Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O’Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season.
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Now that more and more teams are moving to holding their starters out for half or all of the preseason, what’s the point? This is like practice. The owners are charging fans full prices for practice sessions? I can sit on the hill for free at training camp and watch this crap.
— Dan, St. Louis
This month’s movement of coaches holding out starters for most of the preseason or all of it will certainly be a point of discussion in the next collective bargaining agreement. Each coach has their motive for not putting out their best players, mainly to make sure they’re healthy for Week 1. Period. In their ivory towers, the NFL owners have to be aware that the only sensible change is cutting the preseason in half (two games) and having more joint practices to serve as an evaluation tool for their players. The Broncos play their fifth preseason game on Thursday … it feels like their 15th.
How do you feel about the undrafted free agent players such as Malik Reed, John Leglue and Austin Fort? Who do you think will be able to make the 53-man roster and the practice squad?
— Alex, Fort Collins
Fort, a tight end from Wyoming, was having a good camp until he tore his ACL against Seattle earlier this month and was placed on injured reserve. … Reed, an outside linebacker from Nevada, will make the team. He practiced last week but was held out of the Rams game, a sign the Broncos have seen enough and want to keep him healthy. … Leglue, an offensive tackle from Tulane, is unlikely to make the 53-man roster, but could be a practice squad option.
The Broncos’ punt return game is worse than last year. I didn’t think that was possible. They should just call for a fair catch and nobody touch it. At least that avoids a fumble. Nobody can seem to catch it reliably.
— Jeff Davis, Aurora
Yes … Agree. … Good point. … Absolutely. … Appears that way. The Broncos’ punt return game is a mess and itap not surprising considering their offseason plan appeared to be to throw a bunch of names in a hat and pull one out. Going into the Arizona game, it will be and Kelvin McKnight and maybe Devontae Jackson back catching punts. None may be on the field in Week 1. I’m sticking to my prediction (not exactly ground-breaking) that the punt returner for the Oakland game isn’t yet on the roster. The Broncos finished last in 2018 (4.4) and are 29th in this month’s preseason (3.2-yard average).
Justin Hollins has been looking good in the preseason. What do you think his ceiling is going to be for the Broncos this year? Does he have the potential to steal the starting gig from Josey Jewell?
— Kyle, Fort Collins
Hollins’ 15 tackles in the preseason are third on the team behind Alexander Johnson (18) and Josh Watson (16). Hollins has been playing outside linebacker in the base package and inside linebacker in the nickel package. He played all 69 snaps against the Rams on Saturday night and had eight tackles. His ceiling for this year is he can be a back-up outside linebacker who can move inside if (calf) isn’t available to start the season. We’re a bit away from him being an every-down inside linebacker and if that happens, it will be alongside Jewell, not replacing him.
Does DeMarcus Walker have a future here in Denver? The kid’s yet to live up to his second-round hype and while he’s shown some potential at times, I don’t see how he fits into this defensive rotation. Does he have trade value? Can we pick up some linebacker help for him?
— Mike Wilson, Denver
Walker, a second-round pick in 2017, is facing the biggest game of his short career. He has one more chance to prove to the Broncos’ coaches that he deserves a roster spot as the fifth or sixth defensive lineman. Even if he does, he may not be active for games initially. The release of Zach Kerr is good news for Mike Purcell or DeShawn Williams because they can play nose tackle. As for Walker’s trade value, stranger things have happened. As soon as the Broncos make a call to talk about his availability, that team may just wait for him to be waived.
I feel like I’m the only one who believes could be the X-factor for the Broncos this year. He was a beast at Michigan and can block, catch and run. A tandem of him and Noah Fant could be magical this year with under center. What do you think?
— Mary, Aurora
Well, Mary, you’re part of a small crowd simply because of Buttap health. To be an X-factor, you have to practice and play regularly and that has eluded Butt this preseason. He missed several weeks with knee soreness and played 11 snaps against the Rams in his first game action since tearing his ACL during a Week 4 practice. Butt missed practice on Monday. Yes, he can catch, block and run. Yes, he and Fant would make for an intriguing tight end duo. But as I’ve said before, the Broncos should consider it a bonus if they get regular contributions from Butt.
What do you think of ‘s retirement? Do you think he’ll ever come back? Perhaps in Denver, adding to the Broncos’ list of former Colts quarterbacks?
— Andrew, Denver
Myself and columnist Mark Kiszla debated this topic in Tuesday’s print edition. I was surprised just like everybody else, particularly this close to the regular season. My money is on him returning to the NFL at some point because he does need time to recover from his injuries and re-group mentally, but he loves the game and can still be great at it. As for playing for the Broncos, if you’re a fan, you might as well keep that hope alive, right?
