I haven’t posted much since the Covid-19 pandemic rocked the world in mid-March. As the entire sports world was shut down, the NFL had the luxury of being in its’ offseason. A new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to, free agency started on time in March, and the 2020 Draft followed in April-this time in a virtual format. OTAs and all team activities were scrapped, and the NFL had to renegotiate the CBA to fit in the new protocols for the start of the 2020 season during a pandemic. Preseason games were cancelled, and the teams focused on coming back to the facilities in late July and participate in a different form of training camp as they prepare for the season to open on time in September. It was hard to get excited about training camp because of all the sobering news that was going on all around us all over the world. Instead of getting ready to watch preseason games and see who is going to make the final 53 man roster, we are watching to see which players test positive for Covid and how that will affect the team and the league.
I’m happy that the NFL is forging ahead with the season, but I’m also skeptical that they will be able to pull off a full season.There will be no fans in the stands and that in itself will play a huge role in the results week to week of all the games. College football is on the verge of getting cancelled now that the Big 10 and PAC 12 have postponed the fall season. The virus continues to surge in certain parts of the country and there is no “cure” in sight. The NBA and NHL have come back to stage their playoffs, but they are in a bubble format. The NFL will not operate in a bubble. MLB came back and they were immediately dealing with issues related to the Marlins, the Cardinals and scheduling due to the virus. It is a shitshow. You just hope that the NFL can somehow put together a full season filled with competitive balance and no pauses or breaks in it due to Covid.
Instead of doing a typical training camp preview like I normally do, I’ll just give an overview of where the Broncos stand at this point in the summer. Honestly, I haven’t spent too much time dissecting the league and where the Broncos fit in. I will put out a predictions column in September and cover the Broncos season like I normally would, but it just won’t feel or be the same. Maybe my mindset will be different once the season starts, but I’m not sure. It just isn’t the same. With that said, here is where the Broncos stand as their 2020 training camp gets going….
The Broncos were applauded for a lot of the moves they made this offseason. They head into camp with Drew Lock firmly entrenched as the starting QB. Already armed with WR Courtland Sutton, TE Noah Fant, and RB Philip Lindsay, the Broncos added RB Melvin Gordon in free agency, and they drafted WR Jerry Jeudy in the 1st round and WR KJ Hamler in the 2nd round. The offensive firepower could be there this season. Juwan James opted out of the season due to Covid 19 concerns, and the Broncos signed RT Demar Dotson to compete with Elijah Wilkinson for that spot. Graham Glasgow was a big free agent signing to sure up one of the Guard spots, and look for draft pick Lloyd Cushenberry out of LSU to win the starting Center job.
On defense, the Broncos traded for CB AJ Bouye from the Jaguars, and they are hoping they can get him to play at the level he played two years ago. Bryce Callahan is back from a foot injury that sidelined him for all of 2019. Justin Simmons was Franchised tagged this season and will play 2020 on a one-year deal, and the Broncos will focus on signing him long term. The Broncos made a great trade early in the offseason when they traded a 7th round pick to Tennessee for Jurrell Casey. That could have a huge impact on the defensive line. Bradley Chubb comes back from tearing his ACL last year, and the Broncos surprisingly re-signed Shelby Harris. Von Miller looks as motivated as ever as well.
The key for the Broncos is going to be health. They need to have a healthy training camp going against each other in practice, and they need to be healthy in terms of avoiding getting Covid. If they can be disciplined enough to do everything in their power to not get the virus, then they will help them along the way as training camp ends and the regular season begins. Training Camp 2020 folks!!!
