Once Adam Meadows became convinced he was ready for a return to the NFL, he had his comeback trail turn into a speedway.
One day and roughly two years after he had retired, the former Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle was in Atlanta talking with the Falcons, then Mississippi the next for a visit with the New Orleans Saints.
He was in Green Bay on Thursday night and Friday morning, when the Packers made him a four-year offer, and in Denver by noon Saturday. It was during the Broncos’ lunch break between workouts Saturday that Meadows worked out in their indoor facility.
Meadows, 32, was supposed to visit with Washington, Dallas and Miami early this week, but he didn’t get out of Denver without a contract that included a $400,000 signing bonus and an $850,000 salary for the 2006 season.
“We could have made more money somewhere else,” said Don Henderson, Meadows’ agent, “but anybody who knows anything about my client knows money has never been a big factor to him.”
While every agent may make a similar statement about their clients, Meadows has substantial proof. After protecting Peyton Manning as a six-year starter in Indy, Meadows became a free agent and signed a $15 million contract that included a $2.5 million signing bonus with the Carolina Panthers before the 2004 season.
But Meadows had undergone surgery on his right shoulder a couple of months before training camp, and when the pain persisted and a doctor warned of long-term affects, he retired rather than play below his personal standards. Meadows then demonstrated high character by paying back every cent of the $2.5 million he had received from the Panthers.
“That’s as high as it gets,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said.
After signing with the Broncos, Meadows flew back to collect his belongings and spend a final night with his family at his home in the Southeast. He will be back for team meetings tonight and on the field for his first workout Tuesday morning.
It may be unrealistic to expect Meadows to play at an NFL-caliber level early in the season, but eventually he will offer serious competition to starting right tackle George Foster.
“There’s competition all the time,” Foster said. “As a team, you always have to have everybody stay on top of their game. That’s what competition does. You want the best players.”
Surgery for Pears
Offensive tackle Erik Pears will have surgery today to repair a torn tendon in his pinky finger and will miss five days. Pears played at Kennedy High School and Colorado State before spending his rookie season last year on the Broncos’ practice squad.
Also banged up are safety Sam Brandon, who is out with a pulled hamstring, and receiver Todd Devoe, who sat out a few drills in the Sunday afternoon workout because of shoulder soreness.
It’s just tough love
Shanahan’s coaching staff doesn’t miss much. Here’s a typical scene during a no-touch scrimmage: A play is run, followed immediately by 12 or so assistant coaches stepping to instruct, yell at, or compliment a particular player for how he executed the play. Then another play and 12 more coaches hollering.
No two players have been ridden harder than rookie tight end Tony Scheffler, who hears it from tight ends coach Tim Brewster, and second-year defensive end Corey Jackson, who gets an earful from defensive ends coach Jacob Burney.
“Part of it is to thicken your skin a little bit, trying to get you to respond to the pressure,” Jackson said. “It’s frustrating because you expect a lot of yourself already. But I understand that if they didn’t care or they didn’t expect me to help this team they wouldn’t say anything.”
The Broncos are counting on Scheffler and Jackson to play considerably this season even though they have one NFL game between them.
“Rookies have an indoctrination that they all have to go through,” Brewster said. “I believe you have to be demanding. You have to demand exactly what you expect.”
Scheffler doesn’t wilt as he often follows a holler a few plays later with an exceptional catch.
“I don’t take it personally,” Scheffler said. “It’s not a bad thing.
“Some of the fans sitting over there watching might not see it that way, but we’re out here to do a job. And if I’m not doing my job then it affects Coach Brewster’s job.”
Lelie, fines and Eagles
Holding out for a trade, receiver Ashley Lelie had his fine total reach $56,000 following his missed workouts Sunday. He may have hope in the Philadelphia Eagles, who had receivers Reggie Brown (hamstring) and Todd Pinkston (Achilles tendon) lost to early injuries.
Bill Williamson contributed to this report.
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
