The Denver Broncos, much like a child on Christmas morning, are so excited with the new toy they got, they're almost afraid to play with it.They signed veteran left guard Evan Mathis this week to bolster what was before then an offensive line featuring three players who had yet to see an NFL snap. But head coach Gary Kubiak said on Thursday that he would be wrong to start him in their third exhibition game.
"That wouldn't be very smart on my part," he said, via ESPN. "I'm not going to do that. He might suit up, but he's not going to play. I can tell you that."
That absence likely won't affect his game-day shape, the guard admitting to a hectic offseason workout program of his own design, before and after his release from the Eagles in the spring.
"I have been at a facility to keep in shape," Mathis said. "I own my own training facility in Arizona. Since the first week of January, I've been going five days a week there and putting a lot of good work in. I'm excited about where my conditioning and where my strength is right now."
With the Broncos looking to stitch together one last Super Bowl run with the sheriff under center, that's all they ask. The only way Peyton Manning will get this club back where they think they belong is for him to be on his feet. But the workload will be stiff for the 11-year campaigner, nudged between two rookies, left tackle Ty Sambrailo and center Matt Paradis.
The opportunity was such that Mathis was interested in enough to take less money for the job, signing a $4 million deal after saying he turned down the $5.5 million offer he wanted all along from elsewhere.
"Obviously, he's a great player and a great person, too," Kubiak said. "He brings a lot of experience to a group that doesn't have a lot of experience. A 10-, 11-year player walks in the room, obviously all the young guys know him. It's a great addition to our football team, really looking forward to having him. Like I said, we just have to him to that point the right way."
No comments:
Post a Comment