Denver Broncos: Impact of the crazy 2020 offseason

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been massive for the Denver Broncos and the world of sports.

It would be the understatement of 2020 to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has turned the sports world on its head. The Denver Broncos, like every other organization in professional sports, have been navigating through the new ‘normal’ over the last four months and taking everything in stride.

Multiple star players for the Broncos have contracted the coronavirus, namely star pass rusher Von Miller and safety Kareem Jackson, the two highest-paid players on the team in 2020 (in terms of salary cap hit).

Although no one in the front office or on the coaching staff have been confirmed as having contracted the virus, even after a large protest organized by the team in June, there are plenty of lingering questions about how the NFL will navigate the virus going forward.

Other pro sports leagues have had to shut down completely while the NFL has simply done their offseason activities up to this point through Zoom meetings and if they take the initiative, player-organized workouts.

The NFL conducted part of the offseason completely remote, including during the 2020 NFL Draft which seemed to be a resounding success in its alternate format.

The league has also conducted OTAs entirely remotely as well, while other leagues have not been able to do that.

No one knows at this point what the 2020 NFL season will look like. Will fans be in the stands? Will teams carry extra players all throughout the season? Will training camp happen on time? Will games be canceled?

So many questions have come up in recent months, and ultimately this virus has put a lot of NFL players’ jobs at stake, just like so many other professions around the world.

From a football standpoint, this pandemic has prevented many players from being able to showcase themselves to the teams and coaches they signed with or were drafted to in the offseason.

It’s impossible to win a roster spot without taking the field, so players who might be trying to follow a guy like Shelby Harris’ lead to making a name for themselves in the NFL have had their opportunities unexpectedly cut off.

If the NFL is able to have training camp in late July as scheduled, those players will at least get some kind of chance to prove themselves worthy of roster spots around the league, but the NFL is also rumored to at least be thinking about a two-game preseason instead of four.

Coupling a shortened preseason with a depleted offseason is detrimental for back-end roster type players who needed as much face time with the coaching staff as possible.

The Broncos also hired a new offensive coordinator this offseason in Pat Shurmur, who takes over a unit with a ton of young talent.

On-field chemistry and cohesiveness in that new offense is going to be critical for the Broncos to have success in 2020, and their on-field work at least in terms of organized team activities sanctioned by the NFL and Broncos has been non-existent.

The players have done a good job of getting together on their own, training for the season and putting some work in on the field, but will it be enough?

There has also been some good to come from this. There have been very few injuries across the league this offseason. A few players have still suffered serious injuries, but that number is substantially lower in 2020 than it has been in any other recent year with typical OTAs.

The galvanizing of teammates, specifically in Denver, throughout this time has been impressive to watch. A lot of the players flew into Denver for the peaceful protest in June, and that was many players’ first exposure to each other and to their coaches.

This time away from the field has also forced players to spend as much time as possible getting mentally ready for the season, making sure when they are allowed to hit the field they hit it running.

Whenever that happens, it will be fascinating to see how the Broncos adjust with the shortened version of an on-field offseason, and how each player comes in as far as their physical and mental preparation. The Broncos have a young roster with a bunch of self-driven players and a lot of veteran coaches.

They are oddly very well-equipped for the kind of offseason they have had and hopefully their strategy of bringing in experience and leadership over the last three years both in the coaching and player personnel department will prove to be advantageous whenever the 2020 NFL season kicks off.