Brandon Stokley is coming off a torn Achilles tendon. Rod Smith recently underwent hip surgery.
First one to heal extends his receiving career with the Broncos?
While position battles have always been the focus of training camp, the Broncos could wind up with an unprecedented competition at No. 3 receiver come late July.
The Broncos made it interesting Tuesday by signing Stokley, a receiver they once couldn’t cover, to a one-year, incentive-laden contract.
“Seems like a great situation, great fit for me,” Stokley said Tuesday from Louisiana. “I don’t know what my role is going to be. I’m just going in and competing for a job. That’s pretty much how it is in the NFL.”
With Javon Walker assured of starting at the No. 1 receiver position, and second-year receiver Brandon Marshall all but guaranteed to line up at either the No. 2 or 3 spot, Stokley and Smith may well wind up competing to be a part of the Broncos’ pass-catching trio.
Could the loser become the Broncos’ No. 4 receiver? Such a scenario is premature. Ultimately, health might make the decision for Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. Stokley ruptured his right Achilles while taking off from the line of scrimmage in a Week 14 Indianapolis Colts loss at Jacksonville. He underwent surgery Dec. 20, knowing full recovery would take six to eight months. He will be seven months removed from surgery when the Broncos open training camp in late July, so Stokley could be limited during the preseason.
“I’m hoping by training camp, but I don’t want to push it too much,” said Stokley, who started running on a treadmill this week and will report to Denver in 12 days for the start of the offseason program. “I want to be cautious with it, also. My main goal is to be out there the first game of the season playing football for the Denver Broncos.”
Smith underwent hip surgery earlier this month. His four-month rehab should have him ready by the start of camp.
Age also could become a consideration, as it inevitably does at the receiver position. This is where Stokley, who will turn 31 in early summer, has the advantage over Smith, who will soon turn 37.
Then again, past production is forever on Smith’s side: He ranks 11th on the NFL’s all-time list with 849 receptions. Stokley, who became Peyton Manning’s target only after the quarterback first checked with Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, has never had a 70-catch season in his eight-year career.
Not that Stokley has to apologize to Broncos fans. In a first-round, 2003 season AFC playoff game, Stokley caught four passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns in helping the Colts to a 41-10 rout of the Broncos.
“That was a fun game,” Stokley said. “They whipped us pretty good the week before, and I didn’t play very well in that game. So I was looking forward to that rematch with them. It’s a game that does run through my mind.”
Stokley followed up his signature game with a career year in 2004, making 68 catches for 1,077 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Last season was bittersweet. While Indy was making its way toward its first Super Bowl, Stokley suffered not one, but two ankle injuries in training camp, then a sprained knee, then blew out his Achilles.
He finished the season with only eight catches and could only watch in the rain as his Colts whipped the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
“It was not a good feeling,” he said. “It was a great feeling when we won, but you want to be out there and be a part of it.”
Stokley did score the first touchdown, on a 38-yard reception, in the January 2001 Super Bowl to help Baltimore trounce the New York Giants.
Two teams, two Super Bowl rings. Can the Broncos make it three and three?
Stokley likes his chances, which is one reason he signed with Denver when he could have worked out a deal with New Orleans or Indianapolis.
“Everything about the Broncos’ organization, the city, I just loved it all,” Stokley said. “I thought it would be good for me to have a fresh start. I needed to go somewhere where I could get healthy, and I believe in their training staff and how they do things there. I think they’re going to help me have a healthy season this year.”
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
