The Denver Broncos official preparation for next season begins today as the team kicks off their first day of voluntary workouts. What does Phase One of the offseason program entail?
Denver Broncos begin first phase of offseason program
The NFL season will creep up sooner than we expect, and with Denver’s first game being 20 weeks away, the team’s official preparation for 2024 begins today.
Today marks the first day of Phase One of the NFL’s offseason program, which outlines that player attendance is voluntary.
For the first two weeks of the program, players will be able to participate in strength and conditioning sessions, team and position meetings, and physical rehabilitation for players who are recovering from injuries.
Players in the latter category will likely include Tim Patrick, Caden Sterns, Greg Dulcich, Delarrin Turner-Yell, and any other player who is going through the recovery process from any offseason surgeries or injuries from last year.
Right now, things are quiet on the Broncos front as the team continues to dive deeper into their draft meetings and work to assemble their big board ahead of next week’s NFL Draft.
Quarterback is the widespread talk surrounding the team ahead of next week’s big event, but Jarrett Stidham was, in fact, in attendance on the first day of the team’s voluntary OTAs.
He’ll be involved in a competition in July regardless of what the Broncos decide to do in the NFL Draft, but his being in attendance makes perfect sense as he looks to get as much work in as possible in the weight room and in team meetings.
Earlier in the year, the NFLPA released their report cards, which were surveyed by rostered players. The Broncos weight room received a B grade, while the strength coaches received a C grade by the players.
One of the factors in the grading criteria suggested that 80% of players felt like they had an individualized training plan but also felt that the strength coaches moderately contributed to their success.
It will be interesting to see if any changes become implemented throughout OTAs going forward.
Phase One has officially begun, but here is a look ahead at what’s to come in Phases Two and Three.
Phase Two: The next three weeks of the program can feature on-field workouts that may only include individual or group instruction, as well as drills. Offensive players can line up in front of defensive players in these drills, but no live contact or team offense vs team defense can occur. Everything in this phase is conducted at a walk-through pace.
Phase Three: The final four weeks of the voluntary off-season program. Teams can conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity or “OTAs”. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.
