Peyton Manning shot tight end Owen Daniels and fullback James Casey the look, and immediately the two joined their quarterback in a discreet meeting midway through practice last Tuesday. They set up shop a few feet behind the pack of players watching team drills, out of view from the coaches.
Then they summoned Jordan Norwood.
For about five minutes, Manning relinquished his role as quarterback and assumed one of coach. He and his two aides walked through mock routes as Norwood stood to the side, observing and absorbing their instructions. The message was clear: Don’t give everything away to defenders.
The irony is Manning seemed to give away much more, taking aside a wide receiver on the cusp of making the Broncos’ roster, helping him to fulfill his potential.
Norwood, a sixth-year pro, did just that in Saturday’s preseason victory against the 49ers. With Emmanuel Sanders still nursing a hamstring injury, Norwood was inserted in the slot in three-wideout sets, lining up alongside Demaryius Thomas and Cody Latimer, and pulling in four catches on four targets for a team-high 38 yards.
In a game where the offense’s communication and rhythm appeared to be off, the connection between Manning and Norwood seemed unbreakable. And the timing — two days before the Broncos must trim their 90-man roster to 75 and a week before the final 53 are to be determined — couldn’t have been better.
But it was no fluke.
“This is who I am,” Norwood said. “I was anxious to get back to playing this way.”
Norwood has been here before. It was around this time last year, midway through the preseason, when the 5-foot-11 receiver appeared to be on the verge of making the team. But, in keeping with an unfortunate track record over previous years, an injury ended his season before it started. He suffered a torn left anterior cruciate ligament during a practice with the Texans and was placed on injured reserve.
He was close. So close.
He is close again. Maybe closer.
“Jordan was tearing it up,” backup quarterback Brock Osweiler said. “He was my go-to guy in my group. Him playing well again doesn’t surprise me at all.”
Over the years, coach Gary Kubiak has kept five receivers on his rosters. Thomas, Sanders and Latimer own three of those slots this season. And although Bennie Fowler, a former practice squad player who leads Denver with 99 yards on five catches in the preseason, has impressed, Norwood and veteran Andre Caldwell appear to be in the lead for the remaining two jobs.
“Jordan has done a good job,” offensive coordinator Rick Dennison said. “He’s a smart kid and he’s played a lot. He’s done a good job inside, so we’re moving him around to make sure that he can do different things, just like the rest of them.”
The deciding factor could be the same one that determines the fate of many on the roster bubble for the Broncos. Kubiak and his staff have stressed the importance of versatility — among all players, but especially receivers. They want players who can catch, run routes, line up out wide and in the slot. And they want players who contribute on special teams.
In the opener at Seattle, Norwood returned two kickoffs for a total of 53 yards. He also muffed a punt return, but, in a telling move, was left with the same rotation.
“I felt like I can do better,” he said. “I know that it takes consistency to make any football team.”
The Broncos’ coaching staff faces difficult decisions with the roster this week, decisions the staff acknowledges is a side effect of the team’s depth.
Norwood, however, is hoping his bosses see what Manning does.
“That’s the goal for me,” he said. “I want to be a part of this team and help us win some games.”
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or
Norwood file
A look at Broncos wide receiver Jordan Norwood:
Experience: Sixth year
Height, weight: 5-foot-11, 180 pounds
Acquired: Free agent, 2014
Career totals
Receiving: 17 games, four starts, 36 catches, 405 yards (11.3-yard average), one TD
Punt returns: Four returns, 35 yards (8.8-yard average) — all in 2011
Injuries
2014: Season-ending injured reserve after injuring knee in training camp
2013: Released by the Browns after missing two preseason games (hamstring); sat out the season
2012: Played two games with the Browns, placed on injured reserve (foot), missed final 11 games
Nicki Jhabvala, The Denver Post
