Broncos coach Sean Payton said wide receiver Josh Reynolds has been dealing with “wear and tear” in one of his Achilles tendons, but he expects the 29-year-old will be fine.
“Today he felt a lot better,” Payton said after Friday’s practice. “He’s fine…We just kind of backed off.”
Reynolds didn’t participate in practice, as he spent the afternoon on the side field. Itap unclear if the Achilles issue is related to Reynolds’ excused absence from the second day of mandatory minicamp in June. At the time, Payton shared similar remarks regarding Reynolds.
“There was something that we just said, ‘Letap just hold off.’ He’ll be fine,” Payton said in June.
Reynolds signed a two-year deal with Denver in March, after spending the last two seasons with the Detroit Lions. He was among the standout players during training camp, showcasing his ability to make contested catches.
Jones, Wallace could play vs. Cardinals: Payton said there’s a chance safety Brandon Jones and cornerback Levi Wallace could play in the preseason finale against the Cardinals on Sunday.
“We gotta see where Jones is at. We gotta see where Levi is at,” Payton said. “There are two to four guys that haven’t gotten reps in the first two games, but there are a number of starters that won’t play.”
Wallace and Jones have missed a fair amount of practice time due to hamstring injuries. Both players have ramped up production during practice this week. Jones is a projected starter alongside P.J. Locke after signing a three-year deal in the offseason to replace All-Pro Justin Simmons.
Wallace has been in the mix for the starting cornerback job with Riley Moss and Damarri Mathis.
Payton said player rotations against Arizona will be different compared to the past two weeks. The players will be broken up into two phases instead of three.
Even though the Broncos won’t have a handful of starters playing, Payton still wants the team to have a winning mindset, as they seek to finish the preseason with a 3-0 record.
“We want to win and show improvement,” Payton said.
