The Broncos are zeroed in on Sunday, but when they return from Philadelphia coach Vance Joseph and his staff will have a pair of decisions to make.
And these won’t be about their quarterbacks.
Denver has until Monday to activate rookie tight end Jake Butt and quarterback Chad Kelly, or leave them on the non-football injury list for the remainder of the season. Joseph already indicated that Kelly, who is coming off knee and wrist surgeries, would remain on NFI; the Broncos can’t keep four quarterbacks on the roster.
However, Joseph had been hopeful Butt would be a contributor after more than nine months of recovery from his second anterior cruciate ligament surgery on his right knee.
Though he returned to practice in mid-October, Butt has experienced soreness in his first couple of weeks on the field, and Joseph’s once-optimistic tone has lately been one of uncertainty. He said Thursday that Butt “is still working through” and “getting into football shape” and that the team is “figuring it out.”
“It’s a process. Like V.J. said, I’ve just been dealing with a little bit of soreness,” Butt told The Denver Post on Friday. “It’s a tough thing. I feel like I’ve been away from football for a long time, so as much as I think I can be Superman and just walk in and play, that’s just not the reality. The big thing — and what I appreciate from everyone around here — is that my health is a priority and everyone is making sure that if I’m sore we’re not putting me out there where I’m going to be at risk.
“There’s definitely frustration. For me, I’ve been a quick healer my whole life and everything I’ve come back (from), I’ve been able to come back with no problems. But it’s also teaching me some things. Patience is a big thing.”
A Mackey Award winner as the nation’s top tight end, Butt first tore his ACL, as well as his meniscus, during a winter practice at Michigan in 2014. At the time he was told that he would likely be facing a redshirt season, but he was back on the field six-and-a-half months after surgery.
He suffered the second ACL tear during the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30, the final game of his college career, and underwent surgery in January. When the Broncos drafted him in the fifth round in April, both he and the team hoped he’d be able to play in his first season, though they expected a delayed start.
But Denver has been especially cautious as he recovers from ACL surgery No. 2.
“I’m close,” Butt said. When you first come back, you’re not going to be 100 percent. The first time I came back I was like, ‘I feel good. I feel like I’m 100 percent.’ But I didn’t know until that following spring or that next season, ‘Oh, this is 100 percent.’ That being said, I’m out there and I’m making cuts. I’m running, I’m cutting, I’m catching the ball, I’m blocking. So I’m doing things that I’m supposed to be doing, but it’s just being able to do that on a consistent basis without soreness.”
Throughout the summer and the start of the regular season, Butt was limited to film study, meetings and work in the weight room while trying to learn Mike McCoy’s offense and “earn” his place on the team.
“There’s a certain level of comfort that you can gain from studying the playbook and studying film,” Butt said. “But it’s a lot different when you get out there and you got to hear from the quarterback and see the defense get off on the snap count. That’s something where, as I’ve been practicing, it’s becoming faster and faster for me.
“Since the day I stepped on the football field, I’ve been a starter. So this has been completely new for me. You’re trying to make a first impression on these coaches and it’s hard to do that when you’re not practicing. That’s why for me the meetings are so important and the lifts and extra work is very important for me.”
The Broncos have a full 53-man roster, so if Butt is activated next week, the team will have to make a corresponding move. But the latest signs point toward their young tight end waiting a bit longer for his NFL debut.
“Soreness isn’t something you want to just brush off to the side in a situation like mine, coming back from two ACLs,” Butt said. “I just appreciate that. In college it was go, go, go. If you’re hurt, let’s push through it. There’s a fine line: You want to help the team, but you also have your health to worry about, too. And for the first time I’m surrounded by people that are weighing both — we’re thinking long-term health, but we also want to help the team.”
