ENGLEWOOD, Colo — You hear of NHL goaltenders “fighting the puck” as they struggle to stop routine shots.
You will read of major league shortstops who “fight the ball” on good-hop grounders.
Jerry Jeudy is one of the Broncos’ best receivers who seems to be going through one of those spells where he’s “fighting the ball.”
Jeudy had a couple more drops during the Broncos’ joint practice Wednesday with the Los Angeles Rams. Had his guy beat. But didn’t finish.
VIDEO ABOVE: 1-on-1 with Broncos CEO Greg Penner
Broncos head coach Sean Payton was asked about drops in general, not Jeudy specifically. Payton both understands the reason for them but ultimately offers little sympathy.
“They come from fatigue, they come from concentration, and at some point they’ve got to go away, or … ’’ Payton said. “Periodically, I’ve had really good receivers that might drop a pass early in the game and then you wouldn’t see it again. …
“There were a few out there today, a handful of different players. It’s something where, look, your job as a receiver, you get paid to catch. It’s pretty simple.”
Purcell restructures, activated
Put Mike Purcell on your projected 53-man roster. The veteran nose tackle agreed to a contract restructure – he was scheduled to make $3.5 million this year, although none of it was guaranteed – as he got healthy enough to pass his physical and be activated from the non-football injury list. Purcell underwent an undisclosed surgery prior to the start of OTAs and hasn’t practiced since.
He will be able to practice, likely on a limited basis, starting Thursday.
Palczewski moving up
With right tackle Mike McGlinchey breaking in from his left knee sprain, the Broncos are giving the occasional first-team rep to Alex Palczewski, an undrafted rookie offensive tackle from Illinois.
“Tough, smart,’’ Payton said of Palczewski. “He’s played a lot of football. It’s not always pretty. But there is this quality of: He gets the job done. I said this at the beginning of camp, we did a good job in that two-hour period (after the draft) of signing (college) free agents. Sometimes offensive linemen are hard to get. And we were able to sign a pretty good class of undrafted offensive linemen. I think it’s helped us and will help us not only this year but in the future. I’m encouraged.’’
Besides Palczewski, guard Henry Byrd and tackle Demontrey Jacobs are other undrafted rookie offensive linemen on the Broncos’ roster who get their share of practice and preseason playing time.
To show how much the Broncos like their undrafted offensive linemen, Byrd received a $115,000 guarantee at signing. Palczewski received an $80,000 guarantee. Jacobs got $55,000. And running back Jaleel McLaughlin, the talk of camp, got $55,000.
Bronco Bits
There was a heated exchange early in the joint practice between Broncos cornerback Damarri Mathis and Rams receiver Van Jefferson. Broncos inside linebacker Josey Jewell quickly got in the middle of it. Jewell delivered a pretty good shoulder pop on the Rams’ first running play. …
The Broncos waived long-snapper Jack Landherr IV and signed defensive tackle Tomasi Laulile. Landherr’s release means Mitchell Fraboni will likely be the team’s season-opening long snapper.
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