williams with a perfectly placed toss high and to the outside, leading him in stride with Thomas Incoom trailing in coverage. The touchdown throw by Nix was set up by catches from Marvin Mims and David Sills in the period.
In the third and final team period, Nix connected on a pass to Brandon Johnson on first down. On the second play, Nix looked to connect with Tim Patrick in the endzone, but it fell incomplete. Nix delivered a strike to Dulcich in the back corner of the endzone on a well-timed, well-placed throw. For his fourth and final rep of the day, he connected with Samaje Perine out of the backfield on a dump off for another touchdown.
One thing #Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix has done well since OTAs and into camp is trusting in his ability to read the D pre snap, diagnose after the snap and fire the ball without hesitation. That will help him and the O over time @MileHighSports pic.twitter.com/nTJkfOg1NO
— Cody Roark (@CodyRoarkNFL) July 27, 2024
Jarrett Stidham received the first-team reps on the afternoon, but the unit didn’t score a touchdown on the day except in 7-on-7 when he found Courtland Sutton for a score. Stidham did, however, have several well-placed throws on the day that led to some completions.
In the first team period, Stidham had a great pass to Tim Patrick for a 15-yard gain, with the veteran wide receiver getting both feet in on the sideline. That was the only passing attempt for him that period. During the second team period of the day, Stidham connected with Dulcich underneath with pressure getting to him from Baron Browning and Zach Allen. He’d go on to connect with Brandon Johnson for a six-yard gain, and Patrick once again made an athletic grab with one hand to corral it in on the sideline.
Once the first-team offense and Stidham got into the red zone, they couldn’t quite punch it in. Stidham found Lil’Jordan Humphrey for a six or seven-yard gain on the first play of the final team period, with his second passing attempt in the endzone to Lucas Krull falling incomplete due to safety Devon Key breaking it up. It appeared as if he was sacked on the third play, with a swarm of orange around the pocket. His final pass attempt of the day was a quick dump off to Humphrey again for a short gain. Overall, Stidham had a steady day at the position and didn’t shy away from taking some chances on the afternoon.
Zach Wilson had some good looks on the afternoon with the third-team offense. He found Marvin Mims in the final red zone period for a touchdown while connecting with David Sills in two separate team periods for short gains. On one play, Wilson would have been sacked on a blitz from defensive back Keidron Smith. The former first-round draft selection used his legs on several plays to scramble out of pressure or extend plays.
Following practice, Broncos head coach Sean Payton said that he expects the rotation at quarterback to change a bit going into next week as the pads come on, which could mean more of a focus by him on Stidham and Nix, who have been the leaders at the position from a play standpoint.
Broncos news and notes from Day 4 of camp
The Denver Broncos received some clarity on the hamstring injury impacted safety Brandon Jones. According to Payton, Jones will miss the next two weeks as he goes through the recovery process after suffering the injury early on during camp. In his absence, JL Skinner, Devon Key, and Tanner McCalister continued to get team reps alongside P.J. Locke.
The safety position did receive some good news, however, as Caden Sterns passed his physical and was back on the field in a jersey and helmet. He participated in team stretch and individual drills but was held out of team drills as Payton and the Broncos exercise caution and safety by bringing him back slowly after his recovery from a torn patellar tendon. His return is a welcome sight.
Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto made his return to practice on Saturday after missing the last couple of practices with an undisclosed injury that kept him on the team’s side field to start camp.
Players who worked on the side field during Saturday’s practice included running back Blake Watson (leg), linebacker Drew Sanders (Achilles), offensive guard Nick Gargiulo, and safety Delarrin Turner-Yell (knee).
The Denver Broncos will be off on Sunday but will be back on Monday for the first day of pads.