On the snap, he crackles and pops offensive linemen.

Wednesday, a single play explained his brilliance. Quarterback Bo Nix caught the ball in the shotgun and center Luke Wattenberg and left guard Ben Powers slid the protection over to Allen. With four hands and 610 pounds locked on his chest, Allen did not flinch, holding the point of attack and freeing edge rusher Nik Bonitto to get around Garett Bolles.

A few players later, Allen provided pressure up the middle, making a running back’s life miserable.

The Broncos are having the type of training camp that has players talking about the Super Bowl without smirking. They have a giddy coach, an ascending quarterback, a happy receiver, and a nasty defense.

But it is going to feel hollow if they don’t hammer out a contract extension for Allen.

“I would pay him,” said ex-standout Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe, who knows a little something about Allen’s position. “He changes games and is always available.”

Can the Broncos Venmo $50 million?

Allen is in the final season of a three-year, $45 million deal. At $12.74 million this season, he has a Walmart rollback price tag dangling from his jersey. You should reserve Kleenex for more worthy causes. But in the business of the NFL, Allen is grossly underpaid.

“If we were playing the Broncos today and game-planning against the defensive line, the first thing we would say is, ‘How do we deal with No. 99?’ ” said former Broncos Pro Bowl guard Mark Schlereth. “I am not saying Nik Bonitto isn’t great. But the first guy has to be Allen because he is a handful and has the closest path to the quarterback.”

The Broncos delivered their best practice in three years Wednesday, according to tight end Adam Trautman. It was the perfect blend of competitive spirit and trash talk — Is Malcolm Roach fat or phat? — without it spilling over into fights.

And Allen was in the middle of it. And on the left side. And the right. His versatility and intensity have helped create an environment where players not only support one another but challenge each other.

The Broncos have taken a series of right steps under the Walton-Penner ownership group. When they bought the team in the summer of 2022, there was no rush to pay anyone, save for Russell Wilson. Three years later, the roster is so stacked, thanks to coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton, they have to prioritize them.

Courtland Sutton’s deal got done first for two reasons: 1) He was amenable to taking a little less to leave more for teammates, and 2) He was never going to approach the top of the scale at his position. Bonitto’s deal will get done last, likely during the season, because he is wisely waiting until Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson and Micah Parsons agree to new contracts.

Allen’s value is set. There is no new comp that will clear things up. His production indicates he deserves between $22 million and $25 million per season over four years. He has been that good. And he’s only 27.

He is exactly the type of player who should be rewarded. He doesn’t check every box. He is the box. Or the dresser at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds. Payton compared his motor to Saints star Cam Jordan.

Allen makes Vance Joseph’s defense work because he is smart — “He’s probably watching film right now,” nose tackle D.J. Jones said — and unselfish. He recognizes what opponents are trying to do, and if they dedicate too many resources in his direction, he gladly occupies blockers to let Broncos marauders Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper and John Franklin-Myers torch tackles.

But Allen is more often Johnny Carson than Ed McMahon.

Just Google his highlights.

Allen is too much for any one man to handle. He burst past Seattle’s Laken Tomlinson for a safety in the opener. He ran around Kansas City right guard Trey Smith for a sack, leaving him chasing like a puppy. He muscled through Raiders rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson as the kid dropped his head in shame. And he put Bills guard David Edwards on skates in the playoffs for some Allen on Josh Allen crime.

“I love the way that dude plays,” Wolfe said.

His 2024 contributions are quantifiable: 8.5 sacks, 40 quarterback hits and 67 pressures, the latter the most by an interior lineman, per Next Gen Stats.

Get this man a new contract, stat.

“Zach is able to get to the edge quick with hand swats. He knows when you are striking your hands, and he’s good at being able to knock them down, so you have to strike through him. He has the power to complement his speed,” said Powers, the left guard who spends chunks of practices lined up opposite the second-team All-Pro. “It makes him a really good pass rusher. And he brings it every play.”

The Broncos are cool again. It is clear the organization is in good hands with Payton. He has created a culture of accountability and an impressive roster.

But when a team is reaching for the clouds, it needs a few stars to light the path. The Broncos should not take their foot off the pedal now. Everything is headed in the right direction. The next mile marker in training camp is easy to see: a Zach Allen extension.

“He played next to J.J. Watt for a couple of years in Arizona. And the most sincere form of flattery is imitation. He has so many J.J. Watt traits, it’s crazy. He’s not J.J. Watt,” Schlereth said. “But he’s J.J. Watt Lite. I would definitely pay him.”

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Did not practice: Physically Unable to Perform list — WR A.T. Perry (foot/ankle). Out — ILB Alex Singleton (thumb), ILB Drew Sanders (foot), OLB Que Robinson (unknown), Johnny Walker Jr. (unknown). Left practice — ILB Dre Greenlaw (quad)

In an alarming sight for an already-banged-up inside linebacker room, Greenlaw pulled up with a grimace after covering J.K. Dobbins on an LB-RB one-on-one pass-coverage drill. He attempted to walk it off, but eventually headed back to the locker room.

A source with knowledge of the situation told The Denver Post it was a flare-up of Greenlaw’s quad, after he’d missed all of Denver’s offseason activities with a quad strain. Payton, however, said it was a “different area” when asked after practice.

“I think he’s fine,” Payton said.

Robinson, meanwhile, missed his second straight day of camp after limping toward the end of Tuesday’s practice. Walker, an undrafted rookie from Mizzou, was placed on injured reserve. The Broncos signed former Nebraska OLB Garrett Nelson to fill his spot on the 90-man roster.

Newcomer impact

If there’s one thing Payton knows and loves, it’s big receivers. And 6-foot-4 undrafted rookie Joaquin Davis, amid a stable of undrafted wideouts all making cases for Denver’s practice squad, has stamped himself as a name to watch.

The routes aren’t completely fine-tuned yet. He never had more than 500 yards in any season at North Carolina Central. But Davis’ measurables rival anyone in Denver’s room — 4.36-second 40-yard dash and 40.5-inch vertical at his pro day — and he’s made several plays throughout camp. On Wednesday, he sprang free on a drag and motored downfield so quickly it sent veteran Courtland Sutton into a gleeful frenzy. On Thursday, he made a tough grab in the back corner of the end zone in red-zone work.

He’s a total long shot to make Denver’s initial 53-man roster. But as far as stash-and-hope investments go, Davis is in the mix.

Top Plays

A lil’ Bo-Pat: Thursday’s practice was far from a “salt day,” as Payton likes to call them. Staff anticipated players would be tired after a turned-up Wednesday bark session, and various team red-zone periods moved at about 80% intensity. Still, Nix’s legs provided one of the few true game-speed highlights of the day, as the quarterback rolled to his right on one rep and flung a ball roughly 20 yards down the right sideline to a leaping Pat Bryant. The rookie receiver has quickly developed chemistry with Nix and drawn heavy targets throughout camp.

Thumbs up

About this Wednesday: Speaking of salt, take any training-camp discussion of locker-room culture with a few hearty grains. But Wednesday down in Dove Valley felt like a level of intensity these Broncos hadn’t reached all offseason, emotions and bellows and yaps hinging on nearly every rep during team work.

This wasn’t simply external. Take it from tight end Adam Trautman, a longtime Payton loyalist dating back to New Orleans: He declared Wednesday’s practice the best he’d been a part of in his three years in Denver.

“That was like, ‘Oh, yes, we’re ready for this,’ all the expectations and everything,” Trautman said.

Thumbs down

Thin in the middle: Payton scoffed at any notion the Broncos’ ILB room was “injury-plagued” on Wednesday, telling reporters that Singleton would be back at practice in six days after breaking his thumb this week.

Perhaps injury-plagued isn’t the right term. Let’s go with “thin.” Greenlaw has been ramping up for most of camp after missing the offseason, and Sanders hasn’t been seen back at practice in any capacity since he was carted off Saturday. Levelle Bailey has seized the opportunity in their absence, and Justin Strnad is a trustworthy backup. But if Greenlaw’s flare-up lingers, the only rotational options left are undrafted rookies Jordan Turner, JB Brown and Karene Reid.

The Broncos brought in a few linebackers on a tryout Wednesday but didn’t elect to sign any. More reps for the kids, then.

Odds and Ends

• Malcolm Roach’s good-natured boisterousness has prompted one of the best camp mock-feuds in the NFL: Marvin Mims Jr. vs. Roach. Mims, a 180-pound man, called Roach fat at the podium Wednesday. Roach responded with a middle finger on Twitter. Mims responded he needed PR training.

It has Denver’s locker room equal parts perplexed and amused.

“I wouldn’t have picked Mims and Roach,” Payton smiled. “Like, I would’ve picked so many other combos. But when I read that one, that was surprising.”

• The Broncos’ running back competition is nowhere near sorted out, and Payton wants it that way. Second-year back Audric Estime continued to stack days Thursday across a recent run of impact reps, and the Broncos head coach said reserve back Blake Watson had “two or three exceptional runs” on Wednesday.

“When we finish playing New Orleans,” Payton said, referring to the team’s final preseason game, “we’ll have a better idea of how that’s going.”

• Eyioma Uwazurike continues to have a standout camp. The 2022 fourth-round pick was suspended in 2023 for gambling and played just four games in 2024, but he has been everywhere in his reps: stopping a run in an earlier practice with one arm and batting down a pass at the line of scrimmage Thursday. Denver has some uncomfortable roster decisions to make given its depth on the defensive line, and Uwazurike is making a compelling case for a spot on the 53-man roster.

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Disappointment that he didn’t see his name pop up on television as one of 257 picks.

But also excitement. Adrenaline. A sense of unknown.

In the rush of several teams calling and trying to convince him to sign with them as an undrafted free agent, one voice stuck out.

“Sean (Payton) called me the first time and was talking to me, and I was like, ‘OK,” Bailey told The Denver Post this week. “I was sitting next to my mom on the couch, and she knows about Sean Payton, New Orleans and everything.”

He was hearing from coordinators in other cities, but here was a Super Bowl champion head coach calling multiple times.

Bailey, a linebacker out of Fresno State, talked with Payton once. He talked to then-linebackers coach Greg Manusky — they’d been in touch weekly through the pre-draft process — and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, too. Then assistant Jamar Cain, who, like Bailey, is a Sacramento, Calif., native.

Then Payton called again and said he’d pass along stats about all the success he’d had with undrafted free agents over the years.

“You’re pulling out all the stops, and I’m glad we stayed patient in that process with him and we were able to get him because there were a number of teams interested,” Payton recalled this week.

Indeed, the full-court press worked.

“I called my agent and said, ‘If Sean Payton’s calling my phone, that really means something to me,’” Bailey recalled.

A year later, the Broncos’ second-year linebacker is in the process of trying to cement himself on Payton’s list of success stories.

Bailey’s authoring an eye-opening training camp. He made several plays in coverage the first week. After injuries to Alex Singleton and Drew Sanders, he’s seen a major uptick in reps alongside Dre Greenlaw on the No. 1 defense.

“His instincts are off the charts,” Bailey said of Greenlaw.

Those are serious strides since this time last year. He impressed Denver enough to crack the initial 53-man roster, but then was waived after a day. Bailey made it through waivers to the practice squad and eventually was promoted back to the active roster in October. He appeared in 10 games and played a handful of defensive snaps, but was essentially a special teams player when he was active.

That was a solid introduction to life on the field in the NFL.

Now, though, he’s aiming higher than that after an offseason spent learning how to be a pro in every other department.

“Preparation, getting your body right and learning the playbook,” Bailey said. “Knowing what I’ve got to do but learning, really, what the whole defense is about and why we’re doing it. … Then just studying what the offense is going to do. That gives me confidence to really fly around and make plays.”

Bailey said he spent the offseason mostly conditioning — Singleton and Greenlaw advised him to show up to training camp in shape instead of worrying about being five or 10 pounds heavier on account of a simple fact.

“If you can’t get to the ball, you’re never going to make the tackle,” Bailey said.

Bailey also credits Singleton for texting him early in the offseason with finer points of the defense and things to learn. The jump from understanding his job to understanding Vance Joseph’s defense in its entirety is substantial, but Bailey’s made it going into Year 2.

“Last year I didn’t sit next to Alex in the meeting room, but this year I am,” Bailey said. “Even when coach is going over film, if Alex sees something little, he’ll bump me and whisper in my ear, ‘You see what I was talking about’ with this or that. Justin (Strnad) does the same thing for me in the special teams meetings. … Having those type of guys that want to see me grow as a player and as a person in general and want to drop those gems for the younger guys, that’s really helped me.”

It’s showing on the practice field.

Early in camp, before the pads came on, Bailey made a handful of terrific plays in coverage. That part has always come naturally to him. He played quarterback and nickel in high school and began his college career at 195 pounds.

Former Bulldogs linebackers coach Tim Skipper told him he needed to play linebacker, but, as Bailey now recalls, cautioned him that, “It’s a different life in the box.”

“He’s extremely smart. He’s like a quarterback,” Skipper told The Post. “He’s going to remember the call, tell you the sign and stuff. What he struggled with was the fundamentals of how to strike blocks, get off blocks, make tackles, those sorts of things. Because he just hadn’t done it that long. So we really honed in on that, and I kinda just gave him goals.

“… And he, man, he just attacked it.”

Skipper gave Bailey a bunch of film of pro players to watch, with an emphasis on long, athletic guys who played physical.

“I wanted him to see what it looked like when guys were getting knocked backwards, seeing sure tacklers, seeing guys get off blocks,” Skipper said. “I wanted him to visualize it and see it so that he could go do it.”

Chief among them: San Francisco’s Fred Warner.

“Now it just so happens I’m playing with Dre,” Bailey said of Warner’s former running mate, who signed with Denver back in March.

Since the Broncos have donned pads, Bailey’s been in the mix a lot.

Singleton should be back next week with a club to protect his broken thumb. Until then, Bailey’s getting a long look.

“He’s had a few good days. Real good days,” Payton said. “I think you’re getting a player into his second year with confidence. He’s in good shape. He looks like an NFL linebacker, too. …

“I would say I’ve clearly seen a jump from Year 1 to Year 2 in his confidence.”

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The riverbanks were mined for gold. The river itself was used for irrigation for farmlands. For over a century, a cycle of neglect and refurbishment has flowed through the currents. Members of the Denver City Council formed the South Platte River Committee last year, dedicated to properly review all legislation impacting a long stretch of property lining the rushing heart of the city.

The council took action, as Councilwoman Jamie Torres said, because they knew what was coming. The future of development, in Denver, lies in the ripe hundreds of acres along this snaking corridor.

“It can be revitalized,” Torres told The Denver Post, “in ways that we’ve not seen it in our own lifetime.”

In a town dominated by fandom, a mix of sports ownership groups has now planted their flag at various stops along the South Platte. Start with Coors Field, the centerpiece of LoDo. Continue a mile down the river, where Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is investing in the sprawling River Mile district and a new-look entertainment redevelopment around Ball Arena. Down I-25, owners of a new NWSL franchise plan to integrate a new soccer stadium with an entertainment complex at Santa Fe Yards. And a heap of evidence points to the Broncos’ interest in a new stadium site at Burnham Yard, with the franchise connected to a string of land purchases around the railyard in the past year.

But between plans for Ball Arena and a new NWSL team, and the possibility of Broncos redevelopment at Burnham, that’s three potential stadium districts in a constricted five-mile radius — not even including Coors in LoDo. The issue for Denver is whether enough demand exists to properly support so many sports-anchored developments in such a tight space.

“It is a boon,” Torres said. “It is also kind of blasting open the doors for everybody else’s interests as well. And that can happen — that can kind of steamroll community, in a lot of ways that makes me really worried.”

Clustering such districts, as Riverfront Park Homeowners Association president Don Cohen put it, could theoretically boost foot traffic and tax revenue in the area. But many experts are concerned that overlapping amenities could sap benefits to Denver — and inflate housing costs for surrounding communities.

“I think this is monumentally important,” said Brad Segal, president of Denver planning firm Progressive Urban Management Associates, “to the future of the city.”

•••

In the past couple of years, the Broncos’ quest for the next-best stadium fit has taken them to inspections of sports entertainment districts across the country. They’ve been to Wrigleyville, the ballpark district around Wrigley Field in Chicago. They’ve been to Hollywood Park, the KSE-owned district around the Rams’ gleaming SoFi Stadium.

Owner Greg Penner even tagged along on a trip to see The Battery Atlanta — the staple area around Atlanta’s new Truist Park.

What they’ve seen: The trend of a stadium surrounded by a “sea of asphalt surface parking,” as president Damani Leech said, is going away. Replaced, now, by the idea of a sports-anchored community.

Mike Neary, KSE’s executive VP of business operations and real estate, believes the numerous plans for stadium districts “show how bullish the market is on the future of Denver.”

“We have seen with comparable highly desirable mixed-use projects, including our own in other cities, that when these districts are anchored by pro sports venues, they create their own high demand,” Neary said.

The country is on the cusp of seeing more mid-size cities like Denver incorporate multiple mixed-use destinations. Take Oklahoma City, which has approved plans to both redevelop the land around the OKC Thunder’s current arena and build an adjacent district around a new NWSL stadium.

Between the potential for developments at Ball Arena, River Mile and Burnham Yard, though, it’s a “little unusual” for districts of that size and scale to be grouped so close to downtown business districts, Segal pointed out. And Segal, who’s worked in economic development and seen the evolution of downtown Denver for 40 years, is concerned about the potential for districts along the South Platte to redirect economic traffic away from LoDo.

“Are we cannibalizing and further weakening downtown Denver?” Segal said. “Not only with Ball Arena — but with Kroenke controlling both Ball Arena and River Mile, that is an incredible amount of development capacity.”

Community leaders touched on that concept six years earlier, when the city first approved a now-stalled proposal for a mixed-use entertainment district around the Broncos’ current stadium site at Empower Field at Mile High. The master plan suggested concurrent growth with the Central Platte Valley-Auraria District, but it was specifically confined to an area west of I-25 around Mile High.

“To ensure that we’re not taking away from downtown Denver,” explained Andrew Abrams, who served on the Denver Planning Board, “and creating a second downtown.”

Sue Powers, who served on that original plan’s steering committee, suggested the concept of cannibalization wouldn’t be a concern with any new district near downtown due to the potential to attract more crowds closer to LoDo.

Homeowners association president Cohen said Riverfront Park’s community was “very comfortable” with planned development at Ball and surrounding areas.

“If River Mile ever gets off the ground,” Cohen said, “it’s just going to be a new playground.”

Still, others noted potential issues with this anticipated concentration of entertainment districts.

Carrie Makarewicz, chair of CU Denver’s Urban and Regional Planning Department, pointed to potential traffic congestion on limited arterials and roadways, particularly I-25. The RTD’s E Line runs directly through Ball, Burnham Yard and Santa Fe Yards, which would connect development through public transit and reduce traffic. But public RTD data shows total light rail boardings have declined yearly since 2022.

Another consideration for policymakers, as former City Councilwoman Robin Kniech told The Post, is the potential for multiple tax-increment financing districts. The large NWSL stadium site by Broadway and I-25 has already been approved for TIF, and the Broncos have inquired about the process of urban-renewal TIF as connected to Burnham Yard.

That would mean two stadium districts in the span of four miles would generate tax revenue that didn’t actually go toward the city, and instead went back into project development costs.

In total, it all paints an unclear picture of how much actual economic growth several clustered stadium districts could bring to Denver.

“I do think this is a huge concern,” Kniech said, “about the viability of that much mixed-use development.”

•••

In 2010, Denver’s Department of Community Planning and Development released an 88-page document outlining a long-term vision for La Alma Lincoln Park, a culturally rich neighborhood that was forever transformed in the 1970s when families were displaced to build the Auraria campus.

The Burnham Yard site, which lies adjacent to La Alma Lincoln Park, was largely incorporated as a massive question mark.

“Redevelopment of the Burnham Yard is considered to be long-term and beyond the horizon of this Plan,” read a note on one map.

The railyard hasn’t been in active use since 2016. Still, as Torres said, zero planning guidance exists.

“Even back then, folks knew something else is going to happen here,” Torres said. “And we won’t know what that is yet.”

In September 2024, according to records obtained by The Post, Denver Urban Renewal Authority redevelopment manager Mike Guertin emailed preliminary examples around the process of creating a “Special Improvement District” to a host of constituents. One was Broncos chief financial officer Justin Webster. Another was Gus Dossett, a sports real estate specialist with the firm JLL and an expert in large-scale development projects.

“TBD on whether we request City staff to calculate the current sales tax base for the site,” Guertin wrote in an email. That “site” was specifically referring to Burnham Yard.

Leech told The Post that there was “no news to report” regarding any stadium decision-making, and that the Broncos are trying to navigate the process with “thoughtfulness and respect” to their longer-term future. He said the Broncos and the Walton-Penner ownership group are committed to understanding the surrounding area of any new stadium development.

“In some places, it’s a new development where that’s growing along with you,” Leech said. “In other places, it’s a 100-plus-year-old community that a development is being built within. And in both of those cases, it’s important to talk to the community members and understand what’s important to them.”

A wide range of Denver experts noted the importance of building out local stadium districts with “community-serving uses,” as Makarewicz said, such as rec centers or parks.

In 2024, KSE signed an extensive community-benefits agreement with a committee of local leaders that provided guarantees in the Ball Arena redevelopment for minority-owned contracted businesses, accessibility to parks and investments in local arts and culture. Notably, the committee negotiated for 18% of all connected housing units to be affordable. The NWSL stadium design at Santa Fe Yards includes plans to improve an eastern flank of Vanderbilt Park.

La Alma Lincoln Park community leader Simon Tafoya, who served as the co-chair of that Ball Arena CBA, hopes any Broncos mixed-use development at Burnham would spark discussion around affordable housing and education opportunities. And Tafoya noted there was “an immense amount of value” to any developer engaging the community as KSE did with the Ball CBA.

“We have a couple CBA groups that we can be learning from,” Torres said, in relation to development at Burnham Yard. “I’m trying to get La Alma Lincoln Park residents ready for those same conversations.”

•••

Experts see community advocacy as particularly important, given the sheer amount of real-estate power that Denver’s adopted royal families are amassing.

With KSE’s investment into River Mile and the Broncos’ nibblings at Burnham near the 36-acre Denver Water campus, the two billionaire groups — intertwined by family connections — could end up owning over 200 acres of land down the South Platte corridor.

“I mean, where in the United States of America do you have one frickin’ family controlling half of a center city’s land development?” said Segal. “It’s wild.”

A mixed-use district at Burnham Yard and a mixed-use district at Ball Arena could overlap in consumer demographics. Makarewicz suggested it’d make sense, if the Broncos settled at Burnham, for KSE and the Walton-Penner Group to sign a memorandum of understanding around separate community-serving uses for their respective districts.

KSE and the Walton-Penner group, of course, are linked: Stan Kroenke is married to Ann Walton Kroenke, the cousin of longtime former Walmart chairman Rob Walton.

“Whether they coordinate that because they have family connections, or they coordinate that because they’re somewhat market-driven … it’ll happen,” Powers said.

“I mean, they’re watching each other every day, and they know what the other one’s doing.”

Each project along this I-25 stretch faces its own issues. The NWSL franchise’s stadium plan at Santa Fe Yards is contingent on public investment. The Ball Arena redevelopment will require solving floodplain issues, which Powers said could be a “huge undertaking.” And the Broncos would have several hoops to jump through with Denver Water and environmental issues around Burnham if they settle there.

But a swell in mixed-use stadium districts looms on the Rocky Mountain horizon. And redevelopment promises to transform communities up and down the South Platte, for boom or for bust.

“Cautiously optimistic,” Tafoya said, describing his attitude to the expected growth. “With a healthy dose of skepticism.”

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What did you learn from your yearlong suspension for gambling?

Eyioma Uwazurike, or Enyi as he is known to teammates, looks me straight in the eye and answers without hesitation.

“Everybody is human. Everybody makes their decisions. Everybody makes their mistakes. Nobody is perfect,” said Uwazurike, a reserve defensive lineman. “… I do know that when situations like that come your way, you learn a lot from adversity. I know I did.

“As long as you are able to overcome it and be smarter, it will help you in the long run.”

Second chances work in different ways. We would like to believe we are all worthy of them. But in sports, that is just not the case, depending on the severity of the offense and the talent of the offender. The NFL banned Uwazurike for a calendar year in 2023 after determining he bet on NFL games, including five involving the Broncos.

He made peace with himself. But he was unsure if the organization would show grace. He was, after all, a fourth-round pick in 2022. He had yet to make an impact and was drafted before coach Sean Payton arrived.

Payton has shown no reluctance to move on from players he believes don’t fit the culture or his program, like Brandon McManus, Randy Gregory, Frank Clark, and, most notably, Russell Wilson. It left Uwazurike anxious as he counted down the days to his reinstatement on Aug. 5, 2024.

“I really had no idea what was going to happen,” Uwazurike said.

Payton believed a lot of NFL players were making mistakes in 2022 and 2023 as sports gambling became ubiquitous. However, of the 11 disciplined during that time, only Lions receiver Jameson Williams and Uwazurike remain with their original team.

Payton brought Uwazurike back. And continues to show faith in him.

“It’s hard to be gone a year, and he was a young player. So to have him now — this is an important camp, training camp and season for him,” Payton said. “His size hits you, his athleticism. How he plays is infectious. So, him having a full year heading into this season will serve him well. It’s hard for any player who sits a season, so he’s done a good job bouncing back.”

It is easy to judge others when you have never screwed up. But once you do, you don’t want to be forever judged by that mistake. Because the Broncos believed in his character, Uwazurike was given a shot at redemption.

“Sean is one of the most loyal, straight-up coaches I have ever had. It definitely means a lot to me to be playing for him, playing for this organization, same with ownership and everyone in the building. They have been great,” Uwazurike said. “Just knowing that I have this community around me is the best.”

Co-owner Greg Penner said there are gradations when it comes to making these decisions, but agreed with keeping Uwazurike on the team.

“He made a mistake. He was accountable for it. You don’t want to see another one,” Penner said Wednesday. “But we felt like he deserved a second chance.”

Even if self-inflicted, the year away was brutal. Uwazurike, however, has long navigated a difficult path. He went from lightly recruited because of poor grades to making the Big 12’s all-academic team. Before facing Notre Dame in a bowl game in 2019, Uwazurike’s father, Roland, died in his sleep. He was 48.

“We were very tight. Like best friends,” said Uwazurike, who has a tattoo of his father’s face on his right forearm. “It was really tough.”

Football was always Uwazurike’s safe space, a place for joy. He struggled to reconcile how he jeopardized his career.

Growing up in Detroit, he was convinced he would reach the NFL after playing his first game as a 7-year-old. When he grew into a star athlete at Southfield-Lathrup High School, he accepted his first Division I offer from Toledo coach Matt Campbell. When Campbell took the Iowa State job, Uwazurike followed him.

He played five years for the Cyclones, morphing from a skinny defensive end into a sturdy run-stuffing tackle.

“I just like the grittiness of it. When you have 600 pounds coming your way fast, and you can stand up to it, it’s a different type of energy,” Uwazurike said. “You feel like you are the toughest person on the field at that moment.”

That is the player the Broncos have witnessed during the first week of training camp. He has been stout at the point of attack, showing the type of urgency necessary for a player on the roster bubble.

“He’s doing really good. Last year, he got thrown into the fire coming off that suspension. That was hard. He showed up here in good shape,” teammate Malcolm Roach said. “He should be able to help us.”

Uwazurike remains thankful, but the truth is he wants to show it on the field, not through his words.

Second chances are not guaranteed. The Broncos have forgiven him. Now Uwazurike wants to repay them.

“I did something. I had to take it on the chin. But I am focused on the future. I am part of a tight-knit group, a defensive line with stars. I see what greatness looks like,” Uwazurike said. “I want to show I belong. I know the player I am. I am confident in the coaches I have, the organization that I am in. I feel like when the opportunity shows up, I will be ready to take advantage of it.”

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Did not practice: Physically Unable to Perform list — WR A.T. Perry (foot/ankle). Out — ILB Alex Singleton (thumb), ILB Drew Sanders (foot), OLB Que Robinson (unknown), WR Devaughn Vele (unknown).

Robinson was a somewhat expected absence after he was seen limping toward the end of Tuesday’s practice. Vele, though, was surprisingly missing from action Wednesday. The second-year receiver previously missed all of Denver’s minicamp with injury.

Newcomer impact

Yesterday was rookie RJ Harvey’s day, shining amid a new-look Broncos running back room. Wednesday was J.K. Dobbins’.

On easily the chippiest day of camp yet, the Broncos’ defensive front — as has been the case for months — dominated the first team period. They hooted. They hollered. They locked arms in glee. At the heart of it all was emotional ringleader Malcolm Roach, who devoured Dobbins on an early run in 9-on-7 work (defense had nine) and let him know about it.

Dobbins, though, is no shy presence himself. In subsequent 11-on-11 work, he took a draw, registered split-second that Denver’s front had overloaded on the right, and jump-cut two gaps to burst through a clean hole in the middle of the formation.

And after trotting out the rest of his run, Dobbins came back off the field barking warning shots at Roach and the Broncos’ defense.

“It’s the sheer speed, power,” Dobbins’ high school coach Matt Kates said last month, “but the ability to make somebody miss in a phone booth is something that even great backs don’t have.”

Between Dobbins and Harvey putting plenty of shifty cuts on practice tape in recent days, Denver’s RB room has shown explosiveness in camp. Both have gotten their fair share of reps, but Dobbins has taken early pole position as the Broncos’ likely leading man.

Top Plays

Estime goes bowling: Speaking of Denver’s backfield … In one single rep, second-year back Audric Estime showed more pep than he’s had all training camp — and put forth his best play of the preseason. As undrafted rookie Jordan Turner filled a gap on an Estime carry, the linebacker took 230 pounds of accelerated force straight to the chest. Estime knocked him on his backside so hard, in fact, that it sent the offense and defense alike into a frenzy, Evan Engram bellowing in support and Roach verbally tipping the cap.

Courtland Sutton head-tap: The man certainly isn’t resting on his golden laurels. On a simple 5-yard out toward the end of 11-on-11, Sutton took flight to high-point a toss from Sam Ehlinger and pin it to his helmet, somehow maintaining control as he crashed to the grass on top of a defensive back. It’s the type of grab he’s paid $92 million to make.

Thumbs Up

Trash talk: Dove Valley was ablaze with chatter Wednesday. Dobbins, a veteran wholly unafraid to make his presence known, led the Broncos’ offense. Fellow veteran free-agent signee Engram joined him. Offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz yapped, too. None of them, though, could hold a candle to defensive tackle Roach, who ripped off his helmet and bellowed to anyone in earshot after a stop in early 9-on-7 run work.

“I mean, sitting next to him in the locker room, guy doesn’t shut up,” receiver Marvin Mims Jr. cracked after practice. “He’s talking crap to receivers. It’s like, you’re a fat guy.”

Roughly a half hour later, Roach retaliated with a rather choice finger on Twitter. Mims replied he needed PR training and literally tagged a Broncos PR staffer. The games continue.

Thumbs Down

Ehlinger wayward: Jarrett Stidham was re-signed to a two-year deal this offseason to serve as Bo Nix’s unequivocal backup, meaning free-agent import Sam Ehlinger can’t afford many stumbles if he wants to force Denver to carry three quarterbacks on its initial roster. On Wednesday, he looked a beat slow in going through progressions, tossed a deep ball out-of-bounds when Jerjuan Newton had a step, and fired too high to an open Joaquin Davis toward the end of team work. Ehlinger had some solid moments this offseason and appears to have a great rapport in Denver’s quarterback room, but it wasn’t his finest day.

Odds and Ends

• The Levelle Bailey agenda is taking shape. Bailey’s been the biggest beneficiary of increased reps at ILB in Singleton and Sanders’ absences. After the offseason and camp he’s had, it’ll be extremely hard for anyone to play him out of a role. The second-year Fresno State product stood up Estime on an early run and filled gaps beautifully on a pitch to Jaleel McLaughlin and handoff to Harvey.

• Speaking of those increased ILB reps, undrafted rookie Jordan Turner caught some eyeballs on Wednesday, drawing verbal coaching praise after staying square and meeting McLaughlin on one run. Veteran Justin Strnad hasn’t popped much in recent days, and the room could see a notable reshuffling amid injury.

• Trent Sherfield was largely viewed as a special-teams add in free agency, but he has shown plenty of upside as a receiver in camp. He made two standout grabs Wednesday, catching a deep corner route from Bo Nix and strong-arming another ball over the middle. Head coach Sean Payton loves receivers who can block, and Sherfield fits the mold. He could be a sneaky-big factor in Denver’s wideout room this year.

“We’ve always had a handful of receivers that can run and stretch the field, and when you get one that can do that and then block also, you can set up play-action, marries well to the run game,” Payton said of him Saturday.

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The decision comes less than two weeks after Sharpe resolved a lawsuit that accused him of sexually assaulting a woman during their relationship. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced.

Sharpe’s last appearance on ESPN was in late April, when the lawsuit was filed in Nevada. No details of the settlement were released. The lawsuit had sought $50 million.

The 57-year-old Sharpe called the accusations “false and disruptive” at the time they were levied and hoped to return in time for the NFL season.

Instead, ESPN opted to move on from the brash four-time All-Pro tight end who won three Super Bowls during his 14-year career, two of which came with the Denver Broncos.

Sharpe retired as the NFL’s all-time leader among tight ends in receptions (815), yards receiving (10,060) and touchdowns (62). Those records have been broken.

Sharpe has been a staple on TV and social media since retiring. He left FS1’s sports debate show “Undisputed” in 2023 and joined ESPN soon afterward. He served as a panelist on the network’s morning show “First Take.”

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

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The team announced Wednesday that half-priced single-game tickets to home games at Empower Field at Mile High will go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday. Ticket prices start at $25 apiece.

Purchases are limited to four tickets per household. Buying tickets to multiple games is not allowed. These tickets cannot be resold or transferred.

Tickets will be available for the following games: Tennessee Titans (Sept. 7), Cincinnati Bengals (Sept. 29), New York Giants (Oct. 19), Dallas Cowboys (Oct. 26), Las Vegas Raiders (Nov. 6), Kansas City Chiefs (Nov. 16), Green Bay Packers (Dec. 14), Jacksonville Jaguars (Dec. 21) and Los Angeles Chargers (TBD).

Tickets will be available for purchase on ticketmaster.com.

The half-priced tickets are available under the operating agreement with the Metropolitan Football Stadium District for the construction of Empower Field at Mile High.

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Early November. Week of Broncos-Chiefs. Sean Payton, the man who has tinkered behind two decades of NFL offensive evolution, came to Mims: “We’re going to put you at running back.”

It was “crazy,” as Mims remembered last week, grinning after one Denver practice.

“I was probably, like, 180 (pounds) at the time,” Mims said. “I was like, ‘There’s no way.'”

There was. From Week 10 on, the Pro Bowl returner looked the part of a Pro Bowl offensive weapon, racking up 472 total yards and six touchdowns in his final eight regular-season games. Mims spun out on routes out of the backfield, took more reps in the slot, and became a legitimate playmaker for quarterback Bo Nix on go-get-it balls. The Broncos’ offense leapt from averaging 21 points a game to 30.

“That opened up everything for us,” Mims said. “I mean, I feel like whenever we started hitting with those things — offensively, we just took off last year. And started doing a lot of RPOs, and Bo just looked as comfortable as ever.”

Entering Year 3 in Denver, the 23-year-old lightning bolt is all grown up. The confidence has flipped, ever since Payton’s grand experiment. The route tree has expanded, from go-balls and posts to deep drags and comebacks.

Is he now officially a guy, then, that the Broncos have to find ways to get the ball?

“Listen, we’re trying to get a number of those guys the ball,” head coach Payton said last week. “He’s certainly good with it in his hands.”

Therein lies a first-world NFL problem with projecting a Mims leap: The Broncos have a number of those guys at wideout who are growing up, too. Payton said during OTAs that Mims was one of a few young players “competing for touches” — Troy Franklin, Devaughn Vele and Pat Bryant are others — and that battle has yet to clear up a week and a half into training camp.

Courtland Sutton was just promised $92 million over four years to build upon an 81-catch season in 2024. Tight end Evan Engram was given $23 million over two years to be the Joker to Bo Nix’s freewheeling Harley Quinn. New running backs J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey will draw a heap of dump-offs and screens between them. The available target pool for the young wideouts has shrunk, even as individual games have visibly expanded.

That will force Payton to get creative, just as he did with Mims.

“When something like that happens,” Payton said of Mims’ breakout, “then you’re constantly thinking — ‘Am I, are we collectively in that offensive staff room or defensively, are we doing things that suit each player?’ ”

Mims, now an elder statesman in the room despite lingering hints of a baby face, is the presumptive starter at Z-receiver. Second-year wideout Troy Franklin is nibbling at his heels, though, operating in his second training camp with a hair more muscle and a growing heap of explosive plays in practice.

“You’re seeing him play faster,” Payton said of Franklin in minicamp, “with a much greater awareness within each play.”

The 6-foot-5 Vele will command another large chunk of reps from the slot, too, limiting the number of alignments where Mims and Franklin could reasonably share the field. Rookie Pat Bryant has built notably quick chemistry with Nix, too, as a malleable and steady-handed target from both the slot and outside.

“It helps to be consistent … somebody you can trust,” rookie cornerback Jahdae Barron said of Bryant during minicamp. “And that’s him.”

Mims, for his part, is a Swiss Army Knife with 4.3 speed. He wants to make plays every game — however that looks. In the Broncos’ loss to the Bengals last year, Mims racked up eight catches for 103 yards and had no punt returns. In another win over Indianapolis, Mims had 20 receiving yards but 97 on punts. Either is fine with him.

“It’s not really returner, receiver, none of that,” Mims said. “But just like, if I’m out there, I want to try and make a difference in the game.”

He needs the ball to do that, though. And he’s one of more than a few.

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“It wasn’t about me,” the Broncos’ veteran receiver told me after practice Tuesday at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit. “At the end of the day, yes, we work in a business of compensation.

“(There’s) talent in that locker room, guys that are coming up, that are trying to get their second contract. I was blessed to be able to get my third. They put the work in just the same way as I have. And some of those guys have more accolades than I have when it comes to the NFL side of things … and to be able to sign the deal that we did, it gives us a chance to keep those guys around.”

Nik Bonitto’s reps are pursuing an extension. Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach, P.J. Locke, Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad are all heading into contract years.

“Were you conscious of that?” I asked Sutton.

He nodded.

“1,000%,” the wideout replied. “1,000%.”

Big 14 and the Broncos agreed to a four-year deal worth $92 million on Monday. He’ll take home $23 million per year, on average. Nice work if you can get it, only there’s a twist: Spotrac.com’s “market value” estimator pegged Sutton’s worth at about $27 million annually, even suggesting a three-year deal for him in the range of $79.8 million.

DK Metcalf’s playing on a four-year deal with Pittsburgh worth $33 million in annual salary. The Eagles’ A.J. Brown signed a three-year extension through 2029 reportedly worth an average of $32 million a year.

Sutton’s racked up more catches than Metcalf since the start of the 2023 season (140 to 132). Court’s also accounted for 19 touchdowns over that span, compared to Brown’s 14 and Metcalf’s 13.

In other words, at age 29, on what might be his last massive NFL payday, the dude left a little money on the table.

You know what? That was by design, the receiver says. Sutton wants to keep the band together as badly as you do.

“The deal that we wound up signing is a great deal, and it was very beneficial to myself,” he said. “And it gives us a chance to be able to keep a lot of really good players around on this team and for years to come.”

Even with Russell Wilson coming off the books, it’s going to take some cap gymnastics to keep one of the best defenses in franchise history intact. Every nickel helps.

And if you want a no-drama training camp, well, that starts at the top. As a captain, Sutton has remained one of the Broncos’ good soldiers — through joy, pain, hail, locusts, Patrick Star and Nathaniel Hackett.

When pressed about state secrets, Sean Payton makes the KGB look warm and fuzzy. Yet the Broncos head coach trusts Sutton unflinchingly. That says a lot, too.

“If you didn’t say a word, the young guys watch his preparation and his work ethic,” Payton said. “Obviously, his experience (rubs off) with all of those players. But it really starts with this preparation in here (and) onto the field. He’s everything you want in a pro.”

After Payton arrived in Dove Valley two years ago, he brought Sutton, who’d battled injuries and inconsistency, into his office. Worried that Sutton had gotten too heavy, the coach put on some clips from No. 14’s Pro Bowl season in 2019.

“Look,” Payton told him. “I want this guy.”

So far, he’s gotten it. Sutton set personal bests in targets (135), catches (81) and receiving yards (1,081) last fall.

When talking about Sutton Tuesday, Payton sounded positively effusive, especially by Sunshine Sean standards. He even likened No. 14 to Marques Colston, arguably the best receiver he ever had in New Orleans.

“When you get to know him, he doesn’t have too many bad days,” Payton said. “Those guys with the right energy — man, there’s a lot to be said for that.”

There’s a lot to be said for a $27 million receiver who takes $23 million happily, puts his head down, and gets to work.

“I had the utmost faith that something was going to get done,” Sutton said. “And the last thing that I wanted to be was a distraction. That’s what I’ve done my entire career, and that’s what I want to continue to do is not be a distraction.”

And where would Bo Nix be without him? Sutton caught six of his eight TDs last fall from the Broncos’ second-year quarterback after Halloween. During the offseason, the pair couldn’t help but get a little giddy about what they’d already built over such a tiny window.

“I may have the years on him in terms of (an) NFL career. But the dude understands ball and understands leadership to a different level,” Sutton said. “That’s why he is where he is. And so to be able to walk hand-in-hand with him is amazing. And we just try to lead the best way we possibly can for this team so that we can ultimately get to the end goal.”

“Did Bo ever twist your arm to get this contract done?” I wondered.

“He never pressured me in a bad way,” Sutton said. “And that’s the one thing I respected whenever he and I had conversations — he always was right there with me.

“But he knew that I wanted to be here at the end of the day. He knew that this was home. He knew I would do whatever I possibly could to be able to stay here. And make sure that everyone else gets what they deserve as well.”

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