Soon after the Broncos signed his replacement, tight end Stephen Alexander placed a phone call to coach Mike Shanahan.
A lesser man might have griped about the Broncos taking his starting job away and giving it, along with a $15 million guaranteed contract, to Daniel Graham. Alexander began his conversation with Shanahan by offering congratulations. And he meant it.
“I’m glad they signed him,” Alexander said Wednesday after his offseason conditioning workout at the team’s headquarters. “I think he’s definitely going to help our football team. He’s a great player, he’s a physical player. I was not at all displeased with the team signing him.”
No wonder Shanahan wants to keep Alexander around. And the coach told him so during their phone conversation.
In his two years as a starter, Alexander combined for 370 yards on 39 catches as the Broncos primarily utilized his blocking skills. Graham figures to get more receptions from his “blocking” tight end position next season, but look for the Broncos to play more two-tight end sets, with Alexander on running downs and Tony Scheffler on passing downs.
However it turns out, Alexander knows he’ll be spending a fair share of his 10th NFL season on the sidelines as Graham becomes the new every-down tight end.
“It’s not a competition, and I understand that, and I’m fine with that,” Alexander said. “I’ve said from Day One, I don’t care about how many balls I catch or how many plays I play, or if I’m a starter.
“Early on in my career I might have been upset or wondering why they’re doing what they’re doing.
“But I’ve been around long enough now to where I know it’s a business. And I’ve always been told the one thing you can’t worry about are things you can’t control.”
Lynch big on boxing
The NFL draft is almost three weeks away, which means it must be time to wonder if the Broncos are going to seek a replacement for starting safeties John Lynch, who is 35, and Nick Ferguson, who is 32 and coming off knee surgery. Top backup Sam Brandon is also coming off major knee surgery.
But Lynch said the safety position is stronger than people think, in part because he believes Hamza Abdullah, who played sparingly last year, has a chance to become a star.
“They might have to address it just because I can’t play for- ever,” Lynch said about the Broncos’ draft. “But I heard (Carolina safety) Mike Minter say the other day this is his last year and … like he said, ‘If they’re going to bring them in, they better draft them high and they better draft them good.”‘
To help ward off athletic mortality, Lynch is mixing in three 40-minute boxing sessions a week to his conditioning routine this offseason.
“The first two weeks, you’re leaving on the verge of throwing up,” he said. “But it’s something to keep training fun. It’s a lot of old-school training, which I like.”
Footnotes
New cornerback Dré Bly got to know his mate Champ Bailey through Bailey’s younger brother, Boss, a teammate of Bly’s in Detroit. Bly said he and the Bailey brothers have gone fishing in the past. … Bly will wear No. 32. … Bly’s brother-in-law is Gary Downs, a running back for Denver in 1995.
Staff writer Bill Williamson contributed to this report.
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
