Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Drew Sanders CARTED OFF at Denver Broncos Training Camp

Starting point is 00:00:00 Mindbacker Drew Sanders was carted off the field at Denver Broncos training camp on Saturday. We'll have that and much more coming up on today's bonus episode, Locked on Broncos. You are locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Injuries are the most unfortunate reality when it comes to any NFL training camp out there. And unfortunately, the Denver Broncos are not exempt. Sanders. The third year linebacker out of Arkansas was carted off the field with a leg injury. At this point in time, he's going to have an MRI. So we don't know exactly the nature of the injury.

Starting point is 00:00:47 But Denver Broncos head coach, Sean Payton did offer after practice that it is not the Achilles injury being resurfaced, I suppose, after what happened last year where Sanders missed a bunch of time after an offseason injury. Broncos country hate to have to bring you these kind of updates, but we'll tell you about what happened with Drew Sanders, maybe some of the fallout of that as well as everything else that went down at Saturdays Denver Broncos training camp practice. Welcome into the show. My name is Sarah Beninger.

Starting point is 00:01:15 I'm the co-host here of Lockdown Broncos as well as the site expert at predominantly orange.com. We appreciate every single one of you for tuning in every single day, making us your first listen of the day or tuning in on the weekends for some bonus content. Today's episode is brought to you by our friends at game time. download the game time app, create an account, and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Let's talk about Drew Sanders. Obviously, injuries have been an unfortunate reality for him to face. Basically, since coming into the league, it feels like he's really struggled to get on the field, to stay on the field, or to really play any role beyond just special teams.

Starting point is 00:01:55 And part of that is the Broncos doing, right? I mean, obviously they played him at inside linebacker, his rookie year, switched him to the edge his second year where he puts on a bunch of weight, suffers an offseason injury, comes back late in the season, then they change him back to the inside linebacker position this off season. And it was just a couple of days ago we were talking about how Drew was reported as looking really explosive out there, running downhill, you know, attacking the line of scrimmage, even without pads on finding a way to stand out,

Starting point is 00:02:24 which is really what he needs to do this off season. And you know what? When a guy gets carted off the field, that's pretty much worst case scenario in everybody's mind, especially when the cart comes out and it's followed by an MRI, but of course that's kind of standard procedure across the NFL. And hey, if you want to be optimistic for a moment here, just a few days ago, New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields was carted off the field

Starting point is 00:02:48 and kind of sucked the air out of their training camp practice as well, turned out to be a dislocated toe, and he was back out there on the practice field the very next day. So our most optimistic, hopes are in that area for Drew Sanders to where you hope that he can be back out in the practice field sooner rather than later. But at the same time, kind of preparing for this eventuality at some point. We've been talking all offseason about this potential scenario with a number of guys at the linebacker position for the Denver Broncos. Of course,

Starting point is 00:03:21 we had a big scare early in the offseason when it was reported that Dre Greenlaw had a pulled quad or a torn quad and it ended up being just a pulled quad. and he's been ready for the start of training camp, and according to Sean Payton actually looks really good out there. But the injury to Dre Greenlaw earlier in the off season sort of highlighted that the Broncos might be a bit thinner at linebacker than anyone is really comfortable with, although the team doesn't necessarily seem to share that worry because they brought back Justin Sir Nad,

Starting point is 00:03:51 feel good about having him back as depth, excuse me, and Alex Singleton coming back from injury as well, apparently has given the team all the confidence, that they need to move forward with what they've got. And it does help that somebody like Lavelle Bailey has had a few good practices before the pads come on as well. So the Broncos do have guys out there, but they are dangerously close, in my opinion, to sort of suffering the same fate that they did last year,

Starting point is 00:04:20 where a number of injuries started to pile up at the linebacker position. And you found yourself in a spot during the year after Singleton went down with that injury in week. three against the bucks, where you had to then go to the veterans that were just available by happenstance, right? The Zach Cunningham, the Kwan Alexander's, the Broncos went and brought in Christian Welch before the start of the season. They didn't have full faith that Cody Barton was going to be a full-time starter for them. And he ended up obviously playing a pretty decent role for them. But of course, now you bring in Dre Greenlaw. He's expected to upgrade that unit substantially along with Alex Singleton returning to form and those two guys playing well off of each other.

Starting point is 00:05:03 But man, Drew Sanders was obviously going to be a factor in terms of the depth on this team, special teams. He was, you know, one of the only guys that could be a long-term option for the Denver Broncos at that off-ball linebacker position. So this is a pretty big deal when you think about it in that light. And of course, the team is not going to say anything until after Drew has had the chance to get an MRI done. and we can't make any assumptions either way. So, of course, at this point, Sean has in the past said things like, you know, it's not good or it doesn't look good or things like that,

Starting point is 00:05:37 and he will offer that up on occasion. This time he didn't say anything like that. So I guess you just never know, but you do really feel for a guy like Drew Sanders, who's a young player, trying to make his way in the league and shoot, this is the worst possible timing for an injury like this. Right before the pads come on,

Starting point is 00:05:55 and you haven't even really had a chance to compete for that starting job. It just stinks. It really does. It's like I said, it's the worst part of training camps for every NFL team and something that we talked about at the beginning of camp that you really don't necessarily even care so much about the training camp stats and things like that.

Starting point is 00:06:14 What you care about is getting guys to the regular season fully healthy. And that's just that's a big ask for any team in the NFL. And so for the Denver Broncos, Drew Sanders, going down, getting carted off the field. We don't know the extent of the injury at the point at which we're recording this episode. But of course, you can hope for the best.

Starting point is 00:06:34 That's it for a guy like Drew Sanders, getting carted off as a serious deal. So what do the Broncos do at inside linebacker? Well, maybe they could turn to some veteran free agents that are available. I mean, we've talked about Joanne Bentley, former New England Patriots starter. He's been available pretty much all offseason. And of course, that would lead to questions about whether or not, like, is he? he healthy? Can he actually play? Can he contribute? So he'd be an interesting name. Kizier White is another name out there that could be interesting. And then Josie Jewel was just recently cut by the Carolina

Starting point is 00:07:06 Panthers. And obviously the reason why Josie was cut from the Panthers is because he's kind of dealing with the aftermath and symptoms of concussions and not necessarily wanting to take up space on the roster when he's not even sure what's going to be happening for the future there. So the Panthers, though did apparently leave the door open with Josie to potentially bring him back. And so that would lead me to believe that maybe there is a chance that he could play again. But at the same time, that's not necessarily a situation that you want to bank on, a very scary situation when somebody is stepping away due to symptoms of, you know, concussion aftermath.

Starting point is 00:07:41 So, but Josie Jewel is a free agent. And the Broncos could also obviously explore just adding more young guys. Maybe there was a tryout player. Maybe there's an undrafted guy they liked. Just get a camp body out there. You've got to have guys. you can rotate though. And so this is a position group where they've already had a tryout player, make the team.

Starting point is 00:07:58 They've got a couple of undrafted guys. They've got LaVelle Bailey who was an undrafted player. They really liked last year. So it's a thin position. It's an unproven position in many ways. But also you've got that top three still of Dre Greenlaw, Alex Singleton, and Justin Sternod. It's not going to strike anybody as obviously,

Starting point is 00:08:16 Drake Greenlaw can substantially impact that unit. Let's not downplay that. But I think in terms of just the law, long term and the injury concern, there is, there's sort of a cloud over the having any sort of optimism at linebacker, right? I mean, it's just the, okay, well, even if it goes well this year, you feel like you're going to have to sort of reset again next year. You're going to have to address the position again and again. And that's why Drew Sanders, that's, that was basically the role that he was playing was sort of the light at the end of the tunnel, right? You believe in that

Starting point is 00:08:48 potential. You believe what the Broncos are saying that they might have a future starter on their hands. But unfortunately, if injuries keep a guy off the field, it's just like with Greg Dolsich a couple of years ago. At some point, you do have to cut your losses. And so again, for the time being, we're not going to make any assumptions. We're going to hope for the best for a player like Drew Sanders and hope that he can get back out there on the field as soon as possible. Broncos country, there's a ton more to break down from Saturday's practice for the team, some standouts on both sides of the ball. And a day three rookie, Q Robinson, he continues to make waves. out there at Denver Broncos training camp.

Starting point is 00:09:24 We'll have that for you coming up next on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by Game Time. Have you ever decided at the last minute to head to a ballgame with friends or family? Maybe it's game day and you just suddenly realize like you'd rather be in the stands than watching on TV. Well, that's where game time comes in. It's the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without all the stress. And with the money that you save on tickets, maybe you can splurge on food, drinks, merch, or even invite a bigger group to come with you.

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Starting point is 00:12:02 Q Robinson continues to impress as Denver Broncos training camp rolls along. The Broncos will break on Sunday, but they'll be back out on the practice field in pads on Monday. And when they get out there, a number of young players are already going to have their hype train rolling right along. And that would include Q Robinson, fourth round pick. We're going to break down Q Robinson's day, some nice things that Sean Payton had to say about

Starting point is 00:12:27 Niyomu Wazerike, as well as a number of other camps standouts and notes that you'll want to know about Broncos country. But mile high salute to every single one of you that tunes in to lockdown Broncos every single day. We appreciate you so much. If you haven't done so already, go ahead, take a couple of seconds, hit subscribe. We'd really appreciate if you subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, as well as on YouTube where you can join the conversation as well. We appreciate you all so much, Broncos country.

Starting point is 00:12:54 Let's talk about Q Robinson having another big day out there at Denver Broncos training camp. I guess as the pads get ready to come on at Monday's practice, there are going to be few young players on the defensive side of the ball that are more anticipated than this guy. Because Q Robinson has been flashing since rookie mini camp, essentially, right? I mean, this is a guy who missed some time at Alabama due to injury, but was one of those players who really stood out when he was on the field. Played a special team's role for the first few years of his career. And of course, just like a lot of guys, man, it's hard to win and earn snaps on that Alabama defense.

Starting point is 00:13:33 But when he finally did this past year, he put some stuff out there that had NFL draft experts absolutely drooling over his potential. And what you see when you watch him is a guy that does have great. quickness off the snap. He uses his hands well. He's got a great spin move. He's tenacious in getting after the quarterback. You love the effort. You love the way that he just pursues the quarterback with relentlessness. And I think that if he had been able to put together a full pre-draft workout, I don't think the Broncos would have got him in the fourth round. I think there's just too much good stuff that he showed last year. So yes, in many respects, the Broncos took some risks in this year's draft class, right? I mean, obviously, they took Pat Bryant way earlier than people thought.

Starting point is 00:14:17 They trade down in the second round and pass on all these other running backs in order to take RJ Harvey. And you obviously took a risk, you know, you take the only punter in the draft. You took a risk on Caleb Loner, who doesn't, hasn't even played 60 college snaps at the tight end position. So you took some big risks in this year's draft, including Q Robinson, who doesn't have that many defensive snaps played, quite frankly. But you're trusting in what is one of your best coaches in Jamar Kane, who's done a great job with the pass rushers off the edge, did a great job with all the pass rushers last year in terms of the guys who led the NFL in Sacks, right?

Starting point is 00:14:54 Jamar Kane is one of the most underrated people responsible for that. And so certainly you want to get your best position coaches, guys who are obviously developing your talent really well. You want to get guys like that some, you know, balls of clay to mold. and Q Robinson is very much of that. And so, yeah, when the Broncos put on the pads, you can bet that everybody's going to have eyes on number 51 because he's been doing such a great job already

Starting point is 00:15:20 without the pads on this off season, showing off and getting that burst out there so that people can see, hey, this is what I bring to the table. Just you wait until I can be more physical. That's what's really exciting about what Q Robinson has done so far for the Broncos. It was also really cool to hear Sean Payton give Inyoma, Uwazirike, a shout out after practice. Of course, he was asked about Uwazirike, so it wasn't like he just brought him up

Starting point is 00:15:46 without being prompted. But at the same time, you can tell that there is a lot that the Broncos like about Uwazirike. And here's a really important note that doesn't get talked about often because of his year-long suspension, his contract with Denver Broncos actually told an entire year. So he was drafted in 2022. This year was supposed to be a contract year for Uwazir. Zerike, and now it is not.

Starting point is 00:16:11 He is not a free agent after 2025. He's actually a free agent after 2026 now. So he's one of the rare players on the defensive line that the Broncos actually have under contract for the next two seasons. DJ Jones is one of the other ones, but really there's not many beyond that, right? Obviously, Zach Allen, John Franklin Myers, Malcolm Roach, those guys are all free agents after this year. So could that contract situation be a major factor in Uwazirique's favor, especially if, as Sean Peyton said, like, he's looking athletic out there. He's showing off that size and athleticism combination that had him projected as a starter going

Starting point is 00:16:51 into 2023. I think that's also easy to forget about is that after his rookie year, the Broncos didn't do a ton to boost that defensive line in the 2023 offseason after signing Zach Allen because they were banking on Uwazirike becoming a full-time starter for them. So that's important to keep in mind when considering his potential future on this roster. We know the Broncos added Savion Jones. We're excited to see him when the pads come on as well. They traded up to get him in the third round of this year's draft, kind of one of the most

Starting point is 00:17:23 forgotten about draft picks from the 2025 class. But Uwazerike obviously bears some monitoring as we go forward here because maybe he was a bit prematurely written off. And now that he's had a year to kind of get back into things, this could be a really pivotal season for him to prove that he belongs in that rotation. So adding another layer of intrigue to an already very talented defensive line for the Denver Broncos, another strong practice, it sounds like for Pat Bryant, the rookie

Starting point is 00:17:53 wide receiver, Zach Stevens of DNVR, said that it doesn't matter what quarterback is out there on the field. He said it seems that the quarterbacks are just finding Pat Bryant. relatively consistently. And so this is a guy that we talked about on yesterday's show that he just seems to develop a quick trust with the quarterback because of his ability to get open and his ability to get open after the play breaks down. I think especially not only can he work to get open within his route tree, but Pat

Starting point is 00:18:22 Bryant does a great job on scramble drill as well. And you can trust when you throw the ball his direction, he's most of the time going to come down with it, although Chris Abrams drain apparently had a little something. to say about that as at Saturday's practice, Pat Bryant had a ball hit him in the end zone from Bo Nix in the hands. And Chris Abrams Drain at the very last second was able to pop it out. And Sean Payton talked after practice about how the end of last season, when Chris Abrams drain got the chance to come in there against Cleveland and play sort of a rescue role for just the debacle that was, the Levi Wallace situation. And then start the next game against

Starting point is 00:19:02 the Chargers where he picked off Justin Herbert. He talked about how important that was for building his confidence. And so Chris Abrams Drain, another player at a position, it feels like a theme on today's show. We talk about Q Robinson coming off the edge, one of the deepest position groups on the roster in Yoma Uwazerike on the D-line, one of the best position groups on the roster overall. And now you talk about Chris Abrams Drain at the cornerback position where, man, you just drafted a guy in the first round. You had three already established starters at that position group, and this guy is now a factor as well.

Starting point is 00:19:40 I would not be shocked Broncos country to see the team trade from their depth. You got a lot of teams out there in the NFL right now that are absolutely bleeding at the cornerback position. And the war on nutrition as training camp goes along is only going to make things worse. So don't be surprised. I don't think they're going to trade a guy like Chris Abrams drain. But I wouldn't be shocked if, you know, obviously folks in the comments, section. I've had their way in the past when I brought this up, but Damari Mathis, I think he'll have some value. Maybe somebody like Jayquan Macmillan as well. If the Broncos feel that good about

Starting point is 00:20:11 Pat Sertan, Jada Baron, Riley Moss, and then obviously Chris Abrams, Drain being their top four guys, maybe somebody does get dealt this offseason. We'll see what happens there. But other than that, Mike McGlinchie was back out there observing practice. He had a hat on. I saw some photos of him. So it seems like maybe he'll be back and ready to go on Monday, but Sean Pate, and said that he would be back either Saturday or Monday, and there he was out there on Saturday. Otherwise, everybody else practicing for the Broncos, and we get excited about what the future holds for this team

Starting point is 00:20:44 as they put the pads on for Monday's practice, things that we'll be watching for, obviously, guys in the trenches and running backs. Those are the two things that really, and obviously linebackers too, now especially in the wake of potential serious injury for Drew Sanders, which we don't want it to be, but you want to see how physical are these guys, right? You want to see the Broncos really setting the tone in terms of, hey, let's hear about the D line bringing the

Starting point is 00:21:10 physicality. Let's hear about the offensive line in that running game looking much improved against that strong defensive line. Very, very excited to hear about the running backs as the pads come on. But of course, Broncos country, you know that we'll have you covered every single step of the way. Make sure you're ready to tune in for lockdown Broncos, as we'll have you covered after practice on Monday when the Broncos throw the pads on. Until then, we'll see you soon.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Drew Sanders CARTED OFF at Denver Broncos Training Camp

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