Wide receiver Tyler Lockett is listed as questionable to face the Broncos on Sunday, but it doesn’t sound like there’s any concern about him missing the game.
Lockett was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but his thigh injury was doing well enough for him to fully participate on Friday. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said after practice that all went well in practice and that he thinks the veteran will be in the lineup.
“Tyler looks good,” Macdonald said, via the team’s website. “We expect him to play, he’s been limited all week, but I expect him to be out there.”
Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu (knee) and tight end Pharoah Brown (foot) were both officially ruled out on Friday. Both players have missed multiple weeks with their injuries.
Bo Nix is ending two long streaks with the Broncos this year.
Nix is set to be the first rookie quarterback to start a season opener for the team since John Elway in 1983 and he became the first rookie to be named a team captain since Floyd Little was named to that role in 1967. Head coach Sean Payton called a rookie being named a captain a “first for me” and Nix said that he recognizes the “honor” that comes with the title.
“I don’t take it lightly,” Nix said, via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. “I know it’s a big deal, hasn’t happened often, but I don’t take it for granted. I’ve got to come to work every single day and just prove you can be the captain.’'
The Broncos will be looking for Nix to prove them right about both his captain status and his spot as the starting quarterback. If he does, chances are good it will be another long run before anyone pulls off the kind of double that Nix pulled off heading into this season.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton said earlier this week that he’d let people know when he made a decision about the No. 2 quarterback behind Bo Nix and that word came from the Broncos on Wednesday.
The team released an updated depth chart for Sunday’s road game against the Seahawks and it shows that Jarrett Stidham is on the second rung. Zach Wilson is No. 3, which puts him on track to be inactive as the emergency quarterback this weekend.
Stidham seemed the likely choice for the role after he was Nix’s chief competition for the starting job this summer. Stidham also closed out last season as the starter in Denver.
Also of note on the depth chart is the inclusion of fullback Michael Burton and wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Both players are currently on the practice squad, so listing them suggests they will be elevated to take part in Sunday’s game.
Patrick Surtain II is sticking around in Denver for the foreseeable future.
The contract is announced. And the details have made their way to PFT HQ.
Here they are, per a source with knowledge of the terms:
1. Signing bonus: $15 million.
2. 2024 training camp roster bonus: $2.463 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2024 base salary: $1.055 million, fully guaranteed.
4. 2025 option bonus: $21 million, fully guaranteed (paid by March 31, 2025).
5. 2025 base salary: $1.17 million, fully guaranteed.
6. 2026 option bonus: $10 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2025 league year.
7. 2026 base salary: $7.632 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2025 league year.
8. 2027 base salary: $17 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year.
9. 2028 base salary: $19.49 million, $2.179 million of which is guaranteed for injury at signing and $1.179 million of which becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year and another $1 million of which becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2027 league year.
10. 2028 per-game roster bonus: $510,000 total.
11. 2029 base salary: $23.49 million.
12. 10. 2028 per-game roster bonus: $510,000 total.
The new-money average on the four-year extension $24 million sets a new mark for cornerbacks or safeties — blowing the prior record out of the water for cornerbacks by $3 million per year.
The $77.5 million in total guarantees is the highest for any defensive back in league history.
Also, $39.5 million is paid out in the first nine months.
Surtain had two years left on his rookie deal. Through three years, he’ll make what he was due to earn plus one year of the projected franchise tag — plus $11 million more.
Most teams like to wait four years before signing a first-round pick to a new deal, since that fourth year is very cheap. The Broncos were willing to forgo that and get Surtain now the four-year, $96 million extension that he likely would have taken after the year, given that the market had been mired in the low $20 million range.
The Broncos have announced their captains and for the first time in a long time, the group includes a rookie.
Quarterback Bo Nix has been named a captain after Denver selected him at No. 12 overall in the spring and he won the starting quarterback job in camp.
Nix, 24, is the first Broncos rookie to be named a captain since 1967, according to the team’s announcement. That’s when Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little earned the honor.
Receiver Courtland Sutton, guard Quinn Meinerz, cornerback Pat Surtain II, linebacker Alex Singleton, and kicker Wil Lutz are Denver’s remaining five captains. Meinerz, Surtain, Singleton, and Lutz are all first-time captains for the franchise while Sutton remains a captain for the fourth consecutive season.
The Broncos will start their season in the Pacific Northwest against the Seahawks on Sunday.
The Broncos have locked up one of their top players with a long-term deal.
According to multiple reports, Denver and cornerback Patrick Surtain II have agreed to a four-year contract extension that will make him the highest-paid defensive back in league history.
The initial numbers indicate the deal is worth $96 million with $77.5 million guaranteed.
Surtain, 24, was the No. 9 overall pick of the 2021 draft and has excelled in Denver’s defense. He has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons and was a first-team All-Pro in 2022.
In 50 games with 49 starts, Surtain has registered 36 passes defensed with seven interceptions.
Denver picked up Surtain’s fifth-year option in the spring.
Surtain and the Broncos will be in the Pacific Northwest to open the season against the Seahawks on Sunday.
Steelers left guard Isaac Seumalo won’t miss much time with the pectoral injury he suffered on the practice field.
Although Steelers coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Seumalo will miss Sunday’s opener against the Falcons, Tomlin said that Seumalo could be back on the field as soon as Week Two at Denver.
“Isaac can be described as out this week, but we did get good news regarding his pec injury. We’ll characterize it as week-to-week and we’ll see where next week leads us, but really optimistic about his return sooner rather than later,” Tomlin said.
That’s welcome news in Pittsburgh, where the initial reports of a pectoral injury came with fears that Seumalo could miss significant playing time. Instead, he’ll miss one week and then try to return as soon as he can after that.
Tyler Lockett has missed more than two weeks with a leg injury, but the Seahawks receiver insists he will play in Sunday’s season opener.
“Unless you know something I don’t,” Lockett said.
Lockett, who was wearing a strap over his left knee Monday, did not play in the preseason and is unconcerned about his limited reps in training camp in a new offense. He called his absence precautionary.
“It was just some things that I needed to kind of get worked on and get fixed and they didn’t want me to kind of go out there and make things worse, or kind of put me out to where I’m in jeopardy of not being able to play in the season,” Lockett said, via Tim Booth of the Associated Press. “I think Mike [Macdonald] did a great job. The athletic training staff did a great job.”
Lockett is entering his 10th season, one of six players on the roster with at least 10 seasons experience. He is part of a wide receiver group that also includes DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jake Bobo, giving new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb plenty of options.
“It’s been interesting because I think every three years I’ve had a new offensive coordinator and so it’s allowed me to approach the game different and it’s allowed me to see the game different and learn different ways and unique abilities to be able to use my skills to go out there and still try and do the same thing that I’ve been doing,” Lockett said.
Last season was the first season since 2018 that Lockett didn’t have 1,000 yards. He finished with 894 yards and five touchdowns on 79 receptions.
The Seahawks will wear their throwback uniforms in the season opener against the Broncos at Lumen Field on Sunday, the team announced Monday.
The throwbacks represent the importance of the 1990s for not only the organization but also the city of Seattle.
The Seahawks wore the uniforms in their inaugural season of 1976 through the end of the 2001 season. The uniform combination features the classic silver helmet, royal blue and apple green jerseys and silver pants.
The throwbacks made their debut last season in a Week 8 victory over the Browns at Lumen Field. The Seahawks pulled off a come-from-behind win over the Browns thanks to a late touchdown reception from Jaxon Smith-Njigba that put Seattle on top 24-20.
The Seahawks also wore them in a road game against the Cowboys last season.
The season opener will be the first of two times that the Seahawks will wear the throwback uniforms this year as they will be worn again when Seattle takes on the division rival 49ers on Thursday Night Football in Week 6 at Lumen Field.
The last player drafted before Patrick Mahomes keeps looking for his next chance.
Receiver John Ross, the 10th overall pick in the 2018 draft, had a tryout with the Saints on Monday.
Another former first-round receiver, Phillip Dorsett, participated as well.
Other receivers joining them for the tryout were Ihmir Smith-Marsette, David Wallis, and Jahcour Pearson.
The Saints also worked out punters Corliss Waitman and Trenton Gill.
Ross, who was drafted by the Bengals, last played in 2021. He was cut last week by the Eagles.
Dorsett was a first-round pick of the Colts in 2015. He spent 2023 with the Broncos, who released him last week.