ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper walked out to watch the Broncos’ OTA practice Tuesday, his face masked and his left hand in a club brace to protect his surgically repaired ring finger.
On the field, right tackle Calvin Anderson was wearing a monstrous facial contraption beneath his visored helmet, working with the first-team offense. Anderson had returned to the Broncos’ OTAs just a couple weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a broken nose, according to a source.
Turns out, Anderson is not only smart – unquestionably the only 300-pound man on Earth who was a mathematical economics major at Rice and can solve a Rubik’s Cube behind his back and blindfolded in less than 30 seconds – but he’s also some kind of tough.
“He’s a big Detroit Pistons fan,’’ Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett said of Anderson’s revised look Tuesday. “Remember [the mask protected] Bill Laimbeer, ‘Rip’ Hamilton, all those guys? It was just a fun little costume that he’s got.”
Cooper, meanwhile, will be back for training camp.
Surtain picks Wilson
Apparently, Russell Wilson didn’t throw an interception during the Broncos’ first three OTA practices this week. He threw one on the first play of OTA No. 4 to start the new week Tuesday. A floating deep pass met not a receiver, who stopped on the play, but second-year cornerback Pat Surtain II, who left his man to snag the pick and returned it for an apparent touchdown.
“We have to fix some things up on offense on that one,’’ Hackett said. “We messed that one up. We have to keep running on that. But I thought that was a great reactionary play for him and that was the first pick of the OTAs in the offseason. We’re going to be hearing about that. The defense is coming along really well. Obviously, they have played together, and they’ve done a nice job.”
Bronco Bits
With kicker Brandon McManus attending the OTA session Tuesday, veteran running back Melvin Gordon III was the only Broncos player who continues to exercise his voluntary right to work out on his own and not attend the offseason team activity. Left tackle Garett Bolles didn’t attend practice Tuesday because of a family commitment. …
Kareem Jackson on facing a scrambling quarterback like Wilson in practice each day: “On Sunday, when you see a guy like that, it sucks. To see him every day, it sucks. It kind of ticks me off at times.’’ …
Hackett said nice things about second-year player Baron Browning, who is making the transition from inside to outside linebacker. “He’s somebody that we saw a couple of things on tape last year that could potentially be something that he can do. His ability to bend and lower his hips and round that tackle is something that stood out on tape. That’s another rusher on the outside, and he’s doing a good job.”
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