The 2026 NFL training camps have kicked off around the league, and our team reporters are on the ground each day following all the action. The Denver Broncos camp is taking place in Englewood, Colorado, and Broncos reporter Jeff Legwold has the latest intel on standouts, highlights, position battles, depth chart movement, cut decisions and of course the quarterback room.
What follows is everything we are seeing and hearing at Broncos camp. We will update this file often as we track the Broncos' push toward getting to the Super Bowl after falling one game short last season. Who are the breakout players to watch, especially for fantasy football? And which players on the roster bubble could make the final 53?
Dive in to all the updates and be sure to check back for more information until the first full week of the preseason begins Aug. 13.
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Latest news from Broncos camp
Tuesday, Aug. 11
Broncos owner/CEO Greg Penner, who had not spoken publicly since the league meetings in March, covered a variety of topics with local media on Tuesday. At one point he was asked about his expectations for the season, and he made it clear a team that returns all but two starters from the AFC Championship Game has the same expectations from him as the next year's team and the ones that come after that.
"Our goal is to compete for championships every year and if we put ourselves in that position every year, we're going to be successful and win Super Bowls," he said.
He also talked about the new five-year deal for coach Sean Payton that Payton signed in June, saying: "I've been really pleased with what he's built here, the culture, the performance on the field (and) it enabled us to line up he and [general manager] George [Paton's] contracts now. George has done a fantastic job building this roster."
More observations:
Center is suddenly a trouble spot, as injuries continue to happen at the position. The Broncos' top two centers -- Luke Wattenberg and Alex Forsyth -- have missed time in camp and on Tuesday Michael Deiter -- who was signed for depth in the offseason after spending seven seasons in Miami, Houston and Washington -- was carted to the locker room. Calvin Throckmorton slid in as the first-team center, with undrafted rookie free agent Gavin Ortega providing depth. All-Pro guard Quinn Meinerz played some center early in his NFL career and could shift over if needed, but moving one of the NFL's best guards to another position is not ideal.
Sam Ehlinger continues to flash in his quest for the No. 2 quarterback job. He has consistently moved the offense in team drills during camp, and his throw to undrafted rookie wide receiver Kolbe Katsis for a touchdown in situational red zone work with the third-team offense was one of the best plays of the day.
Running back J.K. Dobbins, who left Monday's practice with what Sean Payton referred to as a soft tissue injury, returned to practice Tuesday.
Monday, Aug. 10
A recent spate of what Sean Payton called "soft-tissue" injuries prompted the coach to adjust the end of practice. After the two-and-half-hour workout, Payton had the strength and conditioning staff add a longer, more formal warm-down period. Payton said he expected to continue to have the players go through the longer warm down in the days ahead.
"Got to get a handle on some of the soft-tissue stuff. ... Strains, hamstring or groins, [we] continue to fight through that," Payton said. "I don't think it's heat related. ... You always try to look at your pre-practice routine, your hydration obviously."
Running back J.K. Dobbins left the practice field with an injury and did not return. Wide receivers Marvin Mims Jr. -- who returned to practice Monday -- and Jaylen Waddle have also had similar injuries in recent weeks.
More observations:
Payton said he will play most, if not all, of the healthy starters for at least some snaps in Friday's preseason opener in Atlanta. Payton said the coaches hadn't yet formalized the snap counts yet, but that he wanted regulars to get at least some work. "You have to build callouses," he said.
Quarterback Bo Nix hopes first-year offensive coordinator Davis Webb will be on the sideline during games to call plays instead of in the coaches' box. Payton said Monday he and Webb hadn't yet discussed the gameday setup yet, but that he expected Webb to call plays from the sideline. "I always loved quarterback-to-playcaller when they're on the sideline with me," Nix said. "You get the feel of the game a little differently. ... They get to feel the emotions of a game on the sideline. ... I like when the playcaller is right there, and when I come off I can have that eye-to-eye conversation."
Saturday, Aug. 8
When the Broncos went through a scripted scrimmage, it was safety Brandon Jones who was 3-of-4 in field goal attempts.
Why? Broncos special teams coach Darren Rizzi said most of the Australian punters he has worked with in his long coaching career, including the Broncos' Jeremy Crawshaw, have not kicked field goals.
So the Broncos need a contingency plan in case Wil Lutz gets injured in a game. And with Lutz and several Broncos coaches, including Sean Payton, in Canton, Ohio, to see Drew Brees be enshrined into the Hall of Fame, it was Jones getting the kicks.
Rizzi said Jones' longest made field goal was 39 yards, but Jones said he made a 50-yarder in OTAs. At one point, as Jones moved into position before the snap, the crowd of several thousand people chanted his name.
"Have a lot of respect for kickers when the crowd started chanting my name, I got really nervous, and I'm like, 'I'm about to shank this,' but thankfully it went in," Jones said.
Jones was 2-of-2 from the center of the field, 1-of-2 from the left hashmark.
Other observations:
With wide receiver Courtland Sutton getting some rest days in camp to go with recent injuries to Jaylen Waddle and Marvin Mims Jr., Pat Bryant has consistently made play after play as a reliable option for quarterback Bo Nix. Bryant's leaping, get-the-toes-down scoring grab in red zone work was just another example. Bryant leaped over a double-team of Ja'Quan McMillian and Jahdae Barron to make the catch. Offensive coordinator Davis Webb said, "Man, Patty Ice has had some really, really good practices."
The Broncos closed out a stretch of six consecutive days on the practice field with a scripted scrimmage, but held out some of their healthy high-profile players, including cornerback Pat Surtain II, tackle Mike McGlinchey, safety Talanoa Hufanga and running back J.K. Dobbins.
The defense shut down both two-minute drives by the offense to close out the practice -- the situation was offense trailing by four with 1:14 left in the game. Nix led the first group, and Sam Ehlinger led the other, which made it to the 8-yard line before the defense was credited with a sack to end the drive.
Friday, Aug. 7
If Broncos coach Sean Payton checks his phone on his flight to Canton, Ohio, on Friday he isn't going to like some of the messages. It was a rugged day of practice, as wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr., tight end Nate Adkins and defensive lineman Matt Henningsen left with injuries.
Mims pulled up after running a deep route and hopped off the field before he went to the locker room. Adkins walked into the locker room with Mims and a trainer while Henningsen, who missed last season with a ruptured Achilles he suffered in last summer's camp, was carted to the locker room with an apparent leg injury.
That comes in addition to the other injuries the Broncos suffered already this week to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (leg) and edge rusher Nik Bonitto (ankle/foot). Bonitto returned to practice Friday on a limited basis.
More observations:
Payton, several assistant coaches and kicker Wil Lutz left during Friday's practice to head to Ohio for the events surrounding Drew Brees' enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Payton will be Brees' presenter at the Gold Jacket dinner Friday night and at the enshrinement ceremony Saturday. The group had all been with the New Orleans Saints during Brees' career.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph ran practice after Payton left and will run Saturday's workout in which the Broncos will go through a controlled scrimmage. Joseph spoke to the team at the end of practice as Payton usually does and cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian said he told Joseph "head coach looks good on you."
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton practiced fully Friday, while offensive tackle Garett Bolles, defensive tackle D.J. Jones and defensive tackle Malcolm Roach had rest days.
Thursday, Aug. 6
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who left practice Wednesday with what appeared to be a left leg injury, did not practice Thursday and moved gingerly between drills as he watched practice. Coach Sean Payton said after practice Waddle had suffered a "strain" and "I think we'll see him back in the next four to five days."
The Broncos practice Friday and Saturday before a player's off day Sunday. They have three full practice days next week before a travel day for their Aug. 14 preseason opener in Atlanta. Waddle's status for that preseason opener, which is when Payton typically plays starters at least one quarter, is still a question mark.
More observations:
Courtland Sutton, who had been held out the previous two days for rest, participated on a limited basis and is expected to practice fully Friday. Payton said Sutton is not injured, but the rest schedule is "our protocol" for Sutton and that other veteran players in the coming weeks will have similar schedules. Sutton said the team's training staff showed him tracking data from practices late in the season last year to talk to him about trying to pace him better through the season. "Last year I kind of got ran into the ground going into the end part of the season ... just trying to make sure the body stays as fresh as possible as late in the season as possible," he said.
Former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, the franchise's winningest coach, including back-to-back Super Bowl wins to close out the 1997 and 1998 seasons, was at practice Thursday and received a tour of the team's new $178 million facility.
Wednesday, Aug. 5
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle left Wednesday's practice and did not return. The Broncos' main offseason addition slowed down during a play in a team period and walked off to the locker room. He did not return to practice. Coach Sean Payton said after the workout that Waddle would be "fine" after the initial exam by the team's medical staff. "But we'll evaluate him ... he had some muscle tightness," he added.
Payton has said repeatedly "we'll be smart" about returning players to practice after injuries. With the Broncos still nine days away from their preseason opener, Waddle could be held out of some practice time in the remainder of the week. Courtland Sutton was also given his second consecutive off day, so Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant got the bulk of the work with the starters after Waddle left the field. Payton said Sutton would practice Thursday.
More observations:
Franklin and Bryant each had explosive plays in team drills Wednesday and Franklin might have had his best day of camp overall. The receiver combination of Sutton, Waddle, Mims, Franklin and Bryant -- if healthy -- looks like it will be the top five, so the Broncos would have to keep six receivers for another wideout to make the 53-player roster at the end of the preseason.
The Broncos again showed their cornerback depth, as Kris Abrams-Draine intercepted Bo Nix in an 11-on-11 period.
Sam Ehlinger took snaps with the second-team offense during multiple practice periods Wednesday and continues to push Jarrett Stidham for the backup quarterback job. Ehlinger re-signed with the Broncos this offseason after spending 2025 on the practice squad. He turned down multiple chances to sign with a team with an active roster spot a year ago.
Tuesday, Aug. 4
Edge rusher Nik Bonitto limped off the practice field Tuesday after he suffered what appeared to be a lower left leg injury in a 9-on-7 run-game drill. Bonitto left the field with a trainer as well as one of the team doctors and did not return. After practice, Broncos coach Sean Payton would say only "he'll be fine, no updates."
Bonitto has led the team in sacks in each of the past two seasons -- 13.5 in 2024 and 14.0 in 2025 - helping the Broncos lead the league and establish single-season franchise records in each campaign. Jonah Elliss and Jonathon Cooper took most of the snaps with the starters at the edge spots after Bonitto left practice, with second-year man Que Robinson getting more work throughout the day as well.
It was the second consecutive day the Broncos had a starter leave practice. Center Luke Wattenberg, who dealt with a shoulder injury last season, left Monday's practice and did not practice Tuesday.
More observations:
Add Broncos wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to the list of those who have noticed Marvin Mims Jr.'s work this training camp. Mims made another leaping grab Tuesday -- this time in one-on-ones -- and Waddle was quick to praise it all after practice. "Man, Marv -- I'm a big fan of Marvin Mims, I'm not going to lie. He's very explosive, I love watching him work, love being in meetings (with him), picking his brain. Marvin's a big play always ready to happen, you've got to respect that kind of speed."
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton was held out of practice Tuesday for rest, as Payton had said this week he would begin to give some of the veteran players scheduled days off. Sutton was the first, but Payton said he has a group of players who have been scheduled for days off in the weeks to come.
Monday, Aug. 3
Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton lamented with a laugh about how fans "certainly only cheer for one side of the ball" when watching the team's practices. But on Monday, cornerback Riley Moss made the kind of defensive play that gets folks on their feet.
During team drills, Moss jumped alongside wide receiver Courtland Sutton on a deep throw from Bo Nix up the left sideline and snatched the ball away from Sutton as the two hit the ground. Few players in the league get tested more in practice and in games than Moss given that he plays across from four-time Pro Bowl selection Pat Surtain II -- the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. But Sean Payton said Moss' play Monday is indicative to the kind of camp Moss is having as the corner enters the last year of his rookie deal.
"Man he competes his tail off, I love that about him," Payton said. " ... He's moving around well right now."
Moss continues to play at a high-enough level to continue to hold off Jahdae Barron -- Denver's first-round pick in 2025. Safety Talanoa Hufanga said Monday that Moss is "one of the most athletic corners I've ever been around."
More observations:
Considering that he was the 20th pick of the 2025 draft, Barron's progress is often a topic of queries pointed at Payton. The Broncos continue to carve out snaps for the second-year defensive back, even as Moss continues to improve. Barron is currently lining up at outside corner in some sets, as the nickel in others and plays at linebacker in the dime. If the Broncos do not re-sign Moss to the market-value deal he might command next offseason, Barron is poised to be next in line.
On a team with few roster spots available and almost no traditional camp battles for starting jobs, Sam Ehlinger continues to push Jarrett Stidham to be the team's No. 2 quarterback. Ehlinger has consistently moved the offense via limited snaps in team drills in and while Stidham continues to get most of the work with the second-team offense behind Nix, Ehlinger's work in the preseason and the practices to come will bear watching.
Center Luke Wattenberg walked off the field after being knocked down in one-on-one drills and did not return. After practice Payton said Wattenberg "should be fine," but Wattenberg did miss time last season with a shoulder injury.
Saturday, Aug. 1
After the Broncos tinkered with the idea this offseason to move Jonah Elliss from outside linebacker to inside linebacker, the first three days of training camp have reaffirmed the decision to leave Elliss right where he is as part of the team's pass rush.
No matter the future of Jonathon Cooper, who was arrested twice on domestic violence charges this offseason, Elliss is expected to push for more playing time. He has been consistently impactful in practices. And coach Sean Payton has said he is glad they didn't move Elliss inside.
"For me, it felt like man, we're taking a position that's harder to find and moving him to a position that we think might be a little bit easier to replace," Payton said. " ... I just think we felt like man, he's really ascending as an edge player."
Elliss continues to push for more than 318 snaps he played on defense last season.
Weekend work at #BroncosCamp ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/u4m6umdgX2
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 1, 2026
More observations from the day:
Another day, another big play for wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. Mims turned a Bo Nix scramble into a 50-yard touchdown reception in team drills. With Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle in the top two receivers spots, the quest for touches for the other receivers is already crowded with Mims, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant among those pushing for snaps. Asked how he will make those decisions, Payton invoked Mims' name unprompted: "Just reliability, consistency, I mean, I've said this before about Mims ... I just feel like, man, more touches (for him)... it's a body of work thing.''
The Broncos players will have their first day off training camp Sunday, and Payton said Wednesday will be the first practice in full pads that goes to the two-and-a-half hour mark.
Friday, July 31
It is never safe to draw conclusions from the early days of training camp, but Broncos tight end Evan Engram has already had more big plays in three days of practice than he might have had all of last season. The trend continued Friday, as he had two explosive catch-and-runs on deep balls in team drills.
Engram had a 50 receptions last season -- his first with the Broncos -- but averaged only 9.2 yards per catch and had just two receptions longer than 20 yards. First-year playcaller Davis Webb had two stints as a quarterback with the New York Giants during Engram's time there and that previous familiarity might be manifesting on the practice field as Webb goes through his first camp as an offensive coordinator.
"I would say yes to some degree, he's trying to find different ways where he might have a matchup, and that's a good thing," coach Sean Payton said of Engram-Webb dynamic. "Now it's just about executing ... [Engram] is one other piece where you're trying to spread the ball around. He can definitely be a big asset for us."
More observations:
Running back J.K. Dobbins re-affirmed the promise he made at minicamp last month -- that he would play "all 17'' games in 2026 and have the best season of his career. Dobbins, who was among the league's rushing leaders before missing the final seven games of the 2025 season with a foot injury, has never started more than 11 games in a season and played in more than 15 because of injuries. "There won't be any [injuries] ... I'll be there for all 17 games, I pinky promise all of you right now," Dobbins said.
Thursday, July 30
The Broncos were still in their acclimation period for Thursday's practices, but it was the second consecutive day Sean Payton executed a small tweak to how he's done things his three previous training camps in Denver. As the team goes through the installation of the offense, the Broncos were working in red zone periods at different times than it had in previous years.
"Little different, with just this year's installation, we kind of jumped right to red zone," Payton said after practice. "And put it ahead of what we had done the first three years ... thought we had good work."
It's all part of transitioning to Davis Webb as the team's playcaller, which is part of a search for more points and to finish more drives with touchdowns instead of field goals. The Broncos were 14th in the league in both overall scoring and touchdowns last season while ranking 18th in touchdowns per drive.
More observations:
Payton said defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, a former Broncos head coach, will likely direct next Saturday's practice when Payton is in Canton, Ohio, as part of Dree Brees' induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Payton is Brees' presenter and will leave for Ohio after next Friday's practice and return that Sunday.
Friday's practice will be the first that fans can attend and marks a milestone of sorts. For the first time since 2003, when the Broncos moved their training camp to their south suburban Denver complex, there will be shade protecting the fans. The team recently opened its new $175 million complex, so there's only limited seating is available because their former complex stands where future seating will be, but the bleachers will be covered this year.
Wednesday, July 29
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who had two surgeries to repair the fractured right ankle he suffered in the closing minutes of the Broncos' divisional-round win over the Buffalo Bills, practiced fully Wednesday -- the team's first practice of training camp. It was the first full practice Nix had participated in since the injury. He only did limited work in the mandatory minicamp in June after being held out of OTAs.
Nix looked full speed as the team went through an acclimation practice -- much like an OTA workout -- and connected on several passes in a red zone drill to close out the day.
"Man, I'm pleased with the shape he's in,'' Broncos coach Sean Payton said after Wednesday's practice. " ...It's good to have him back out there in team periods."
More observations:
Undrafted rookie defensive back Blake Cotton walked off the field with members of the team's training staff and did not return.
The only player on the active roster who was held out of Wednesday's practice was second-year tight end Caleb Lohner, who is still recovering from an offseason foot injury.
Tuesday, July 28
The Broncos' veterans formally reported for training camp on Tuesday, but the real star of the day wasn't the likes of Pat Surtain II, Bo Nix or Nik Bonitto. It was the sparkling $175 million, 205,000-square-foot facility the team has moved into.
"My expectations were high and it exceeded them," Surtain said. "There's not nothing like it in the league. It's state of the art."
Built and paid for by the Walton-Penner ownership group, the players were still finding their way through the hallways as they arrived for camp, but the early returns were that the new complex has the best of everything to help the team's pursuit of a Super Bowl championship. It should be a rather enticing selling point for free agents in offseasons to come.
More observations:
When the Broncos take the field for their first training camp practice on Wednesday, they will feature a healthy roster. Players who had surgeries late in the 2025 season or offseason surgery like Nix, Bonitto and guard Ben Powers have all been cleared to participate. Only guard Nick Gargiulo, who suffered a severe knee injury in training camp last year, will open camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Linebacker Jordan Turner will open on the non-football injury list.