ENGLEWOOD, Colorado — The Broncos’ expectations have not changed.
In March, Denver’s leadership spoke at length at the NFL’s annual meeting about their expectations for participation in 2024. During the Broncos’ quarterback competition, head coach Sean Payton made it clear that Denver would start the quarterback who gave them the best chance to win in Week 1.
And as the Broncos drafted their first 53-man roster on Tuesday, Denver again made decisions that would help the team win in Seattle on Sept. 8. Even as Denver builds its roster for the future, the team remains focused on winning football games in 2024.
“Our expectations haven’t changed,” general manager George Paton said Tuesday. “It’s day-to-day and we’re just trying to get better every day. We’ve been really encouraged by what we’ve seen during training camp and the preseason.”
And while Paton acknowledged that the Broncos are “young and hungry” – as Payton has said many times this offseason – he said the Broncos also value combining the right experienced players with a young core.
“We have experience in a lot of areas when you look at (T Mike) McGlinchey, (T Garett) Bolles, (ILB Alex) Singleton, (DT) DJ Jones and (DE) Zach Allen,” Paton said. “We’re trying to win. This 53-man roster gives us the best chance to win. The practice squad will be an extension of the 53-man roster.”
“That’s what we’re going through right now, and these guys are going to help us win. We’re all about winning. It’s not like basketball where you have two or three years. We’re just trying to put together the best roster for Seattle.”
The Broncos’ vision led to difficult decisions – including releasing veteran wide receiver Tim Patrick and running back Samaje Perine – but it should also give Denver’s young players a chance to flourish.
“On behalf of everyone in our organization, we can’t say enough good things about the type of player and person Tim has been with the Broncos over the last seven seasons,” Paton said. “We have a lot of respect for Tim, his resilience, his work ethic and his perseverance over the last two years and for coming back from injury and playing the way he did. We wish him nothing but the very best.”
“There were a number of things that contributed to that. We’re very happy with our depth at receiver and we’re happy with the depth at other positions on our team. We wanted to keep some other players at other positions. Special teams come into play. Of course, there’s the new element of kickoff and kickoff return. There’s going to be over 200 more plays. So it wasn’t just one thing. Tim did a lot of really good things. We wish him the best and we’re going to miss him.”
