ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — On the first field, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had his best day of training camp, throwing darts to Courtland Sutton and Devaughn Vele while catching a break from having to face Denver’s suffocating defense on Thursday.
On the far field, Arizona Cardinals star tight end Trey McBride put on a show for his friends and family in his return to his native Colorado, repeatedly getting open for Tyler Murray against a unit missing Nik Bonitto (foot) and Dre Greenlaw (thigh).
“Me and Kyler had a great connection today,” said McBride, who took a point of pride in finding the gaps against a defense that’s been getting a lot of buzz this summer.
After the spirited joint practice that left both teams satisfied, Broncos coach Sean Payton revealed that Saturday’s preseason game will feature almost exclusively backups, saying that neither he nor Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon “are going to play the No. 1s,” save for a handful of players who need some more work.
Payton figured two joint practices in one week going back to last week’s trip to San Francisco were sufficient, so he’s going to sit his starters this weekend but have them make cameos in their preseason finale at New Orleans next week.
“It was a good workday,” McBride said. “The Broncos brought it. We brought it. And most importantly, everyone came out of here pretty healthy.”
Happy homecoming
McBride, who’s from Fort Morgan, Colorado, and attended Colorado State, had a big fan base at the practice, including former Broncos tight end Joel Dreessen, also from Fort Morgan. Another native son, Calais Campbell, who’s from Denver and grew up a diehard Broncos fan, also had plenty of supporters on hand.
“You know what’s crazy?” Campbell said. “I did not know (McBride) was from Colorado until like yesterday. I should know everybody from Colorado. He slipped through the cracks. But we talked a little bit about it and it’s really cool because there’s not a lot of us and we definitely have that fraternity and that brotherhood.”
McBride said he was “happy to be back in Colorado — air’s a little thinner, harder to breathe — but it’s good to be back, for sure. A lot of family, a lot of friends came out to support. It’s one of the first times I’ve had everyone out here at practice, so it was cool to see them here watching me and more importantly, to get some good work in with the Broncos.”
Hall of Famer Peyton Manning was on hand and he watched the Cardinals’ offensive starters, including Marvin Harrison Jr., the son of one of his favorite targets during his time in Indy, going up against Denver’s front-line defense.
Manning met with McBride and Campbell during water breaks.
Of course, one play in particular came up when Campbell was chatting with Manning — the time in 2014 when Manning prevented Campbell from getting a pick-6 by tripping him up just shy of the goal line.
“It was a great play by him. He saved the touchdown and they won the game and if we had scored that touchdown, we probably would have won,” Campbell said. “But, you know, I tell everybody, Peyton Manning could have been an All-Pro linebacker.”
Campbell swan song?
Campbell returned to Arizona for his 18th NFL season at age 38. Asked if he would consider trying to wrap up his career in his native Denver in 2026, he demurred.
“I have no thoughts at all about playing football after this year,” Campbell said. “I’m giving everything I’ve got into this season. So, yeah, there ain’t no tomorrow. I don’t even know if tomorrow exists. All I’ve got is right now.”
Pressed about this being his final NFL season, Campbell said, “I’d be very surprised if it’s not.”
But he added a caveat: “I felt like the last couple of years was my last year. So, I will put that disclaimer out there. Last year at this time I felt the exact same way I feel right now. So, you never know.”
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