The clearest sign the Broncos ramped up training camp Sunday came when safety T.J. Ward ragged on a referee for not throwing a flag. Ward wasn’t even in pads.
“That may not have been the smartest thing we’ve done out there,” Nelson said. “But it shows we’re passionate about it. … But the fine line is, we do need to be smarter.”
Said coach Gary Kubiak of the scuffles: “We were getting a little sloppy, and a couple of things were bad judgment. I told them that we still have a long way to go, so refocus. And they did.”
Ward was one of 11 veterans who received a day off. They included wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas, tight end Virgil Green, center Matt Paradis, defensive linemen Derek Wolfe, Sylvester Williams and Phil Taylor, linebacker Brandon Marshall and defensive backs Chris Harris and Darian Stewart.
The added aggression, though, led to a significant injury. Backup center and guard Sam Brenner suffered an apparent concussion. He could not sit upright on his own when trainers carted him off the field, and they helped him walk inside.
“It is scary,” Kubiak said. “It looked like he got caught in a pile and went down face first.”
Linebacker Zaire Anderson, a rookie from Nebraska who was on Denver’s practice squad last year, knocked running back Ronnie Hillman right off the field with a brick-wall hit up the middle. Hillman told Kubiak he had a back injury as he walked off.
Miller update. Kubiak said linebacker Von Miller, who missed offseason work during contract negotiations, will return to full-speed participation by Wednesday
Sunday, Miller’s summer tests took on a new look. To slow him down in a line scrimmage, the Broncos put a tackle at tight end — a bigger body to get in Miller’s way. But he blew right by the lineman.
“Try to make it an even match,” Kubiak said, “but it still didn’t work out.”
