Broncos' get TE Jake Butt back at practice ahead of preseason Game 3

For the first time since the third day of training camp, tight end Jake Butt practiced on Sunday.

The Denver Broncos held practice under the bright Mile High sun and Butt was out there for the early portion. Limited, but a participant in practice nonetheless.

With the rash of injuries the Broncos have suffered at the tight end position, head coach Vic Fangio was relieved to see Butt back on the practice field, along with Bug Howard.

“Yeah, it was [good to see Butt out there],” Fangio siad. “I think he went through—albeit, a small portion—of the practice with no setbacks, so that’s good.”

That’s the biggest concern with Butt and why he’s been sidelined for nearly three weeks — setbacks. Butt suffered what was the third ACL tear of his football playing career late last September.

He has since been rehabbing with an eye toward being a full go come the 2019 regular season opener. While fans have been dubious about Butt’s lack of participation since camp opened, the Broncos haven’t even been close to hitting the panic button.

Jake Butt still very much factors into the Broncos’ long-term plans. In a perfect world, the Broncos envision Noah Fant as TE1 and Butt as TE2.

However, football isn’t played in a perfect world. While the team has been patient and supportive of Butt since drafting him in the fifth round back in 2017, he’s running out of goodwill.

“Keeping a journal, trying to write down some of the thoughts I have, good thoughts, bad thoughts, talking a lot to people that I trust, the coaching staff, my family, friends," Butt said in regards to how he's kept sane during his recovery. "Everybody keeps reminding me. Everyone that’s known me my whole life knows how much this game means to me. It’s really not an option. I’m not going to quit. I’m not going to roll over and turn my back on this game. I’m going to keep pushing. Nothing’s changed.”

This rehab, this return from injury, is likely his last chance to salvage his career in Denver. The good news is, when the surgeons examined his knee last fall, they noticed an issue that had heretofore been missed by previous medical scrutiny.

“Kind of just a little fact here, when they went in and did my surgery last time, there’s a notch where your ACL attaches and the tighter the notch, the more friction,” Butt told a Denver radio station back in March. “And the more friction, the more likely you are to tear it. Well, the doctor that did it said I had the tightest notches he’d ever seen by a professional athlete. So much so that he called the original doctor that did the original surgery on my right side, and he said the same thing. That’s a genetic thing and it kind of put me more likely to tear my ACL. But they were able to scope those things out. They gave me a little extra room to play around with, so that kind of really gives me confidence going forward. Once I get this thing rehabbed, what I can’t control has been taken care of. Its just about getting healthy and staying healthy at this point.”

Alas, despite Butt’s optimism that this time will be different, he did experience pain and discomfort after practicing on that knee the first couple days of camp. The team took precautions and is now rolling him back out there.

Butt’s return was the reason why the Broncos did not replace Austin Fort with another TE when the team placed him on IR last Friday. Instead, the Broncos signed an offensive tackle, Adam Bisnowaty, and as I wrote then, the implications were positive for either a Butt or Bug Howard return. Turns out it was both.

The Broncos considered adding another TE but chose to pump the brakes knowing that Butt and Howard were close to returning.

“We did but they don’t grow on trees, like most positions this time of year with 32 teams in camp and 90 guys on everybody’s roster,” Fangio said following Sunday’s practice. “Our tight end position has gotten hit hard but we still have six (players), albeit a couple of them are limited, Jake being the leader.”

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.