The Broncos’ longest holdout since 1997 is almost over.

Mike Klis of the Denver Post is reporting that the Denver Broncos and first round draft pick running back Knowshon Moreno are close on a deal. Klis states that “significant progress” has been made in negotiations on a 5-year contract that is expected to be worth at least $22 million.

Adam Schefter followed up by saying that sources in Denver expect the deal to be completed this evening.

It’s about time. Finish it up, and get Knowshon on a flight to Denver so he can sign that bad boy tomorrow in time for the 1:15 p.m. practice!

BroncoTalk’s own Kyle Montgomery will be on DenverSportsRadio.com at 5:45 (EST), that’s 3:45 (MST) for those of in close to Denver! AKA- 15 minutes from now, so in the words of Winona Ryder’s famous God Father Timothy Leary, “Tune in, turn on and drop-out!”

Robert Ayers was one of the few players to put on full pads Thursday. (BroncoTalk/Kyle Montgomery)

Denver Broncos training camp… News and notes from the Thursday morning practice.

You could say today was a light practice. The only people in full gear for the entire session were Ed Hochuli and crew.

Preparing for the big show under the lights tonight, Head Coach Josh McDaniels moved the team’s two-hour practice to a 90-minute light workout later in the morning. A number of the backup offense and defense were the only players to don pads (over an hour into practice), and the majority of the team left for the locker room a full twenty minutes early. Since Coach mixed it up, I’ll have to, too, and just give you a few notes on what I saw from the guys in shorts.

DEFENSIVE VERSATILITY – Mike Nolan is installing a very versatile defense for this team. They went through a good thirty minutes of formation drills, where the defensive coordinator called out plays and the defense reacted accordingly. The players got into formation and either rushed or dropped into coverage at the snap of the football, executing mental reps. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Kyle Orton didn’t do a lot today, so instead he talked about his experience in camp so far. Josh McDaniels and the team will be available after the evening session at INVESCO, so stay tuned for more nuggets after the real workout tonight!

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First round draft pick running back Knowshon Moreno of the Denver Broncos runs the ball in June. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Knowshon Moreno isn’t in Denver, or even the Western United States for that matter.

He’s in Georgia, continuing to workout while, from training camp, he continues to holdout. The Broncos haven’t had a draft pick hold out this long, let alone a first round draft pick, in 12 years.

The 12th overall pick in the 2009 Draft is part of a logjam of players around San Francisco’s Michael Crabtree, taken 10th overall, whose agent is trying to disrupt the slotted rookie wage system and get top five money for the wide receiver.

Note to Crabtree’s agent: Your job means you serve your client, not yourself. End this circus and do it. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos Coach Josh McDaniels (left) and Lee Robinson (51, right) watch rookies participate in a muddy fumble recovery drill during the team's Wednesday afternoon practice. The rookies were drenched by teammates during the lighthearted exercise. (BroncoTalk/Kyle Montgomery)

Denver Broncos training camp… News and notes from the Wednesday evening practice.

It was easy enough to tell the rookies apart from the rest of the Denver Broncos practicing this afternoon. Just look for the muddy pants.

Head Coach Josh McDaniels had the team participate in a little buffoonery Wednesday, setting up a well-earned diversion after five days of grueling work. The tall grass in the south end of the east field was soaked beyond the end zone, and the rookies were instructed to dive for the loose football, with one catch – the veterans holding the hose and buckets of water. It didn’t take long for several Broncos to find themselves diving into a muddy mess, and the jubilant activity set the stage for a lighthearted, hooting-and-hollering practice the rest of the evening.

Attendance Report

Still missing were Brian Dawkins, Brandon Marshall and Knowshon Moreno. DL Rulon Davis missed a second straight workout, and RB Ryan Torain was noticeably absent. All the other veterans who missed the morning practice returned to work in the afternoon.

Overall, the offense was a mess again today, with the defense continuing to dominate. The defensive MVP was hard to pick from so many deserving guys, while really only one offensive player stood out. Here we go! Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Call it Preseason Game 0.5.

The Denver Broncos are leaving the tranquility of Dove Valley for the roar of INVESCO Field at Mile High Thursday night, hosting a full team scrimmage under the stadium lights. The two-hour event will feature full pads and live game scenarios.

Admission and parking are both free to the public, with festivities set to begin at 6:00 p.m.

“There will be some live contact and hitting,” Head Coach Josh McDaniels told the media Wednesday. “We are going to simulate, as much as we can, a game-type setting and scenario for our players and staff because we haven’t done this together yet. We don’t want the first time that it happens to be in San Francisco.” The Broncos kick off the 2009 preseason in San Francisco on Friday, August 14th. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Via Twitter and his blog, Jim Saccomano, VP of public relations for the Broncos has given us an idea of what to expect our team to wear in this coming season.  Below is a rundown of dates and games for the uniforms for this season.  If I’m understanding the wording correctly, the team will only be sporting its AFL uniforms for one game this season, at home against the Patriots on October 11th.  It was previously speculated that the uniforms would be worn whenever two former AFL teams were playing each other.

Broncos Orange and Anniversary Uniform Schedule
	vs. Dallas Cowboys October 4th. (home)
vs. Boston Patriots (New England) October 11th. (home)
	vs. Pittsburgh Steelers November 9th. (home)

Mike Nolan is quite literally a 'hands on' coach. (BroncoTalk/Kyle Montgomery)

Denver Broncos training camp… news and notes from the Wednesday AM practice.

With the public restricted from viewing the Wednesday morning workout, the Broncos kicked off their sixth day of practice to the watchful eyes of Media and VIP’s only. A more run-filled practice, the defense stepped up again, the offense continued to struggle but show flashes, and the coaches were as mystic as ever.

Attendance Report

Brian Dawkins was missing from practice after sustaining an injury yesterday, and Head Coach Josh McDaniels expects him to miss a few days. Veterans Daniel Graham, Brandon Stokley, and Casey Weigmann were absent, although they’ve been given this special treatment once before. Coach is taking it easy on the vets. D.J. Williams was out – no word on why, along with Rulon Davis. Of course, to no one’s surprise, Brandon Marshall and Knowshon Moreno were also elsewhere.

Offense

OFFENSIVE MVP: RYAN CLADY. The Big Man showed why he should have been a 2008 Pro Bowler in today’s practice. The right side of the o-line was noticeably struggling, but the left side held strong. With rookie Seth Olsen lining up at LG and Ben Hamilton sliding over to C in Weigmann’s absence, Clady not only handled his own assignments in pass protection, he helped the rookie out a few times as well. I saw Clady stonewall Dumervil on a rush before picking up a corner blitz. In the run game, Clady also showed his mettle. As a whole, the running game got very little going today, as the defense played very well and was aggressive at the line of scrimmage. The only success they had seemed to be on the left side behind the big, hulking Clady. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

After sustaining an unspecified injury during Tuesday’s afternoon practice, Brian Dawkins is expected to miss some practice time while he recuperates, Head Coach Josh McDaniels said Wednesday.

“He’ll be out for a few days,” McDaniels said. “I wouldn’t expect it to last too, too long, certainly nothing devastating.” When asked where Dawkins was injured, McDaniels cleverly dodged, “Somewhere above the ground.”

With Dawkins sitting out, the Broncos rotated other defensive backs into the starting safety position, including rookie David Bruton.

The Bill Belichick code of withholding any and all information on injuries is in full effect in Dove Valley. Hopefully we get Dawkins back soon.