Mike McGlinchey thinks Broncos ‘could be’ a contender, but must work

Denver Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey has played in a Super Bowl before.

He did that with the San Francisco 49ers after the 2019 NFL season, an eventual loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Going into his third year with the Broncos, expectations are by far the highest they’ve been during McGlinchey’s short tenure in Denver.

As the Broncos veterans reported to training camp on Tuesday, McGlinchey took the podium and the first questions was to the point: Is this team a championship contender this season?

“Well, we haven’t even practiced yet,” McGlinchey said with a smile. “Certainly, we feel like we could be, but we’ve got to put in the work day in and day out.”

Denver is coming off a 10-7 season in which the franchise made the playoffs for the first time since 2015. McGlinchey knows that’s something they can build on.

“We’re obviously very, very excited about what we have here. Everybody feels a little more comfortable with the experience we gained last year and the year that we had. And knowing that’s still not good enough,” McGlinchey said.

It wasn’t good enough because the Broncos got smacked by the Bills, 31-7, in the wild card round of the playoffs. Still, that’s in the past and this is a new chapter.

“We’re really excited for the opportunity to come into work and earn a chance to be at the top of the NFL and that’s what we’re going to try to do,” McGlinchey said.

McGlinchey went on to note it’s a long journey, you’ve got to stay healthy and have a little bit of luck to make the Super Bowl. But he likes the way this Broncos team is built.

“I think we have the guys that are made up of the right stuff in this locker room and certainly the right coaching staff,” McGlinchey said. “But like I said, it’s July 22 and we’ve got a long way to go.”

It indeed is a long journey. One that’s just beginning, as the Broncos will officially hit the field for the first day of training camp practice on Wednesday.

Hopefully, it’s the start of something special.

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