Sean Payton - Head Coach, broncos Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-09 | Full transcript (primary source).
Sean Payton addressed the media following the Denver Broncos' Wednesday practice on September 9, 2026. The press conference focused on team updates and player statuses as the season progressed.
Transcript
Payton: Yeah, just finishing up, you know, our normal Wednesday practice any questions.
Payton: Yeah, I'll go through there's nine: Cortland Sutton, Bo Nix, Pat Surtain, DeVon Key, Alex Singleton, Will Lutz, DJ Jones, Quinn Meinerz, and Teleno Hufanga, those nine.
Payton: Yeah, I'd probably say eight or nine. It would probably be on the high end and I don't think that's unusual right now.
Payton: You know those guys on Monday, we kind of vote as a team and then Monday evening, we kind of have a captain's dinner and announce it.
Payton: He is the lone new guy.
Payton: Um, that'd be correct.
Payton: What do you do to kind of earn that? Well, he was a Pro Bowl special teamer a year ago and I think it's, you know, the respect of his teammates, you know, he's someone that, you know, he'll play on defense as well, but just his production. I think in his consistency.
Payton: Yeah, I mean I listen how we install can vary or he's wanting to walk through or whatever. You know, all of that is part of it.
Payton: You know, we've got I would say the base game plan in today and then, you know, each night third down.
Payton: You're talking about player meeting, right?
Payton: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that would be, yeah, that would be his discretion.
Payton: Yeah, we'll see right. We'll get a chance. All three of those guys are playing well the day, you know had a good camp.
Payton: You know how we I'm not gonna announce snap counts before we play again.
Payton: They drafted a good one, too.
Payton: Well, certainly you pay attention to what you've seen in the preseason then also what comes out of it, you know, you kind of hear their commitment to running the ball more.
Payton: They selected one early who we thought was a real good player and then they signed, you know, a pretty highly regarded free agent.
Payton: So you pay attention to that, you know, just their commitment to running the ball. I think is evident in the offseason.
Payton: Yeah, we just felt like he was one of those guys that, you know, was in that cluster, you know, real good speed balance.
Payton: Yeah, he checked a lot of boxes. So he was a highly regarded player.
Payton: Sean, just your thoughts on Bo Nix's preseason and then what ultimately went in the decision, you know, you thought maybe about playing in the last preseason game, but you didn't, you didn't play.
Payton: Yeah, we didn't play many. And the ones we did maybe guys that maybe that are starting were guys that just hadn't gotten enough snaps, but yeah, he's doing well this offseason. He's healthy and he always worked at it.
Payton: Did you know anyone, you mean after the Packer game like, hey, I've seen enough. I'm confident now?
Payton: Yeah, I wouldn't say that. I mean, I think it was getting into the workweek and then deciding how we were gonna handle that last game. I had more to do with it.
Payton: I was playing in front of the same offensive lineup going into his third year.
Payton: When you go into an environment like Arrowhead, how does that help with the communication and making sure that everything's on task?
Payton: I think it matters, you know, because you get into the snap counts, the silent snap counts. Those can be, you know, the communication obviously in that environment's important.
Payton: And to answer your question, is it a little cleaner or smoother if everyone's returning? Hopefully, that's the case, you know, I think it's when you have more new players that you have to repeat it and go through it.
Payton: But yeah, I think that that's certainly one of the keys for us in this game is just, you know, playing in that environment when it's loud.
Payton: Well, there's certain cadences you use under center or in the gun and it's just becoming more familiar with it.
Payton: Because we have a lot of guys returning it doesn't change how we call it, but you become a little bit more accustomed to it.
Payton: And you know, you're trying as best you can to neutralize the pass rush or the snap count.
Payton: I was probably being, I don't know. It was just a spur there. That was, you know, troubling.
Payton: You know, knock on wood, health-wise we've been good fortunate and that'll be important not only in this game, but as you head into the season, you know, handling the workload.
Payton: You know, this is an unusual game because it's Week one Monday night and you have your extra day Monday.
Payton: So, you know, a little bit more thought goes into how you want to handle the work week so that just doesn't stretch on and on and that's part of schedule.
Payton: One of the ideas.
Payton: Yeah, here's the thing we saw and I went through with the team.
Payton: Now we talked about week one Monday night. I was looking for something week one Monday night.
Payton: Which there can only be one up on a season week one Monday night.
Payton: Third down, week one Monday night, time of possession and week one Monday night turnover.
Payton: And it's like a tick up 10 to 15 percent in each category.
Payton: So if turnover ratio in any other NFL game is a seventy-eight percent winner, it's close to a ninety percent winner in this game.
Payton: If third down efficiency and call it 40% or above winning the third down battle, that's 80 some.
Payton: So those three really stood out.
Payton: And I think to the early part of your question, you guys have heard me say this, you know this stretch in the first four or five weeks, the stretch to improve, the race to improve.
Payton: I mean, it's, you know, it's, you're just getting out of the gates and where you're at with a large field can be hard to predict.
Payton: And so we took it a little bit further and just utilized Monday nights.
Payton: But I think, yeah, I think a lot can be maybe.
Payton: And we go all season, everyone you got, everyone goes all season waiting for week one.
Payton: And so look, it's an important game because it's the one we're playing.
Payton: And yet every year if it points to your case about it's not necessarily the end all be all, but we certainly like to get off to a better start.
Payton: How do you plan to use Tyler Biedae this year? He was active most games last year, now he potentially has three backs again. You can't really activate four. How do you plan?
Payton: Yeah, we'll see. I'm not, I'm not gonna get into roles, activation, snap counts. I mean, I would never do that.
Payton: You talked about during the offseason to get back to this point after the injury.
Payton: It's just from a personal standpoint how eager are you to kind of see him and kind of realize all the work that's gone in to get well?
Payton: And you guys have been able to watch practice, but we're getting a chance to see it.
Payton: And so now you get a chance to see it in the game.
Payton: And you know, we've had a handful of players that, you know, went through because the season a year ago.
Payton: And when the season a year ago ends, if a player needs a surgery, it's happening a little later than normal.
Payton: So, you know, we had an unusual amount of might be small surgeries, but nonetheless ones that required rehabilitation.
Payton: Obviously with Bo's, you know, there was a lot made it in focused on his injury.
Payton: But I look, I think I feel real good about the health of this team and I think we're coming off of a real good training camp and we get a chance to put it to test now.
Payton: You know, he's an experienced player who's real smart, savvy, good, real good instincts.
Payton: Yeah, I look, I think coaches can matter, you know, teachers can matter.
Payton: And you know, he's an experienced winner and been a part of, you know, their championship.
Payton: So, but I think internally you focus a little bit more on what you can control with your own team.
Payton: No, I think this, I think it's a sign of just the leadership within the locker room.
Payton: You know, I don't have a council meeting with them for instance every two or three weeks.
Payton: But I think it's just a recognition of, you know, how they're seen by their peers.
Payton: And you know, they all lead differently, you know, and there's a number of guys that are going to be significant leaders for us that aren't wearing a patch.
Payton: So I think the first thing is just being authentic and being, you know, yourself.
Payton: Shawn kids say he's one of the most younger teams in the NFL. You guys have a little bit of a veteran scene. Do you feel like that could be an advantage going into Monday night football?
Payton: It's the, um, right lights. I don't know.
Payton: I think this each year they calculate that and there's a bunch of ways you can calculate it, you know, add up 53, divide by, you can get medians.
Payton: So I think there's experience in certain position groups, maybe less so with others.
Payton: They've had obviously turnover in the secondary.
Payton: But they're extremely well coached and those guys will have I'm sure a good plan and present a challenge.
Payton: You know, they're a team that, you know, sat atop this division for quite a while.
Payton: So again, the focus for us is really, you know, our experience but also, you know, we've got a number of new guys that will be playing in roles in this game.
Payton: That's a good question. It was look, it's usually Bo coming to me which means there, you know, he's coming.
Payton: It was Brees, you know, and I could tell when it was Brees coming to me or if Roman Harper sent Brees right.
Payton: And so I feel like the same thing exists now. I can feel like if Bo's been sent or is he coming on his own accord.
Payton: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I'm just giving you a hard time.
Payton: I had always, I'd be like what now, you know, what is it? 37?
Payton: Well, they mix a lot of looks up.
Payton: The second game we got a little bit more coverage than we had seen in maybe the game prior or the years prior.
Payton: It all depends on what they're trying to take away, but they're well coached.
Payton: They tackle well, they can create negative plays in both the run and passing game because of the pressure looks that you get.
Payton: And so a lot of it is the personnel you're in and then, you know, what they're trying to take away.
Payton: But they do a good job of keeping the lid on the coverage. They're near the top of the league in few explosives.
Payton: So, but each game can kind of take on a shape of its own.
