The Broncos signed veteran inside linebacker Joe Schobert Monday morning and he arrived at the team’s facility in plenty of time for a good reason — he lives here.
“Me and my wife have enjoyed Colorado and the outdoor recreation and it was a long process, but we moved here,” he said before his first practice.
Schobert said his wife has a dance studio in Castle Rock and his home-to-work commute was 25 minutes.
The Broncos will need Schobert to be a quick study. Coach Nathaniel Hackett said projected starter Jonas Griffith (left elbow injury against Dallas) will be out 4-6 weeks.
“We’ll be right on that fine line (for playing the opener),” Hackett said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s there for Week 1.”
Griffith did not need surgery for the injury. The Broncos open the season Sept. 12 at Seattle.
Schobert was immediately in the mix, working alongside Josey Jewell with the first team.
“It’s a totally new defense for him and he just came in, so a lot of communication (was) needed, but he did a great job with the first day,” Jewell said.
Schobert has experience, part 1: Entering his seventh NFL season, this is his seventh different defensive scheme.
“That’s nuts to think about it,” he said.
Schobert has experience, part 2: He started camp last year with Jacksonville, but was traded in mid-August to Pittsburgh.
“Very similar in terms of jumping in, being behind the eight-ball in terms of installation and knowing people,” he said. “It will be good to have (last year’s) experience to lean on and I’m confident in myself and my abilities to catch up.”
Schobert, 28, has 80 starts among his 93 regular season games and at least 103 tackles in five consecutive seasons. The Broncos are his fourth team in as many years, following Cleveland (which drafted him in 2016) and the Jaguars and Steelers for a year apiece. From 2017-20, he played at least 95% of his team’s defensive snaps in each year.
Despite the production, Schobert was a spectator when NFL camps opened last month.
“It was a little hard when you see something you’ve been doing the last six years professionally, but then I would go fishing — it would be in the mountains with no cell service,” said Schobert, who worked out for the Broncos last month.
Practice resumes. The Broncos returned to practice after getting Sunday off. Not working were Griffith, guard Netane Muti (knee), center/guard Luke Wattenberg (undisclosed), tight end Greg Dulcich (hamstring, cornerback Ronald Darby (chest), and receivers KJ Hamler (knee) and Tyrie Cleveland (throat).
Hackett said Muti recently had knee surgery and will be out “a couple more weeks.”
Running back Melvin Gordon (foot) and cornerback K’Waun Williams (knee) returned to team work.
Safety Delarrin Turner-Yell and cornerback Michael Ojemudia practiced after being evaluated for concussions in the Dallas game.
Reviewing the game. Hackett lamented “too many mental errors across the board,” in reviewing the 17-7 win over the Cowboys.
“We all have to be on it more, coaches and players,” he said.
Hackett again took aim at the running game.
“In the end, the run game was not good enough and we addressed that,” he said. “We have to be to adjust on the fly.”
Footnotes. The Broncos waived/injured guard Ben Braden, who sustained a back injury Aug. 9. … The Broncos must cut their roster from 90 to 85 players by 2 p.m. Tuesday.
