The Broncos got a key player back on the practice field as they start preparations for Monday Night Football.
Tight end Evan Engram returned to practice and took part in regular work during the portion of Thursday’s practice open to reporters. After practice, he was deemed a full participant on the team’s injury report, a positive sign for his status for Monday night’s game against Cincinnati.
Engram, 31, missed Sunday’s 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers with a back injury that cropped up during Denver’s Week 2 game at Indianapolis.
Engram’s return, if he’s able to play Monday night against the Bengals, would be an important one for a Broncos offense that is the NFL’s worst in early down efficiency through three games.
The tight end, who signed a two-year deal in March, has played substantially less than most expected so far this season. He was hampered by a calf issue in Week 1 and then a back issue in Week 2, and ended up playing just 38% of Denver’s snaps in those two games. Over the past six years, Engram has played at least 72% of the snaps in games he’s appeared in each season for Jacksonville and the New York Giants.
In Denver, he has four catches on six targets for 33 yards.
Every player on the 53-man roster and practice squad was involved at practice for the open portion on Thursday, a signal that they came through Sunday’s game against the Chargers relatively healthy.
The only player who was limited in Thursday’s practice was DL John Franklin-Myers, who has a hip issue.
DT Malcolm Roach (calf) is first eligible to return from injured reserve Week 6 in London and was working on the side field Thursday. ILB Dre Greenlaw, placed on injured reserve Saturday while he continues to recover from a quad injury, was not spotted at practice. He is first eligible to return Week 7 against the New York Giants.
Do you remember?: Sean Payton’s teams have typically struggled to find their full dancing rhythm in September. In his career, his teams are now 30-30 in the season’s opening month. That includes 3-7 through all but one September game in his first three seasons in Denver.
October, however, is a different story entirely. Payton is 50-17 in those games, including 6-3 in Denver.
“I’ve seen those numbers,” Payton said Thursday. “This can be an early October game if we want it to be, right?”
Midnight navy for MNF: The Broncos are breaking out their midnight navy uniforms — tops and trousers — for Monday Night Football against the Bengals. During Thursday’s practice, they also donned navy helmets, so the team may be in all-navy for the game.
“I’d probably give them a 9 out of 10,” All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II said Thursday. “They’re up there. I like them a lot. They’re pretty unique.”
The Broncos also said on social media Thursday that they’ve updated the field design on the turf at Empower Field with midnight navy paint in the end zones.
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