The Denver Broncos are set to face the San Francisco 49ers in their preseason opener on Saturday evening. Some NFL teams rest their starters in preseason, but Broncos coach Sean Payton likes to give them live reps ahead of the regular season.
“There is a lot of competition for spots,” Payton said Thursday when asked specifically about the defensive line. “We discussed the other night how we’re going to play the game. Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3. Our starters will play. There’ll be a point at which we get into Phase 2.
“When you’re in these phases, there’s still a rotation. If you’re looking at three interior defensive linemen in Phase 2, there might be four or five ready to play in that Phase 2. Then the same way, when you get into Phase 3. We will rotate that around. So it’s a body of work thing in evaluating it all.”
So, how long will Phase 1 play? Last year could be a good reference point.
Last summer, the Broncos were having a quarterback competition, but Jarrett Stidham got the first start of preseason, and he played 12 snaps. The following week, Stidham played 22 snaps and Nix played 20 snaps. After the QB battle was settled, Nix did not play in the preseason finale and Stidham only played 10 snaps as Zach Wilson (the third-string quarterback at the time) played 54 snaps to close out the summer.
Denver could follow a similar format this year with Nix playing a series or two in the first preseason game and 20 or so snaps in the second preseason game. Third-string quarterback Sam Ehlinger (who has impressed this summer) would then get the bulk of the snaps in the Broncos’ preseason finale. That’s just a guesstimate, though, as Payton was not precise when asked about preseason playing time for starters.
A few of Denver’s starters who are coming back from injuries, such as linebacker Dre Greenlaw, probably won’t suit up against San Francisco.
“He’s doing really well,” Payton said of Greenlaw. “We were fortunate last week with a little scare. He probably won’t play in the game and will be back working full speed on Monday. It’s always emotional for a guy like him and [Talanoa] Hufanga to come back. Those guys have had a lot of wins here with a lot of teammates and coaches, and so we definitely were bringing [him]. There were a handful of injured players that we felt we could better serve them here relative to treatment. Then there were a few that stayed at home based on the type of injury.”
Back to Nix — he’s eager for his first live-game action of the summer.
“You treat it like a game,” Nix said of getting limited reps in the preseason opener. “I’m going to go in there and play as many snaps and they give me, try to move the football, be efficient, get in and out of the huddle, operate well, make sure we’re all on the same page, and essentially just make football plays, go out there and do what needs to be done to move the ball and score touchdowns.”
As for the 49ers, coach Kyle Shanahan indicated not many starters will play against Denver.
“Won’t play a ton of them,” Shanahan said. “Doesn’t mean that we’ll rest all 22. But don’t expect to see a lot out there.”
Saturday’s game will be regionally televised on 18 channels before re-airing on NFL Network (TV lineup).
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Broncos vs. 49ers: How much will Bo Nix and starters play on Saturday?