Tim Tebow Leaves Broncos Practice Early

The smell of sunscreen pervaded the air, the heat bubbled at a toasty 98-degrees, and watermelon was the treat of the day. This wasn’t a day at the beach, but another day, the 18th day to be exact, of Broncos training camp.

Josh McDaniels spoke to the media before practice in a thick hoodie. Thank goodness he didn’t wear that out on the field today. Football is a game played in extremes, so it’s only fitting that the heat surrounded training camp like a Dutch oven cooking a homemade stew.

As the players stepped out onto the field, Alphonso Smith and Jarvis Moss (he’s back in a cast after suffering a broken wrist) took a knee to pray at the sideline on the 50-yard line.

D.J. Williams was not only in action today, but was wearing a traditional blue defensive jersey, meaning that he’s ready for contact.

Besides Moss being back in action, rookie wide receiver Eric Decker was participating in practice. Demaryius Thomas was absent. Brandon Stokley, Champ Bailey, and Daniel Graham had the afternoon off.

The big story of the day was the brief sighting and the departure of Tim Tebow. Tebow came out in full pads, tossed the ball around, and participated in the first set of position breakdown drills. As the team went to stretch, Tebow jogged off the field reportedly with a left side injury. He took a hard hit to that side in the final play of Sunday’s game at Cincinnati when he recorded his first touchdown in the NFL. He did not participate in practice-ending sprints during last night’s practice either. His status is uncertain at this point.

With the heat being the major obstacle of the day, the Broncos water bottle fillers constantly ran back and forth from the water tent, making sure the players and coaches stayed hydrated.

As the Broncos begin to prepare for Saturday’s game against the Detroit Lions, two offensive players wore red jerseys simulating Calvin Johnson and Jahvid Best. The defense did a nice job on these two.  

The Broncos spent a significant portion of practice working on special teams. Against the Bengals, the Broncos had some trouble in this area. Patrick Carter, Alphonso Smith, and Perrish Cox were responsible for kick returns.

As practice wound down, the two minute drill began at the Broncos own 20. Nate Jones broke up a Kyle Orton to Jabar Gaffney pass that would’ve advanced the offense to the 50-yard line.

To cap off practice, the pressure was put on the veteran big guys. Some guys from the offensive line had to catch a couple of passes to ensure the “no-curfew” night that the coaching staff offered up. The balls were caught and Kyle Orton jumped up and down as if he had just won a regular season game on a winning touchdown pass. Some of the guys will get to spend their first night in their own bed at home in a long time. That’s just how long training camp is.

One more day to go before camp breaks, and then life will be a little more normal for the guys. Until then, complete focus remains at Dove Valley and on the Detroit Lions.