Five days after signing with the Broncos, inside linebacker Joe Schobert played 32 snaps and had two tackles in Saturday’s preseason loss at Buffalo.
“A whirlwind is a good way to describe it,” he said. “Just hopping in and learning scheme on the fly and getting some game reps, which was my first football activity since last season ended. But I’m happy to be here and happy to be helping the guys however I can.”
Schobert was signed after Jonas Griffith sustained an elbow injury against Dallas on Aug. 14. Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad started against the Bills, but Schobert is an option to start alongside Josey Jewell Sept. 12 at Seattle if Griffith isn’t ready.
Schobert said the game snaps were ideal for his conditioning.
“No matter how hard you train in the offseason, you can’t replace playing in a football game, the speed of the game and making mental decisions as fast as you need to,” he said. “Getting reps in the scheme is the best way to get comfortable with it. It was a good first step.”
Said Jewell: “You could tell he’s seen some different schemes, knows the communication and knows where to line up and put people. He’s been a good guy to learn from, too, to see his style of play.”
Schobert said he had “everything” in the playbook thrown at him last week.
“Throw everything and see what sticks and then get out there and go,” he said. “Playing with guys like Josey (in practice), he tells you what to do. If not, you just run around and play fast and we’ll coach off the tape.”
Broncos rank 12th. Forbes magazine released its annual NFL valuation rankings Monday and the Broncos rank 12th with the Rob Walton purchase price of $4.65 billion.
The top five teams are Dallas ($8 billion), New England ($6.4 billion), the Los Angeles Rams ($6.2 million), the New York Giants ($6 billion) and Chicago ($5.8 billion).
Cincinnati ranks 32nd at $3 billion (up 32% from last year). Valuations went up an average of 28% to $4.47 billion.
Injury updates. Coach Nathaniel Hackett said cornerback Michael Ojemudia (dislocated elbow) will not need surgery, punter Sam Martin (ankle) will be available to punt against Minnesota, offensive lineman Tom Compton (back) will start the season on the physically unable to perform list (out at least Weeks 1-4) and guard/center Casey Tucker sustained a big toe injury against Buffalo.
Also missing practice Monday were Griffith, tight end Greg Dulcich (hamstring), right tackle Billy Turner (knee), receiver Tyrie Cleveland (throat) and guard Netane Muti (knee).
Footnotes. Defensive lineman Marquiss Spencer was waived/injured (knee) after going down last week in practice. … The Broncos are mocking a game-week schedule as Tuesday-Friday that will serve as a guide for the players for the usual four-day work schedule during the regular season. Hackett said the Broncos will wear shoulder pads Tuesday and full pads Wednesday. … The Broncos acquired running back Devine Ozigbo off waivers. He has 11 carries and 13 catches in 21 career games and was released by New Orleans on Sunday. … Hackett said the current plan is to hold the starters out of the Minnesota game save for some young players.
