In late July, Sean Payton spoke the mantra that his Broncos locker room has carried throughout the preseason: You can’t be afraid of talking about the end game.
Nobody has since. Running back J.K. Dobbins, upon his arrival in Denver, said his goal was to bring a Super Bowl to the city. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto has said his only focus is on a championship — not ongoing extension talks. Quarterback Bo Nix said it in Santa Clara under the shadow of February’s Lombardi Trophy site: If they weren’t trying for a Super Bowl, why were any of them there?
Belief has evidently bled up the flagpole. George Paton is not usually a man for such proclamations. But the 55-year-old Broncos general manager was about as bullish as Paton gets in discussing faith in his franchise Thursday.
“We feel we’re strong in the trenches,” Paton said on a conference call with reporters. “Obviously, we feel like we have a franchise quarterback. We like the weapons we have on offense, and we played really good defense.
“And thatap a recipe to win a lot of games.”
This, of course, is a flexible week-to-week belief, Paton added. But last year, he noted, ESPN ranked Denver’s roster .
“We didn’t believe that,” Paton said.
What he believes now, after going 10-7 in 2024, is that this roster is deep. That extends from starters to Denver’s second and third phases, groups Paton noted extended the team’s leads in a 3-0 preseason finish. That goes from recently-extended stars Courtland Sutton and DL Zach Allen down to QB3 Sam Ehlinger, who turned down active roster interest on cut day to sign back to Denver’s practice squad.
“I thought he was always efficient, and I didn’t realize he had the arm strength,” Paton said of Ehlinger. “And I think he developed that arm strength over the last couple of years.
“He played really well. We’re glad he’s here. We know teams are after him. And we plan on keeping him here.”
With the Broncos’ 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad set — really a 69-man roster, as both Paton and head coach Sean Payton treat it — there’s as much locker-room continuity as most any team in the NFL. And the organizational faith in Denver’s depth extends from one down to 69, with two ex-Broncos claimed off waivers Wednesday and roster cuts much tougher than other years of Payton’s tenure.
On Thursday, the head coach likened the veterans on his practice squad to a Triple-A baseball team: plug-and-play guys who can roll in right away in the event of an injury. Take second-year linebacker Levelle Bailey, who’s shown more than enough this camp to prove he should be on a 53-man roster and instead is on Denver’s backup squad.
“Everyone says this at this time of the year, but we like how it unfolded the last 48 hours — with a lot of talented players, that led to a lot of long discussions,” Payton said.
Paton spoke Thursday of most every new face on the roster as if they’re upgrades. Rookie wideout Pat Bryant, who made Devaughn Vele expendable, is “ahead of schedule.” Free-agent signee Trent Sherfield has “been a plus” as a receiver, beyond special-teams ability. And Paton gushed about Dobbins, adding further flashes of intrigue to a backfield that has a wide spectrum of possible timeshares in Week 1.
“Did it at Ohio State, Baltimore, Chargers, so so much respect for him as a player,” Paton said on Dobbins. “But, I mean, he was here a day or two, and he already had command of the room, the offense, the team.”
Larger long-term decisions still loom. Bonitto remains in a contract-extension holding pattern, but poised with plenty of leverage after OLB star Micah Parsons’ stunning Thursday trade to the Green Bay Packers netted him a market-combusting $188 million extension over four years.
“We’ve done a good job of keeping these things quiet and respectful,” Paton said before the Parsons trade Thursday, largely declining to speak on Bonitto’s contract negotiations.
There are several more key pieces set to play on expiring deals, most notably defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, who’s pushed publicly for an extension despite the Broncos’ lack of engagement in any talks.
“We’d like to have ‘em all back,” Paton said, referring to each of the Broncos entering the final year of their contracts. “And John, John’s no different.”
For now, though, Denver has Franklin-Myers set to play come Week 1 with little fuss. Same with Bonitto. And center Luke Wattenberg. And linebacker Alex Singleton.
Paton might not be saying Super Bowl as blatantly as others. He still took a strong stance Thursday.
“We do think,” Paton said, “we have a strong roster.”
