• Domonique Foxworth on leaving Denver: “I just wanted to get out from behind Champ Bailey and Dre Bly, so I got out of there before they had a chance to change their mind.”  Classy, indeed. [Denver Post]
• Darrell Jackson is still feeling pain in his ankle.  [Colorado Springs Gazette]
• Jay Cutler and Jeremy Bates have a unique working relationship.  [Rocky Mountain News]
• Only four players remain from the 2005 AFC Championship team.  [DPO]
• Look for Wesley Woodyard to make an immediate impact on special teams.  [DPO]
• The Turk visited these three Broncos, who share their stories.  [DenverBroncos.com]
• The Raiders are seriously talking Super Bowl.  Seriously.  Wow.  [Contra Costa Times]
• Even if Tom Brady‘s foot is broken, and he can’t play, I’ll still take the Pats over the Chiefs.  [PFT]

Ian hinted at it in his latest Page Six post, but this news is just too goofy and downright hilarious not to give its full due.

Former Denver Broncos running back Tatum Bell was recently released by the Detroit Lions after one mediocre season with the club. The move was prompted by the Lions’ signing of former Bengal Rudi Johnson on Monday, leaving Bell as the odd man out in the Lions’ running back lineup.

Bell didn’t take the news well.

Called in for a meeting with Detroit Head Coach Rod Marinelli and team officials, Johnson set his bags outside the room. When he left the room, his bags were mysteriously gone.

Luckily, the team has surveillance cameras set up throughout the facility (presumably in response to dozens of “missing” bags in the past), and were able to determine the culprit by video.

It was none other than Tatum Bell.

Bell left the bags in hiding, asking an old friend to look after them. The Lions confronted Bell, who claimed he had mistaken Johnson’s bags for someone else’s. Because other people are always leaving their bags for Bell to pick up at the team facility.

While the story is only rumor at this point, Instant Replay confirmed that Bell fumbled the bags twice before reaching his goal.

Rudi’s Crazy Day in Detroit [ProFootballTalk] Thanks for the tip Roy!

A little bit more gossip, a little flat out scandal in this our second edition of Denver Broncos – Page 6

First a blind item:

• Although it has been reported at another outlet, which former member of the Denver Broncos allegedly stole a recently signed free agent’s luggage? Then took it to a girlfriend’s house and asked her to, “Hold on to it for a little while?” After being cut.

Onto the rest:

• Did Denver make an offer for Lito Sheppard involving Domonique Foxworth? It’s possible as the Philadelphia Eagles are now admitting that they turned down an offer on their star second-string corner within the last few days.
• What is taking news on Tom Nalen so long, is he delaying the inevitable or is he actually returning? Given the fact that he has not been cut or placed on injured reserve, he is actually returning.
• Broncos worse off at safety than expected? Yes, they signed three in two days. With Marquand Manuel’s thumb injury, a day-to-day Hamza Abdullah and the trade of Domonique Foxworth; the Broncos could be in trouble quick at a shallow position.
• Last week we reported that Keary Colbert would lose his depth chart position to Clifford Russell and then Colbert became the third leading receiver on the Broncos preseason roster- all in one play.
• Was the Denver Broncos newest signing in retaliation to the Oakland Raiders most recent signing? Of course not, but we would like to point out that imitation is the highest form of flattery- thanks Al!
• Recently cut Broncos receiver Glenn Martinez is drawing interest from the Tennessee Titans where he could very easily walk into third on the depth chart. Mike Heimerdinger, former Broncos assistant head coach, current Titans offensive coordinator brought Martinez in and was one of sthe reasons Martinez stayed so long in Denver.

As always, we welcome comments from everyone on all of our posts, but we’re betting that someone is going to guess the blind item right off the bat in the comment section.

BroncoTalk’s week-long Denver Broncos 2008 Season Preview continues… Enjoy!

NFL teams don’t normally expect to find four opening day starters from any given draft in the first year. Getting drafted is difficult enough for a college player; becoming an impact player at the pro level is another obstacle entirely. Most take years of development before cracking the starting lineup.

The Denver Broncos appear to be breaking that rule in 2008. The Broncos will open the season with four rookies pegged as starters – three draft picks, and one undrafted college free agent. First round offensive tackle Ryan Clady, second round wide receiver Eddie Royal, seventh round fullback Peyton Hillis, and undrafted rookie punter Brett Kern will all start for the Broncos on opening day.

The last time even a single rookie started for the Broncos on opening day was in 2004, when first round pick D.J. Williams started at weakside linebacker. That marked the first time a rookie had started on opening day since 1998.

Head Coach Mike Shanahan said he felt strongly about this crop of rookies after the draft concluded.

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The Denver Broncos have released DT Alvin McKinley and replaced him with DT Josh Shaw, the Rocky Mountain News reports.  Shaw has bounced around the league and recently played for the Raiders.

In the spot vacated by Foxworth, they also re-signed Dylan Gandy, a move that had been rumored.

Many were predicting McKinley would not make the final cuts, and I guess he didn’t, and re-signing Gandy makes the O-line feel significantly less thin.

About all I can find about Josh Shaw is that Raiders bloggers expected him to make the team and he didn’t. Hard to tell if he has some upside over McKinley or not. I guess we’ll find out.

Domonique Foxworth attempts to tackle Packers WR Donald Driver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey. Click to enlarge)

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments.

Yesterday’s winner – Zac .

“What chu talkin ’bout, Phyliss?”

Remember to leave your caption for the top photo. Happy captioning!

• Brandon Marshall has his eyes set high this season – probably too high.  Despite being suspended for the first game of the season, Marshall has publicly declared that he’s aiming for 140 balls this season.  The record was set by Marvin Harrison with 143 catches.  Admirable goal, but as FanHouse points out, a goal of “zero arrests” would do more for the Broncos than just about anything.  [FanHouse]
• Speaking of arrests.. hopefully this time next year, the Broncos aren’t featured so prominently on this list.  [Radar]
• In case you missed it… Foxworth traded to Atlanta for conditional 6th-7th rounder.  [BroncoTalk]
• Former Bronco Tatum Bell is now out of a job in Detroit.  [The Sports Network]
• Jacksonville Jaguars OT Richard Collier is fighting for his life after being shot early Tuesday morning.  [ESPN]

The Denver Broncos have traded Domonique Foxworth to the Atlanta Falcons for a conditional 2009 draft pick, CBS4 Denver reports.  The Falcons have agreed to give the Broncos a 7th round draft pick in return for Foxworth’s services.  The pick can elevate to a 6th rounder if Foxworth re-signs with the Falcons before April’s draft.

A trade involving Foxworth has been rumored for months, culminating in the news Monday that Foxworth was sent home from practice to wait to be traded.  Foxworth was classy about the situation, and now he’ll have a chance to compete for a starting job in Atlanta.

A third round draft pick in 2005, Foxworth has played in 46 of 48 games for the Broncos, including 18 regular season starts.  He also started both of the Broncos’ postseason games in 2005.  Since playing predominantly cornerback in his rookie season, Foxworth was moved all over the defensive backfield in 2006 and 2007, with time at safety, corner, and nickel back.

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BroncoTalk’s Ticket Giveaway Contest – where we pony up a $100 gift certificate courtesy VividSeats.com – ends Wednesday at 12:01 am MDT. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on the original post – that’s it. If you haven’t done so yet, get over there and do it NOW!

Full details are available there, one entry per person, good luck everyone!

Speculation was only able to run wild for several hours as the Denver Broncos have re-signed, recently waived, Roderick Rogers to their practice squad.

Rogers held a similar position most of last season, as he spent all but the final two games of the season on the Broncos practice squad. In preseason Rogers tied for fifth on the Broncos squad with nine tackles.

The Denver Broncos eight-man practice squad is now complete and looks like this:

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