Broncos Reveal 'Goal' to Hold Joint Preseason Practice With Rams
It’s a new era for the Denver Broncos at Centura Health Training Center under head coach Sean Payton. On Monday, the Broncos announced their new partnership with Centura Health as the official healthcare sponsor of the training facility at Dove Valley, as the Walton-Penner ownership group remodels the organization in its first year at the helm.
The Broncos wrapped up rookie minicamp over the weekend, which also included a few veteran tryouts. Next up on the offseason to-do list, the Broncos will host OTAs May 23-25, May 30-June 1, and June 5-8. This will be punctuated by a mandatory minicamp slated for June 13-15.
Broncos Country also recently learned of the team's full regular-season schedule for 2023, leaving many fans anxious for a highly-anticipated and revamped training camp this summer.
With the NFL’s unbalanced 17-game regular-season schedule, which doesn't include a three-game preseason schedule, both the AFC and NFC conferences rotate between hosting eight or nine regular-season home games each season. This year, the AFC has the extra regular-season home game, which results in one less preseason home game.
READ: Predicting Broncos' 3 Big Offensive Stat Leaders in 2023
The Broncos are slated to play the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers on the road in the first two preseason games, followed by hosting the Los Angeles Rams in the exhibition finale at the end of August. Coach Payton has the week of that last preseason game circled for joint practices with the Rams, potentially, similar to what the Broncos did last summer with the Dallas Cowboys.
“The goal is to have a joint practice with the Rams. [Rams HC] Sean [McVay] and I have talked,” Payton said last weekend during rookie minicamp. “Obviously, the ownership groups are connected, along with [Rams GM] Les [Sneed] and [Broncos GM] George [Paton]. There has been no announcement made, but our hope and goal is to have a chance to practice here. I wasn’t here last year, but I know [the team] did it with Dallas. Our goal is to have a joint practice with Los Angeles and play that third [preseason] game.”
The connections between the Broncos and Rams franchises run deep, but the expectations for competition will be present for both squads in the dog days of summer. Last season’s 51-14 loss to the Rams is undoubtedly burned into the memories of veteran Broncos and Payton’s crew will not allow a shameful performance against L.A. this summer.
In last year’s joint-practice session with the Cowboys, the high temperatures and altitude weren’t the only things that elevated the tempo of practice as both teams mixed it up with fiery attitudes and light skirmishes. There’s no doubt that joint practices produce high-energy sessions, where pride and ego run high, making for an exciting day for fans and media alike.
By the time the preseason rolls around, players are often irritable and frustrated from beating up on each other as teammates and welcome the new faces of competition to practice against.
Don’t expect to see Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald making friends with new Broncos offensive linemen Ben Powers or Mike McGlinchey this summer. Broncos fans should instead be ready to receive their new team’s spirit and identity under their intense, charismatic head coach.
Gone are the days of the Broncos being the ‘get-right’ game for underperforming opponents. The perception of Denver being a walking punchline, with a goofy head coach and an out-of-touch quarterback, has quickly been replaced by the silence of hard work.
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