Dobbins leaves with soft tissue injury, Payton says Broncos ‘gotta get a handle’ on them

Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins made a “pinky promise” to play all 17 games this season.

There were some people holding their breath on Monday.

Dobbins left Broncos training camp practice with trainers about 90 minutes in and didn’t return. For a guy with supreme talent, but extensive injury history, this is one to watch.

Head coach Sean Payton opened his press conference discussing the numerous injuries Broncos players have suffered fewer than two weeks into camp.

“Gotta get a handle on some of the soft tissues, we’ve had a couple either strains, hamstrings or groins. Continue to fight through that,” Payton said.

The Broncos have had scares with wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and Marvin Mims Jr. with soft tissue injuries. It doesn’t look like any of them have been serious, but those are the type of things that can be a problem all season long.

Payton was asked why he thinks they’re occurring, especially with how hot it’s been in Colorado.

“I don’t think it’s heat related as much… you always try to look at your pre-practice routine, your hydration obviously. It’s incumbent on the player, it’s for anyone to know your soft tissue. I’m always looking at what we did up to a period where maybe someone had a strain. We had a warm down after practice and we’ll continue to focus on it though,” Payton said.

Clearly, this is on Payton and the Broncos radar — it’s been a daily occurrence at camp.

As for Dobbins, the update was brief but at least encouraging.

“Yeah, soft tissue, I think he’s gonna be fine. We’re just being smart with is, so it’s back to what I was saying at the beginning,” Payton said.

We’ll see if Dobbins is back practicing on Tuesday or working on the side field with the other injured starters.

In the meantime, Broncos Country would love if the team could go through practice without multiple players headed to the locker room.

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