ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For the first time in his storied career, Russell Wilson played quarterback in a joint practice scrimmage against another team.
A kid on his first trip down the candy aisle couldn’t have been happier.
Wilson started the practice against the Dallas Cowboys’ No. 1 defense by connecting with receiver Courtland Sutton and tight end Eric Saubert on 20-yard or so completions. There would be more nice-sized completions to Sutton, receivers Jerry Jeudy and Kendall Hinton and tight end Albert Okwuegbunam. Running back Javonte Williams had two long runs, which helped set up some misdirection plays that had receivers wide open.
There was one tipped interception and Cowboys’ edge rusher Micah Parsons was a tough block so it wasn’t perfect. But the 14th and final day of Broncos’ training camp was before a mixed Cowboys-Broncos crowd of 6,514 at UCHealth Training Center, Wilson and the starting offense inarguably were at their best.
Denver Broncos joint practice with Dallas Cowboys
“It was a great day for us,’’ Wilson said afterwards. “I think all the work you put in ever since me getting here and then all the work we put in collectively as a group… it really showed up today, I thought. We were just so locked in on offense. I know the defense had a great day as well. We had a blast.”
The Denver defense was involved in several fights with the Cowboys’ first-string offense. Broncos outside linebacker Malik Reed was involved in the first tussle.
“Got a little scrappy out there,’’ Reed said with a smile as he walked into the locker room.
“We were involved in their backfield a lot and I know they were upset about that,’’ said defensive tackle Mike Purcell.
Defensive lineman Marquiss Spencer got up from the ground and started throwing haymakers in the most spirited of the brawls. At one point, Purcell had a Cowboys facemask in his hand.
“I went in to break up another fight, somebody else went and pushed me and start something else,’’ Purcell said. “I happened to grab his face mask, got us out of there. [Blank] happens.”
It got so bad for a while, veteran safety Kareem Jackson had to transform from his usual instigator role to peacemaker.
“Today was that one percent where I tried to play peacemaker – so we could get some work done,’’ Jackson said. “I kind of saw where it was going. I didn’t want it to get any uglier than it already was.”
Why did tempers flare so often through the early part of the scrimmage?
“New blood,’’ Jackson said. “You’ve got 11 guys out here competing at the highest level. I’m sure every guy out here has an ego when they approach their jobs. It’s football. It can get a little chippy sometimes. We’re not getting fined or anything like that. The most that can happen is you sit out a couple plays and you come back in. So you give a little extra but I think we did a good job as a team kind of reeling it back in and getting some work done.”
After an intensely competitive 2-hour practice on another hot summer day in the Denver area Thursday, it would be a surprise if either team plays their starters Saturday night when the Cowboys and Broncos play their preseason opener at Empower Field at Mile High (7 p.m. kickoff, Channel 20).
The joint practice, Wilson said, was game-like enough.
“My first time actually doing this,’’ Wilson said. “For 10 years [with the Seattle Seahawks] I’ve never did this before. I loved it. It was a lot of fun.’’
Now that he’s going into his 11th year in the NFL and first with a new team, Wilson said he’s all about sharing knowledge with his teammates. Has he made any physical adjustments to his quarterback style now that he’s moving into year 11 in professional football and three months shy of his 34th year on earth?
“No, not really,’’ he said with a smile. “Just keep giving the ball to the right guy at the right time. And have some fun while doing it. It’s been a blast. I feel amazing. I feel the best I’ve ever felt. I feel strong, I feel fast, I feel confident. No fear. I feel like a winner.”
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