‘I want improvement’ … Goals for Broncos in joint practice with Cardinals are simple

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Broncos training camp took on a different rhythm over the last week thanks to the joint practices scheduled — first with the San Francisco 49ers last week and now with the Arizona Cardinals this Thursday.

The practice Wednesday saw the Broncos eschew full pads, with a focus on tempo and preparation. The move-the-ball period at the end of practice involved possessions led by backup quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger, not Bo Nix.

It was a different kind of practice than most in camp — clearly one of prelude.

What do the Broncos want from Thursday?

“I want improvement,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said.

“I’m doing some things I’m practice that I won’t do in games that I’m testing for the season. I want our guys to obviously play at a high standard. I want finish, I want great coverage, I want great rush and I want good football.”

What Joseph saw from his defense in last Thursday’s joint practice offered a bit of everything. His unit dominated the first portion of the joint practice against the 49ers, suffocating their attack, stifling their runs and putting quarterbacks Brock Purdy, Mac Jones and Carter Bradley under constant duress.

 

View on Threads

 

But starting with a red-zone period and a pair of touchdowns at the expense of the No. 1 defense, that changed, capped by consecutive scoring drives — one to a touchdown, the other to a field goal — in the move-the-ball period to end practice.

To be certain, the Broncos took those moments in the right way.

“If we came in here and we beat them every single rep then there’s no growth in that,” safety Talanoa Hufanga said last week. “We want to know what works, what doesn’t, push the limits, be in the spots that might not be the right spot, but if the risk is there, you want see what can work and what can’t and it’s better to have it happen now than [in] Week 17 and the game’s on the line and you need to get to the playoffs or something like that. You’d rather happen it now.”

And their early struggles against the 49ers’ backup offense two days later in the preseason opener — which resulted in a touchdown drive and a rapid 7-0 deficit — offered more evidence of fine-tuning that remained ahead.

Thursday’s visit from the Cardinals provides the first quiz of the Broncos’ progress since last week.

“This team coming in tomorrow, they ran the ball well last year and [last] week against Kansas City,” Joseph said. “It’s going to be a great test for our front and our backs covering. It’s a quarterback who can run, so testing our rush lanes is going to be good against [Cardinals QB] Kyler [Murray].

“It’s the next test, and I appreciate that.”

But for Joseph and the Broncos to truly get what they want from Thursday, it must look better than it did last week.

PLAY OF THE DAY

Toward the end of practice in the final move-the-ball period, Ehlinger found rookie receiver Joaquin Davis open down the left sideline for a gain of approximately 25 yards to move the chains. That was as far as the offense got, as an Andrew Farmer sack two plays later lknocked the offense backward.

ATTENDANCE REPORT

Nik Bonitto was sidelined for a second-consecutive day due to a foot issue … Dre Greenlaw saw individual work for a second-consecutive day … Tight end Nate Adkins and cornerback Reese Taylor did not practice … Cornerback Damarri Mathis left practice halfway through and walked back inside the main building with a member of the team’s medical staff.

BRONCOS CAMP NOTES

• The Broncos’ first “move-the-ball” series Wednesday saw Jarrett Stidham guide the No. 2 offense into goal-to-go thanks to a long pass to Pat Bryant down the left sideline, a gorgeous connection that saw the veteran quarterback hit the rookie receiver on the back shoulder. It came one play after another Stidham-to-Bryant connection moved the chains and got the offense going. They also had one other collaboration earlier in the practice.
• Jonathon Cooper followed up his stellar day Tuesday with a pressure past Mike McGlinchey to force a hurried throw. Jordan Jackson also had a pressure on Stidham.
• Both RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins had solid gains via cutbacks through the center of the field on handoffs from Bo Nix during the initial team period of practice, with Dobbins taking advantage of a nice seal by Adam Trautman on Cooper to turn upfield for a solid gain,
• Courtland Sutton caught three passes from Nix, including one for a score from two-point conversion distance late in the practice. That score came one snap after Pat Surtain II deflected a pass in the end zone for an incompletion.
• One of the more ragged moments of practice came when Ehlinger and running back Blake Watson botched consecutive run plays, with the ball hitting the ground each time.

WHAT’S NEXT

The joint practice with the Cardinals, which marks an official end to training-camp practices that are open to the general public. The session begins at 10 a.m. MDT.

Related

Sean Payton says he’ll give Davis Webb ‘some suggestions, some mandates’Broncos and Adam Trautman have been an ideal match, as his contributions go beyond on-field workPump the brakes on any bold Troy Franklin predictions in 2026Jahdae Barron should be on notice during Broncos training campBroncos Camp Day 2: Three big things from the dayBo Nix on extension talk: ‘You got to go out there and continue to earn it’