Jerry Rosburg will have Broncos in pads as practice ramps up before K.C.

A lot was made of Broncos training camp in 2022.

After all, former head coach Nathaniel Hackett didn’t have the team doing much. Every third day was some sort of “jog-through.” The actual practices were boring. The goal was for the team to stay healthy, but the opposite happened. Denver leads the league in players on injured reserve.

Some of those have been very serious injuries (Javonte Williams, Garett Bolles, etc.) that couldn’t have been avoided. Others have been hamstring issues, that have piled up like crazy. The question’s been asked if Hackett’s approach to training camp was wrong. It clearly didn’t work.

At his press conference on Thursday, interim head coach Jerry Rosburg was asked if the Broncos would be in pads at practice, considering the opponent this weekend is perhaps the best team in the NFL. The Chiefs are excellent, and Denver needs to improve after the debacle against the Rams. Rosburg made it clear they’d practice hard.

“I like football practice. And we’re going to have pads on today. We’re allowed to have pads on today, we have a padded practice remaining, and I addressed this with the team directly. What do we need to do this week to try to compete with this formidable opponent? It’s important to me to see these guys in pads,” Rosburg said.

While that’s not necessarily a shot at Hackett, it’s clear Rosburg is an old-school guy who appreciates a good, tough practice. He also said he’s doing it for his own eyes, as he adjusts to a new role.

“As you know, I haven’t been doing that as my previous position in this organization. So, I need to see this, I need to see these guys. I’m paying a lot closer attention to these things this week than I have been. That’s as much for me as anyone, and our young men in that room have bought into that. They’re going to go out there today with the express purpose of getting better,” Rosburg said.

Rosburg also added the players know what this entails, and have a “clear understanding of what it means to take care of one another during practice.” Translation: Don’t do anything stupid and get a teammate hurt.

It’s probably too little to late, and the media won’t be able to watch, but it sounds like the Broncos will go a bit harder than a previous Hackett-led practice.

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