Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton knows offensive talent, and he has a tight end in Greg Dulcich who will be used all over the field this season.
"Man, he can run, he's got good ball skills," Payton said, per NFL.com, noting that "his menu is going to be lengthy in the passing game."
Payton believes Dulcich could be a candidate for the "joker" position, which is "running back or a tight end with exceptional ball skills."
Payton mentioned he's coached great tight ends such as Jeremy Shockey, Jason Witten and Jimmy Graham, and Dulcich has "traits that are exciting." He also named Reggie Bush, Darren Sproles and Alvin Kamara as players who played "joker."
"Those were all unique players, not just in the running game, but they had passing game skill sets that allowed you to do multiple things, and I think Greg does, too," Payton shared.
Dulcich missed seven games last season but had a productive season when he saw the field, recording 33 receptions for 411 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games.
A lot has changed since last season for the Broncos offense, and that's good news for someone versatile like the speedy 6-foot-4 Dulcich. Nathaniel Hackett was fired as HC, Payton was hired and there's real optimism that Denver's offense and QB Russell Wilson will get back on track this year.
If Denver is to compete for an AFC West title or a playoff berth, expect Dulcich to be a big part of that equation. Dulcich could be a great security blanket for Wilson and be a major asset on third downs and in the red zone.
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The Green Bay Packers have a cause for concern with Jordan Love in the preseason. The quarterback suffered a thumb injury during the Packers' 30-10 loss to the New York Jets on Saturday. Love went 1-of-5 passing for seven yards and took a sack for -3 yards in the defeat. Both of his drives ended in punts. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Love is set to have surgery on his thumb after seeing how it held up at practice on Monday. General manager Brian Gutekunst believes Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. "Gutekunst sounded adamant that Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Lions," Schneidman wrote. "Hit his left hand on a helmet on that half-scramble vs. Jets. Wanted to see how it felt at practice yesterday and decided to get it fixed to avoid future issues. Will be with team in Indianapolis. "Brian Gutekunst says Jordan Love is having a procedure done on his left thumb. It’s a 'ligament thing.' Hurt it in the preseason opener. Gutekunst hopes he returns to practice next week." The injury comes at an inopportune time for the Packers. Love and the majority of his receivers have not been in sync during training camp and in the preseason game. Like last season, Packers' receivers have dropped passes during practices and did so in the preseason opener against the Jets. Green Bay needs Love on the field, gaining chemistry with his pass-catching targets, including first-round pick Matthew Golden, before it plays the Lions.
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes was no match for the Milwaukee Brewers – again. The former LSU Tigers star pitcher got lit up on the mound by the red-hot Brew Crew on Tuesday night, as he allowed four earned runs on six hits (including two home runs) while issuing two free passes and striking out four Milwaukee hitters across four innings of work. The Brewers eked out a 14-0 victory to win the series and move just a win away this Wednesday to sweep the Pirates and extend their win streak to 12 games. Skenes’ start tied his shortest thus far in the 2025 MLB regular season. The last time he pitched for only four innings was against the Brewers as well on June 25, when he surrendered four earned runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts in a 4-2 loss, also at American Family Field. Skenes is now 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA in three starts this season versus the Brewers. Skenes speaks up on Milwaukee Brewers after 14-0 loss The reigning National League Rookie of the Year opened up about his thoughts on the Brewers and his performance against the streaking Milwaukee side. “They’re obviously hot right now,” Skenes said of the Brewers, per Rich Rovito of MLB.com. “I got in positions that weren’t very advantageous to me to where I had to be perfect, and I didn’t have my best stuff. I couldn’t really count on any singular pitch to be executed and get guys out. “I had some 3-2 pitches that caught too much of the plate and didn’t execute two-strike pitches as well as I should have. They did a good job capitalizing on it.” The Brewers improved to 75-44 with their win over the Pirates, while Pittsburgh dropped to 51-70.
The MLB regular season is roughly 75 percent complete. Plenty has changed since the start of the season, but one constant is New York Yankees superstar outfielder Aaron Judge. On Tuesday, ESPN updated its top-50 player rankings. Judge, who was fourth on the World Wide Leader's initial 2025 rankings of baseball's best players in early April, claimed the top spot. Los Angeles Dodgers DH/starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani, Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts rounded out the top four on the April list. Just over four months later, Judge edged Ohtani for No. 1. ESPN shared the article with the fully updated rankings on X (formerly Twitter). Judge is raking again this season, posting 37 HRs and 87 RBI with an impressive .336 BA through 109 games. It's fair to wonder where the spiraling New York Yankees (63-56 through Monday) would be without his production. Ohtani, meanwhile, hasn't done anything to drop down in the rankings; it's just hard to argue with the numbers Judge is putting up. The 31-year-old Dodgers star has 42 HRs and 78 RBI and a .284 batting average in 117 games. Plus, he has a 2.37 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 19 innings. Among the biggest risers on ESPN's list are Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (86th in April to fourth) and Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (unranked to seventh). For Betts and Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez, 2025 hasn't been as kind. Both fell from the top 10 to outside the top 50 altogether. The most important games of the season are still to come, and that's where Judge and Ohtani could add a few more bullet points to their already impressive resumes.
The Buffalo Bills avoided the worst-case scenario with Maxwell Hairston, but the first-round pick still looks unlikely to begin the season on time. How much of the season he misses now looks like the key question. Hairston suffered an LCL sprain early in training camp. While this represented a significant break for the Bills after an ACL tear was initially feared, Sean McDermott said an IR stint to open the season is in play. Due to Hairston’s recovery timeline, McDermott confirmed (via The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia) the team will probably need to discuss the prospect of Maxwell opening the season on IR. On a positive note, McDermott said (via the Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski) Hairston is off crutches. Buffalo would have two IR options with Hairston. The team could use one of its two summer IR-return slots, which are available to teams before roster-cutdown day, to save a roster spot as Hairston continues to rehab. The Bills could also carry Hairston on the 53-man roster past cutdown day and then shift him to IR. The second path would be unlikely, as it is expected Hairston will be back to contribute as a rookie. He thus makes sense for one of the team’s August IR-return slots, which must be announced by 3 p.m. CT Aug. 26. Last year, the Bills used both their summer IR-return slots — which became available to teams beginning in 2024 — by stashing Matt Milano and running back Darrynton Evans on their injured list. This covered two of Buffalo’s eight injury activations. While Milano returned from IR late in the season, the Bills did not activate Evans and instead cut him. The team had aimed for Hairston to start opposite the recently extended Christian Benford, letting Rasul Douglas test free agency. While the two-year Buffalo starter remains available, the Bills have reunited with Tre’Davious White. The former All-Pro, whose career skidded off track due to ACL and Achilles tears, is moving toward a chance to start again. This represents a risk due to White’s recent form, but the Bills have been pleased with how the nine-year veteran has looked during camp. White is going into his age-30 season and struggled in four Rams starts, being traded (to the Ravens) in a seventh-round pick swap at the deadline. Baltimore used White as a backup in seven games. White started 82 games for the Bills from 2017-23. Buffalo also reunited with 28-game starter Dane Jackson this offseason; Jackson spent 2023 with the Panthers. Hairston missing this much practice time will likely affect his development. The Bills will not be eligible to designate the Kentucky product to return to practice until after Week 4. It would make sense Hairston hitting IR would lead to a longer absence than the four-game minimum, as the team would seemingly want him to ramp up during practice. The Bills could avoid this scenario by keeping Hairston off IR, using a week-to-week strategy that would allow for earlier practice work in the event he is ready.
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