Football is coming.

As the final seconds ticked down on the 2020 season on January 3rd earlier this year, there was a collective sigh of relief that one of the most trying seasons in memory was finally over.

The long arduous effort to turn the page on 2020 has been underway ever since. Between George Paton assuming the role of GM, a robust draft headlined by Patrick Surtain II and Javonte Williams, a secondary bolstered by free agency acquisitions Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller, a trade for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, and a super-secretive settlement to ownership-related litigation, the 2021 Broncos are poised to be a vastly different one we watched last season. Improved? Well, we’ll see.

The long wait for NFL-brand football is about to pay off this week… if you’re a Steelers or Cowboys fan. On August 5th, Dallas and Pittsburgh will square off in the Hall of Fame Game and so, they will open camp before the rest of the NFL, on July 21. Tampa follows suit on Saturday, July 24. The rest of the NFL, including the Broncos, begin on July 27th. There will FINALLY be something more substantive to blog about.

It can’t come soon enough.

HORSE TRACKS

Sacco Sez: The greatness of 2021 Pro Football Hall of Famer John Lynch
Broncos Team Historian Jim Saccomano looks back on John Lynch’s career.

Broncos’ Dalton Risner gives back to hometown of Wiggins, hoping to be ‘role model for all the small-town kids’ | Sports Coverage | gazette.com
WIGGINS, Colo. — Drive an hour Northeast of Denver, approximately 66 miles, and one will find Dalton Risner’s hometown of Wiggins, Colo.

Broncos introduce China Jude, new Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | 9news.com
Jude will lead the Denver Broncos’ DEI strategy and represent the team as an external ambassador on social justice initiatives.

Can the Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs? | 9news.com
The Denver Broncos have lost 11 games in a row to their AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs.

Aaron Rodgers rumors: Marcedes Lewis thinks Packers quarterback will show up to training camp – CBSSports.com
Green Bay opens up camp on July 27

As rosters shrink, will vaccination rates rise or fall? – ProFootballTalk

49ers’ Jimmie Ward says Matthew Stafford still the same QB who was in Detroit and didn’t make playoffs – CBSSports.com
Ward doesn’t seem too concerned about Stafford entering the NFC West

Steelers to host former Chargers Pro Bowler Melvin Ingram on free agent visit as they seek pass rush help – CBSSports.com
Ingram spent the first nine years of his career with the Chargers

Tom Brady gets warning from Patriots’ Byron Cowart: ‘We ain’t welcoming him, he’s like any opponent’ – CBSSports.com
Tom Brady gets warning from Patriots’ Byron Cowart: ‘We ain’t welcoming him. He’s like any opponent.’