How close was Jerry Jeudy to playing for the Broncos in Week 1?

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The answer? Close enough to where it came down to a pregame workout to determine whether Jerry Jeudy would play in Week 1.

“He was a [true] game-day decision,” Broncos coach Sean Payton explained Wednesday.

A little over two hours before kickoff against the Las Vegas Raiders, Jeudy went through the paces of a workout on Empower Field at Mile High. And then, he conversed with a group that included Payton and general manager George Paton.

The decision?

Wait.

“I feel I could have went,” Jeudy said Wednesday. “We did a little bit of testing just to see how I feel — and I felt pretty good.

“But coaches wanted to be smart with the situation. I understand that, just protecting me as a player.”

It’s the nature of a hamstring. The Broncos received that reminder with Greg Dulcich on Sunday. Now, the second-year tight end faces a fourth hamstring injury that will cost him time. The second and third injuries sidelined him for five and two games last year, respectively.

The Broncos could have thrown caution. Instead, they exercised it.

“Hamstrings are tricky, though, with the idea of possibly getting set back two or three more weeks. He was close. We actually had a workout pre-game to go through it. We made our decision off of that.”

JERRY JEUDY IS TAKING IT ‘DAY BY DAY’

Jerry Jeudy says he’s taking things “day-by-day”: pic.twitter.com/8NZtWjUKyK

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 14, 2023

It’s really the only way to go with an injury as fickle as a hamstring can be.

“I’m just taking it day-by-day,” Jerry Jeudy said Wednesday. “I’m still trying to play my game and play as fast as possible without thinking about that hamstring.

“So, I don’t really pay attention too much to all that. I’m gonna keep playing my game.”

Officially, the Broncos listed Jeudy as limited during Wednesday’s practice.

“I did what I needed to do. They got me in and out in certain stuff. I think they limited me a little bit,” Jeudy said. “But at the same time, I feel like I was going. Did all the important [work] that I needed to get.”

The signs appear to point to Jeudy returning for Sunday’s game against Washington. That would be 24 days — roughly three-and-a-half weeks — since he succumbed to the hamstring injury during the second joint practice against the Los Angeles Rams.

That’s a quick — but reasonable — recovery from such an injury.

Most importantly?

“I feel good, man,” he said. “I just keep getting better each and every day. And today, I feel good.”

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