Latest / Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports / Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 5-27-25

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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 5-27-25 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwald is our Broncos insider.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Altitude Sports Radio ninety two five Pro Football, the insider.
• 0:07
  Speaker 3: I've covered the league a little while.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Jef Legwall his appearances are always must listen radio.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: We learn a lot, brought to you by the International
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Start with a job and with
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: the career IBW Local sixty eight. It's leggye well, ye
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  Speaker 2: ye on Altitude Sports Radio ninety two five.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Pielines right there at ESPN dot com. Ja Marius Thomas
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: to be inducted into Broncos Ring of Fame. Jeff Legwald
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  Speaker 1: doing the reporting on that as you write, Jeff, Tamarrius Thomas,
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  Speaker 1: whose signature smile was as big a part of his
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  Speaker 1: legacy with the Broncos as his long list of big plays.
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  Speaker 1: We'll be inducted into the team's Ring of Fame during
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  Speaker 1: the twenty twenty five season. You know, naturally, leg you
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: we gotta do the talk radio thing where we don't
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  Speaker 1: appreciate it for one second and instantly go to what
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  Speaker 1: is his Hall of fame resume? Uh for ta Marius Thomas.
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  Speaker 1: But let's let's stay on the Broncos part of it
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  Speaker 1: here for just a moment. When we talked on Friday,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: we said, Hey, quarter century team Tamrius Thomas rod Smith
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  Speaker 1: absolute no brainer. I think he's top two in franchise
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  Speaker 1: history in terms of it being an all time great
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  Speaker 1: wide receiver. Ta Marius Thomas going into the Ring of Fame.
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  Speaker 1: To you, Jeff as a player, what is his his
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  Speaker 1: ultimate football legacy?
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  Speaker 4: Well, he's one of the best Broncos. I think they're
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  Speaker 4: the franchise will ever have. He's certainly one of the
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  Speaker 4: best I ever put eyes on in my in my
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  Speaker 4: time covering the team. He's, you know, the top of
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  Speaker 4: the top, you know, right there with the you know,
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  Speaker 4: the absolute best, even some of the Hall of famers
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  Speaker 4: who've been here.
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  Speaker 3: You know, his Hall of Fame resume will.
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  Speaker 4: Be uh that he was stuck in a struggling offense
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  Speaker 4: for a lot of years that didn't you know, at
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  Speaker 4: least as first two that couldn't throw the ball. And
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: then injuries, you know, he tore his achilles twice in
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  Speaker 4: his career, and then his hip. I don't think people
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  Speaker 4: realize the kind of hip injury, hip pain he played
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: through much of the.
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  Speaker 3: Final years of his career.
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  Speaker 4: I'm not sure I know of many players who pushed
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: through more to not just play, but to excel. So
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  Speaker 4: I think the injuries cut him short at a position
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  Speaker 4: where numbers are everything.
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  Speaker 3: I believe a five.
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  Speaker 4: Time Pro bowler with his statistics and one of the
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  Speaker 4: greatest four year runs. I mean, there are only four
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  Speaker 4: receivers in league history who did what he did over
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: those four years. I certainly would love to fight that
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  Speaker 4: one in the room. I think both he and Rod
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  Speaker 4: Smith deserve a day in court they will never get,
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  Speaker 4: probably because the number A receiver are just stupid. Now
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: we you know one hundred catch seasons and you know
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: fifteen hundred yard seasons and career catches.
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  Speaker 3: It's also out of whack.
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  Speaker 4: It's hard to judge the actual football player in there
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  Speaker 4: for some But uh, I don't care how long I
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  Speaker 4: do this and how many people I see.
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  Speaker 3: He will always be one.
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  Speaker 4: Of the three best receivers I ever lay eyes on.
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  Speaker 4: And I think I talk to journalism classes a lot,
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  Speaker 4: and I used Tamrius Thomas as an example of how
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: we cover humility, and I think sometimes we undervalue humility
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  Speaker 4: because you know, the player doesn't tell us how good
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  Speaker 4: he is, so we don't celebrate how good he is.
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  Speaker 4: I think Tamarius Thomas, I mean, Peyton Manning said he's
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  Speaker 4: one of the biggest reasons he signed here in twenty twelve.
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  Speaker 3: Was that to mareas Thomas was on this team.
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  Speaker 5: Can you talk about his ability to battle the number
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  Speaker 5: one corner again? I was telling Nate the story that
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  Speaker 5: when he got traded and you know Amanu was taking
• 4:09
  Speaker 5: over the position, you had told me, well, now we're
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  Speaker 5: gonna have to see how Manialhanna is the number one
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  Speaker 5: corner because we never gave enough credence to that. He
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  Speaker 5: saw double teams in twenty thirteen, the greatest offense you've
• 4:18
  Speaker 5: ever seen. Hen you just talk about some of what
• 4:20
  Speaker 5: he went up against. It's like Jokic getting blitzed by
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  Speaker 5: three players in the keys sometimes.
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  Speaker 3: And he rarely complained.
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  Speaker 4: Andy and I, you know, I we all talk about
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  Speaker 4: how we want the guy who doesn't tell us how
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  Speaker 4: great he is, how who doesn't complain, who doesn't flop.
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  Speaker 3: Yet we don't celebrate that all the time.
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  Speaker 4: And look, I'm in a business that is as guilty
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  Speaker 4: of that as anything. So I realized that. But I
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  Speaker 4: think the fact he didn't call for flags almost ever
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  Speaker 4: put him in a situation like Nikola Joka where he
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  Speaker 4: is just battling punishment other players don't see. And I
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: saw it with my own eyes an awful lot. And uh,
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  Speaker 4: I did an oral history about the twenty thirteen offense
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  Speaker 4: and talked to everybody involved, and it's one of the
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  Speaker 4: favorite things I've ever written. And in that story, Peyton
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  Speaker 4: Manning said, everything that offense did started with how defense
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  Speaker 4: has reacted to Damarrius Thomas, not anything else, not Peyton Manning.
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  Speaker 4: Not Peyton Manning said they started every discussion of every
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  Speaker 4: play and every scouting, you know, thing they did, and
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  Speaker 4: every audible they made by what defenses did with Damerius Thomas.
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  Speaker 1: We talked about it before, uh greatest bubble screen wide
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  Speaker 1: receiver ever or in the very least, he put them
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  Speaker 1: right up next to Terrell Owens as the the best ever.
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  Speaker 4: On that play, Yeah, the one against the Ravens, I
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  Speaker 4: think it was the seventh touchdown pass in the game
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  Speaker 4: is always one of my you know, it was like
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  Speaker 4: he was catapulted out of like, you know, a tunnel.
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  Speaker 3: It was ridiculous.
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  Speaker 1: It was such a fun play to watch, and it
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  Speaker 1: was one there where you know, Manning just surveyed the
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  Speaker 1: defense and looked over and said, Okay, well, I know
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  Speaker 1: DT's going to break that tackle and boom, I'm calling
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  Speaker 1: this thing. And next thing you know, it's hey, it's
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  Speaker 1: a gain of twenty eight. Here we go and the
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: offense is just absolutely humming and clicking. Once again. LEGI
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  Speaker 1: so had this debate earlier. Okay, so Manning is already in. Now,
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: Damarius Thomas is going in of the twenty fifteen team,
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  Speaker 1: that group that won the Super Bowl that season. I
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: have argued four off of the defense, one of whom
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: is technically ineligible because of the rules. And yet I say,
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  Speaker 1: rules be damned on this guy. That would be DeMarcus
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  Speaker 1: Ware along with Von Miller. And then I say that
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: both Chris Harrison and keep to leeb Our Broncos ring
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  Speaker 1: of famers. When you look at that twenty fifteen team,
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  Speaker 1: what say you, I've got six making it. What do
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  Speaker 1: you think?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it's it'll be a crowded facade on
• 7:01
  Speaker 4: the stadium with that group. And not just because I
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  Speaker 4: think sometimes we just lump it all into the super
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  Speaker 4: Bowl fifty, but much of that group won fifty games
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  Speaker 4: in four years, four division titles, went to two Super Bowls.
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  Speaker 4: You know, and went to two Super Bowls in an
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  Speaker 4: era when Tom Brady and the Patriots were we're doing
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  Speaker 4: their things. So you know, again, you know, I think
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  Speaker 4: you start at six, and you know, the Broncos have
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  Speaker 4: been very stringent when you compare it to like you
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  Speaker 4: go to Kansas City and it looks like a phone
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  Speaker 4: book up. They have so many players in their Ring
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  Speaker 4: of Fame or whatever they call it, it's just, you know,
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  Speaker 4: it sort of dilutes it a little bit. I think
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  Speaker 4: I think Tamarius is the thirty eighth person, you know,
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  Speaker 4: in their Ring of Fame, so it is it is
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  Speaker 4: really an honor. But I think you started six with
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  Speaker 4: that era, and you could probably make arguments for other guys.
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  Speaker 4: I also think they're they're guys like Al Wilson and
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  Speaker 4: and you know other people that deserve a nod as
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  Speaker 4: well before you even get to that, yeah, era we're
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  Speaker 4: talking about.
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  Speaker 3: But you know, that's that's the recency one.
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  Speaker 4: But that that was the greatest, if not one of
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  Speaker 4: the greatest, if not the greatest, four year run in
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  Speaker 4: the franchise's history. And you know, four years is that's
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  Speaker 4: a pretty healthy run in today's NFL.
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  Speaker 5: All right, let's I guess let's talk any camp if
• 8:39
  Speaker 5: you feel like doing that. Mini campus, not mini camp
• 8:41
  Speaker 5: yet it's an ota gotta get them all right, because
• 8:43
  Speaker 5: everybody has to show up to mini camp.
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  Speaker 3: Not everybody has to show up today.
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  Speaker 5: Don't really get to lay eyes on him until Thursday. Jeff,
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  Speaker 5: what do you think will be seeing? This is gonna
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  Speaker 5: be kind of the just uh, a little bit of
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  Speaker 5: the field day stuff this week, right.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, they'll, dude, you know, I bet they have
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  Speaker 4: some some sort of installation going andy though they'll do
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  Speaker 4: some football things. I'm intrigued just to see that the
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  Speaker 4: new guys on defense. You know, we won't see green
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  Speaker 4: Law probably until training camp, but hufanga, you know, I'm
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  Speaker 4: intrigued to see him, you know, healthy and moving around
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  Speaker 4: and how the uh you know, this time of year,
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  Speaker 4: I'm always looking to see who among the rookies has
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  Speaker 4: already made enough of an impression to push into the
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: rotation they do use when we when we do look
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  Speaker 4: at it. So I think those are kind of the
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  Speaker 4: things I looking for. And then you know, we haven't
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  Speaker 4: seen Nicks throw since he's dealt with you know, the
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: off season rehab from from his injuries.
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  Speaker 1: R j Harvey, what's the what's the learning curve slash
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: sort of timeline for a player like that? Look like,
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  Speaker 1: are the Broncos hoping that by week one this guy's
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: ready to play you know, thirty forty snaps in their
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  Speaker 1: offense and probably take the at least the majority of
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  Speaker 1: offensive snaps in the backfield.
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  Speaker 3: I think they drafted him with that hope.
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  Speaker 4: You know, there's always a chance that the veterans don't
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  Speaker 4: go quietly, you know that that you get the you know,
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  Speaker 4: Julia McLoughlin sees, Okay, they drafted her back and they're
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: acting like he's gonna be There's always that chance the
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  Speaker 4: veteran puts up a quality fight, you know or estimate
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  Speaker 4: you know.
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  Speaker 3: Who old by the way, estimate exactly.
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  Speaker 4: And and he came in not with quite the hopes
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  Speaker 4: of Harvey, but they were just as hopeful, almost as as.
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  Speaker 3: When they drafted him.
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  Speaker 4: So uh, I think it's it's hard for rookie to
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  Speaker 4: move ahead of the class like that and not, you know,
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  Speaker 4: unless you're you're Jday Baron, who I think is gonna
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: play wherever they can put him. Uh, But I think
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  Speaker 4: Harvey will have a fight on his hands. But they
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  Speaker 4: they the vision will be evident. I think think when
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: when they do put the pads on in August, I
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: think we will see the vision they were talking about
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: when they picked him.
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  Speaker 5: Is there who who's even out there? I think I've
• 11:12
  Speaker 5: asked you before. There's not really a free agent to
• 11:14
  Speaker 5: keep an eye on, right, this is the roster. Well
• 11:17
  Speaker 5: they at capwise too, Jeff, I don't think we've asked
• 11:19
  Speaker 5: you that in a while. They're up to it, aren't they.
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: They're close.
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  Speaker 4: I mean they got enough to do a couple of
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  Speaker 4: these late deals if someone, you know, I think cutdown
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: day really is the next big day to look at. Uh,
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: you know, when they're looking around and they've left enough
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: room for that.
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: I mean they they're still are carrying thirty two million.
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: Dead money for Russell Wilson, so you know, there is
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: still a little bit of the capstrap thing. And they
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: did spend their free agency dollars. You know, they got
• 11:52
  Speaker 4: guys on mid level deals, but they did you know
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: four you know fairly, you know you in DJ Jones
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: is resigning, and they spent their free agency money. So
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: I think the last time I looked, they were twelve
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: or thirteen million under with the top fifty one.
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: Which is all that counts until cutdown day.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: Best guess who is the next Bronco veteran to get
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: a contract extension.
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: Well, you got two three really in the hopper.
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: I'm gonna have to make a call Benito, because you
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: don't have the fifth year option buffer.
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: You know, he's a second round pick, so you got
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: to make a call.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: There.
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  Speaker 4: You got Courtland Sutton, who they've said they want to resign,
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: and I think Zach Allens made his feelings pretty clear too.
• 12:41
  Speaker 4: So in theory because you can bump down this year
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: when you do resign a guy, you know, it's possible
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: to do them all, and they certainly have the cash
• 12:52
  Speaker 4: to do whatever they want. Yeah, but I think in
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: a perfect world they get something done with all three.
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: But I think Benito, you know, it's really him and
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: his representatives. Do you want to play it out right
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: and really make the number big or do you want
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: to sign it you know in the in the Montes
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: sweat area right now, which would be twenty four twenty
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: five million a year, nowhere close to you know, the
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: forty million a year Miles Garrett got you know, or
• 13:24
  Speaker 4: nowhere close you know to the top end guys. But
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: he's earned that that twenty four to twenty five million
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: a year range, and it's just a question of can
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: they sweeten it enough to get him to sign earlier
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  Speaker 4: or not.
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  Speaker 1: I think yeah, because if he goes out and has
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: another you know, fourteen fifteen sixteen sac kind of you know,
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: second team All Pro, first team All Pro kind of
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: season like he did a year ago, that that's what
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: you start to talk about John Franklin Myers, is he
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: a player that the team would consider extending.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: I certainly think they want to keep this group together. Yeah.
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: I mean they've said that privately and publicly.
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: It's it's just really hard to get every you know,
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: it only takes one other suitor out there, and you know,
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: John Franklin Myers is probably going to think to himself,
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: you know, how many more bites at the Apple do
• 14:13
  Speaker 4: I have? So, you know, guys are gonna want to
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: maximize what they can get, and sometimes that means you
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: don't get you don't get everybody you want to get.
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: But I think they'll try. I mean they've talked to
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: Courtland's people. I know they've had some preliminary discussions with
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: Benitos and Zach Allen's all of those things. But how
• 14:34
  Speaker 4: serious it gets, I would think we would see one
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: or two done before the season if they really get
• 14:40
  Speaker 4: serious about it.
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: Hey, just a quick follow ups and we're not hearing
• 14:43
  Speaker 5: about anybody not showing up because of this? No no
• 14:46
  Speaker 5: no shows? Or were we not know till Thursday?
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: I mean again, you're you're taking people at their word
• 14:52
  Speaker 4: right now, and I've I've been told they've had no issues.
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: You know, whether that means guys are coming for two
• 15:00
  Speaker 4: of the four days or three of the four days
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: or all of the four days every week, I don't
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: think anybody can officially say that with their own eyes.
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: So until we see Thursday. But I have not heard
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: of any issues thus far.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: I could go for a spicy holdout right about now.
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: Let's let's really let's up the drama level on this offseason.
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: That's what I say, Leggy. You love covering a holdout,
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: don't you. It's always a good time.
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: Well before the salary cap and god do I date
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: myself there? Uh?
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: That used to be all you did in training camp
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: was was right about a holdout a day? Who came back?
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: So that was that was really how uh? That was
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: how you covered training camp.
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: You gotta fill out that that that Rocky Mountain News
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: Notes column wasn't gonna fill itself out, all right, Jeff.
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: Yeah, or even even you know, the Steelers and the
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: Bills when I covered them, it's like, oh, so it's okay,
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: back to camp today.
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: So that was that was like the Monday story.
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 15:54
  Speaker 5: And then two days later, they pulled a hammy.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: They dubbed out their sick, they ran out onto the
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: field and they pulled a muscle.
• 16:03
  Speaker 5: I remember when I remember Jeff going, this is the
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: dumbest thick I've ever seen. When No Sean, well maybe
• 16:09
  Speaker 5: that's not exactly you put it. No Sean gets into
• 16:11
  Speaker 5: camp late and Josh has hell bent to playing against
• 16:14
  Speaker 5: the Niners, and Jeff is like, he's gonna pull a hammy.
• 16:17
  Speaker 5: What happened in that first game, Jeff, he pulled a
• 16:20
  Speaker 5: hammy and then we didn't see him again toil like
• 16:22
  Speaker 5: the regular season, right right now?
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: Preseason in practice?
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, god, oh, you're right, and you make it to
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: the game.
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: No, he didn't make it to They pulled it, pulled
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: it into practice only a few minutes after predicted. So, Jeff, everybody,
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: you know I'm not wasting my time out there. I
• 16:46
  Speaker 4: got my eyes on the on the important stuff.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: The man's reporting, folks, ESBN, that's where you go and
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: read his stuff. His latest is on to Marius Thomas
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: going into the Bronco Ring of Fame. Jeff, well done
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: as always.
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: Man, Thank you, fellas. We'll see it all
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: Right, the Great Jeff Leangwold with us right there.