Cam Fleming is expected to start at right tackle Sunday against the Houston Texans as the Broncos continue to ease presumptive starter Billy Turner back from offseason knee surgery.
“I think right now, we just want to continue to work with Billy and make sure he’s perfect and ready to go and confident in that knee,” coach Nathaniel Hackett said before practice Thursday.
Hackett said it is possible Turner could dress as a backup.
Fleming said he played “alright” against Seattle.
“I definitely need to clean some things up and be better with (eliminating) little mistakes,” he said. “But I’ll keep playing with confidence and keep playing aggressive.”
Fleming, who was with the Broncos last year, re-signed after the start of training camp and didn’t receive first-team snaps until well into August. But he got the call over Calvin Anderson.
“Every time I get an opportunity to play, I’ve just got to show people I can play,” Fleming said. “Simple as that.”
Hamler sits again. Not practicing for the Broncos on Thursday were receiver KJ Hamler (knee), inside linebacker Josey Jewell (calf) and right guard Quinn Meinerz (hamstring). Outside linebacker Randy Gregory (shoulder/knee), defensive end DeShawn Williams (back) and cornerback K’Waun Williams (wrist) were limited.
Hackett declined to provide specifics on safety Justin Simmons’ quad injury, but is hopeful he can return in Week 6 at the Los Angeles Chargers, the first game he is eligible to play.
Stukes on field goal. It was special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes’ turn to review Hackett’s decision against Seattle to send Brandon McManus out for a 64-yard attempt that he missed wide left.
“Obviously, (McManus) had the leg, he just pulled the ball,” Stukes said. “Everybody knows he’s a quality kicker. We were confident, 100%, sending him out there to make the kick or we wouldn’t have sent him out there.
“We all know winning games is the most important thing. That’s the only way you stay employed. You want to win games. That was one game out of 17. We have a lot of time to improve and get to where we need to be by the end of the season.”
Getting up to speed. The Broncos’ defense allowed only 34 second-half yards (and no points) against Seattle.
“Maybe a big part of it was the game speed,” defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said. “Things happen a lot faster. The guys did a good job in the second half of reacting better, got their feet under them and felt more comfortable. We didn’t do a lot adjustment-wise.”
Evero was asked if playing the starters in the preseason would have produced a better Week 1 start.
“I don’t know if you ever play enough to make it significant,” he said. “I liked our plan.”
Briefly. Offensive coordinator Justin Outten was also asked about the field-goal decision and he gets credit for dropping a “Back to the Future,” movie reference. “I think that’s been addressed long enough,” he said. “There is no Marty McFly (here) to go back in time.” … Graham Glasgow will start at right guard if Meinerz is inactive as expected.
Staff writer Kyle Newman contributed to this story.
