Broncos practice without Greg Dulcich after 11 plays against Chiefs

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — To no one’s surprise, tight end Greg Dulcich did not practice Wednesday as the Broncos returned to on-field work following their mini-bye after last Thursday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Dulcich lasted just 11 plays last week before succumbing to his fifth hamstring injury in an 18-month span. The Broncos officially brought Dulcich back from injured reserve earlier that day after a four-week stint following a hamstring injury suffered in the second quarter of the Broncos’ Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

“We went through the protocols, and we felt like we were pretty patient,” Payton said Monday. “You rely on the athlete; you rely on the medical team and the experts. You go through the recovery and the rehab. You spend a lot of time really testing before you ever go out into game conditions.

“It’s easy to look back on that and say, ‘Hey, was it too soon?’”

Monday, Payton did not offer a timetable for Dulcich’s return.

“We regroup with him right now and get him quickly up to speed to recover and we go from there,” Payton said. “It’s unfortunate because I know he’s frustrated. It’s been a recurring issue for him, specifically with the hamstrings.”

Dulcich landed on injured reserve twice last season because of hamstring injuries. If he ends up on injured reserve again this season, the Broncos could activate him again after at least four games. He spent seven games on injured reserve in his 2022 rookie season and added four in Weeks 2-5 this campaign.

While Dulcich did not practice Wednesday, defensive lineman D.J. Jones did. Jones missed last week with a knee injury suffered during the Week 5 loss to the New York Jets.

Edge rusher Baron Browning also continued to practice. Browning remains in the 21-day ramp-up period after starting the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list.

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