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Tag: malcolm roach

  • Broncos’ Sean Payton mum on plan to replace LG Ben Powers

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    ENFIELD, U.K. — As the Broncos prepare for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets, they’re also adjusting to life without left guard Ben Powers.

    Denver will have a new player in place of the veteran offensive lineman, who is headed to injured reserve after a Monday surgery to repair a biceps tear.

    “With a starting player, it’s never any good,” head coach Sean Payton said. “And yet the next guy is up and ready to play.”

    During training camp, Matt Peart served as the primary backup at both left guard and left tackle, making him a logical candidate to replace Powers. After practice on Wednesday, Payton would not say what the team’s plan is.

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    “We’ll see,” Payton said.

    Peart has played mostly tackle in his career over 43 appearances with the New York Giants and 22 with the Broncos. He played in every game for Denver last year, a bit while Mike McGlinchey was on injured reserve but also regularly as the team’s jumbo tight end.

    That kind of versatility is why the Broncos gave him a two-year deal worth $7 million this spring in free agency.

    Roach returns. The Broncos are close to getting a key piece of their defense back on the field for the first time this season.

    Defensive tackle Malcolm Roach returned to practice Wednesday, meaning his 21-day window to be activated from IR has opened.

    “He got really good work today,” Payton said.

    Roach strained his calf during the practice week in the lead-up to the season-opener against Tennessee and has yet to play this season.

    The sixth-year man isn’t a starter but he’s served as a critical member of the Broncos’ defensive line rotation the past two seasons. For example, in 2024 Roach logged more overall playing time than John Franklin-Myers and ended up playing 42% of Denver’s defensive defensive snaps.

    Roach before his injury styled himself as the “sixth man of the year,” a basketball reference to key players who come off the bench.

    Nose tackle D.J. Jones last week before the Broncos beat Philadelphia made clear his excitement to get Roach back.

    “I miss him a lot and I cannot wait for him to come back,” Jones said last week, “We talk to him every day. I let him know every day that he’s missed. And it’s not even just the field factor. He’s such an energy guy on game day that it just hypes up everybody.

    Elliss on side field. Broncos second-year pass-rusher Jonah Elliss didn’t practice Wednesday and was limited to the side field.

    Elliss was on the injury report last week with a ribs issue but played against the Eagles.

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    Parker Gabriel

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  • Broncos DL John Franklin-Myers focused on season after no extension: ‘We all just want to feel wanted’

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    NEW ORLEANS — John Franklin-Myers may not be thrilled, but he’s ready for regular-season football.

    The Broncos defensive tackle is entering the final year of a two-year, $15 million contract he signed after getting traded to Denver last spring.

    There’s been little sign of movement toward a deal, and sources told The Denver Post the sides did not negotiate this summer. That stands in contrast to veterans Courtland Sutton (four years, $92 million) and Zach Allen (four years, $102 million), who landed major long-term agreements. Fourth-year outside linebacker Nik Bonitto doesn’t have a new deal yet, but he said recently his team and the Broncos have had productive talks and that he thinks a deal “will get done.”

    Not so for Franklin-Myers, though he said any feelings he may have about his current status are now sidelined for the next several months.

    “We all just want to feel wanted, and I think when it’s time to play football, obviously money and stuff aside, I’m under contract,” Franklin-Myers said after Denver’s preseason finale. “So football is football. Obviously, we all want what we’re worth, but until then, shoot, I’m going to play football. It is what it is.”

    Franklin-Myers’ addition last year helped turn what was one of the NFL’s worst defensive fronts in 2023 into one of its best in 2024. His ability to rush the passer not only gave offenses fits, but it also kept them from being able to turn double teams toward Allen on a regular basis.

    Allen broke out with an 8.5-sack season and led all NFL defensive tackles with 67 pressures and 40 hits.

    “Zach’s my dawg. I said it from the jump,” Franklin-Myers said. “Man, (Jets defensive lineman) Quinnen Williams was a good friend of mine, played with him for a long time, and I was happier when he got paid than when I got paid. Zach Allen is no different. You talk about somebody who shows up every day. He earned the money.

    “He makes me better, makes the team better. He deserves his money. I’m all for it, and Zach deserves all of it.”

    Now, Franklin-Myers and Malcolm Roach appear poised to enter Week 1 without contractual security beyond this year. Roach laid out a straightforward approach earlier in camp in saying that if everybody plays well, everybody’s going to get paid. It’s just a matter of whether that’s in Denver or elsewhere.

    In the meantime, the defensive line has big goals.

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    Parker Gabriel

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