Adam Gotsis Expected to Play in Preseason Opener Vs. Bears

Good news Broncos Country; Second round pick Adam Gotsis is nearing a clean bill of health and should be ready to participate fully in on field activities moving forward.  Gotsis has been recovering from a torn ACL suffered during his senior year at Georgia Tech last November, and has been limited in camp thus far.  Friday Gotsis saw an uptick in team activities, although it should be noted that the Broncos were not in pads today.

That said, this is certainly progress shown by the young wrecking ball from Australia, and head coach Gary Kubiak thinks he should be ready to play next Thursday vs. the Chicago Bears in the Broncos opening preaseason game.

“He’s about full go right now. He’s almost going through the entire practice.”  Kubiak said after Friday’s session.

 “I think he’s doing some good things, typical rookie. He’s got a way to go. [Defensive Line Coach] Bill [Kollar] is coaching him hard and trying to get him ready to go. We’ll see. I expect to play next week.”

Adam Gotsis was drafted by the Broncos in the second round and is expected to help fill the void left by the departed Malik Jackson who signed a monstrous deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars this past March.  Jackson was a key cog in the Broncos defense a year ago as he really blossomed into a star, and was on the

receiving end of a Von Miller strip sack leading to one of the Broncos two touchdowns in Super Bowl 50.

Gotsis finds himself in a position battle with veterans Vance Walker and Jared Crick who have both had themselves a good camp to this point, although Walker has been dealing with some minor bumps and bruises himself.

“They continue to play well.”  Kubiak said after practice on Wednesday, referring to both Crick and Walker.

“Vance is a player with a little bit of back soreness today. He comes out here and battles through it, practices. He goes for almost two and a half hours, works his tail off. That’s what Vance is made of. That is why he is becoming such a good player.”

To this point, Jared Crick has probably been the player that has been most consistent, and would seem to be in line to be the starter opposite Derek Wolfe, who got the day off Friday.  However, this is a position that the defensive coordinator Wade Phillips loves to rotate early and often to keep guys fresh.  Despite the fantastic year Jackson had last year, the Broncos got large contributions from other players such as Vance Walker and Antonio Smith when Jackson, and/or Wolfe were off the field.  Expect Gotsis, Walker, and Crick to factor heavily into the DE rotation this season.

After a tough offseason rehabbing his knee, Gotsis should finally be able to show the fans and the team why the Bill Kolar was banging the table for him.  He has

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been compared early and often to Derek Wolfe, as he exhibited an unlimited motor during his days at Georgia Tech.  He is a mammoth of a human being that is very strong against the run, but also made an impact in the pass rush, which is huge given that was Jackson’s biggest strength.

His minutes during the preseason game against the Bears will probably be limited, but it will bear watching to see with whom he plays.  There have been times during camp he has lined up with the starting defense in walkthrough’s, but it’s hard to imagine the Broncos staff would consider him a starter without seeing him in any sort of game action thus far.

This is just one of the position battles to watch for Thursday night against the Bears, but it is certainly going to be the biggest competition of any position on the defense.  Anybody else ready for it to be Thursday already?