On the same day that Broncos general manager George Paton traded outside linebacker Bradley Chubb to Miami, he made it clear that he views defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones as “a core player.”
“We want Dre’Mont here for a long time,” he added. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Jones is putting together his best season as a professional in the final year of his rookie contract. On Wednesday, he was asked if he views himself as the kind of core player Paton said he is.
“I view my standing with the franchise as, this is Dre’Mont going into Year 4, thatap all I can say,” Jones told a small group of reporters at his locker.
Does he want to be in Denver long-term?
“I’m here right now,” Jones said.
The former Ohio State standout has good reason to play his cards close. His agents will be negotiating a lucrative second contract with Paton and company but the open market also beckons. One thing is certain: His level of play is getting noticed around the league.
“I don’t know if anybody’s playing better than Dre’Mont Jones,” Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel told Denver reporters on Wednesday. “It seems like he’s so much more instinctive and explosive. He’s mixing moves, has multiple ways to beat you. He’s playing the run and affecting the quarterback. He’s a handful.”
Jones said he doesn’t have any numerical goals for the second half, but clearly he’s setting himself up well for the future.
“It’s good that the numbers are coming. I need that and I think this team needs that, too,” he said. “But all I’m worried about is playing hard.”
Wristband dig: The soured relationship between quarterback Russell Wilson and Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, one of the driving factors in the QB’s blockbuster trade to Denver this offseason, came into public view again Wednesday.
In an appearance on Seattle Sports 710 AM earlier this week, Carroll said Geno Smith’s use of a wristband has been one of the factors behind Smith and the Seahawks’ surprisingly good season so far.
“If you notice, Geno’s going off the wristband, and thatap a big help,” Carroll said. “Itap smoothed things out, sped things up, cleaned things up. And thatap part of it, too. We never did that before. There was resistance to that, so we didn’t do that before.”
Russell Wilson responded to that thinly veiled critique Wednesday before practice. The quarterback doesn’t traditionally wear a wristband, but had one on in the Broncos’ win over the Jaguars in Week 8 in London.
“I don’t know exactly what (Carroll) said, but I won a lot of games (in Seattle) without one on,” Wilson said. “And I didn’t know winning or losing (depended on) whether you wore a wristband or not.”
Injury updates. Justin Simmons didn’t practice Wednesday due to a knee sprain. Tackle Cam Fleming (quad) and outside linebacker Baron Browning (hip) also didn’t practice. All three worked on the side field, as did running back Mike Boone (ankle) and outside linebacker Randy Gregory. The veteran Gregory, who hurt his knee in Week 4 and has been on injured reserve since, wasn’t in a jersey and could still be weeks out from a return to game action.
Jackson named captain. In the wake of Bradley Chubb’s trade to the Dolphins last week, head coach Nathaniel Hackett announced safety Kareem Jackson is now a defensive captain, joining Simmons as the team’s official leaders on that side of the ball. Chubb was previously one of Denver’s captains.
“He’s played a lot of games and been around this league for a long time,” Hackett said. “I personally have so much respect for him and our team does, too… Kareem was somebody who was highly voted on earlier in the season.”
