Sean Payton stayed true to his word about playing the Denver Broncos' first-teamers in preseason Game 1. With the exception of All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II and veteran rush linebacker Frank Clark, Payton played his starters in Friday night's 18-17 preseason loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Payton's philosophy is to practice tackle football — and that includes exposing the first-teamers to the full-contact intensity of the preseason. While the hope is for the Broncos to collectively build a callus, it also comes with some downside risk of key players getting hurt.
That's how it unfolded, in part, on Friday night as the Broncos' starting nose tackle D.J. Jones exited the exhibition game with an injury after playing just four snaps. The Broncos later announced that Jones suffered a concussion and is now in the NFL's protocol.
It would be a surprise if Payton were to risk Jones any further this summer, but that doesn't mean the Broncos won't continue to strategically play their starters. After watching ex-head coach Nathaniel Hackett rest Denver's starters completely in last summer's preseason, leading to a team very much 'uncallused' and ill-prepared for the war of attrition that is the NFL's 17-game regular season, Payton has opted to "do the opposite" — in more ways than one.
As an acolyte of Hall-of-Fame head coach Bill Parcells, Payton is very much of the old-school class, despite being known for his modern high-octane offenses. The combination of those two aspects — smashmouth physicality met with offensive firepower — has led Payton to a lot of success as an NFL head coach, and he plans to carry on that tradition in the Mile High City.
The Broncos will need Jones for the long haul of this coming season. Signed to a massive free-agent deal in the spring of 2022, he would go on to start 15-of-17 games for the Broncos, totaling 34 tackles (22 solo) and two sacks.
Beyond Zach Allen, the Broncos don't have much by way of proven experience on the defensive line, which makes Jones all the more valuable moving forward.
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