Thirty-six hours ago, Kyle Johnson figured he’d spend Thanksgiving like most Americans — hunkering down at a dinner table, enjoying the warmth of food and family.
Then came Wednesday morning, when he saw that the Broncos had left him a message.
“I saw that I had a voicemail from the Denver Broncos, and I (thought), ‘I really thought it was Betsy Klein (the team’s director of player programs) calling about tuition reimbursement.”
Not exactly.
“When it was Ted Sundquist,” Johnson said, “I knew there was something going on.”
What was going on was a slew of injuries to the Broncos’ backfield. Fullback Paul Smith hasn’t practiced all week after missing Monday night’s game with a calf injury. Travis Henry and Selvin Young also remained sidelined with knee injuries that continued to keep them out Thursday, leaving the Broncos with only three healthy backs out of a complement of six.
“We have to have some depth at that position,” Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. “We’ve got a few guys playing a lot of positions right now, and it’s a big question of who’s going to be ready. Whoever is ready — at least we’ve got a little more depth.”
For that, the Broncos turned to Johnson, who was surprised at receiving an NFL team’s call so late in the week.
“After Tuesday you think there’s not going to be too much action,” Johnson said. “Then the phone rings.”
And with that, Johnson had returned, taking the spot of guard Isaac Snell, who was waived to make room for the veteran fullback.
OTHER PRACTICE NOTES …
The Broncos moved their work inside to the South Suburban Sports Dome on Thursday. It marked their first session there in the current regular season. Since the Broncos last visited the facility simply dubbed “the bubble” this past summer, a new FieldTurf surface has been installed there … Javon Walker worked fully for a second straight day. “To practice on this turf today was a good sign; it didn’t set him back,” Shanahan said. “Hopefully he’s full go tomorrow, and if he is, then he’ll be ready to play on Sunday.”
Tags: Kyle Johnson, Selvin Young, Travis Henry
YES! Javon Walker is going to be ready!!!!!
[...] The Return of Kyle Johnson November 22nd, 2007 - 1:51pm by Andrew [IMG Kyle Johnson] Thirty-six hours ago, Kyle Johnson figured he’d spend Thanksgiving like most Americans — hunkering down at a dinner table, enjoying the warmth of food and family. Then came Wednesday morning, when he saw that the Broncos had left him a message. “I saw that I had a voicemail from the Denver Broncos, and I (thought), ‘I really thought it was Betsy Klein (the team’s director of player programs) calling about tuFind out more about this great item here [...]
its about time!is he going 2 play fullback or halfback?
Good to have Kyle back in the stable. It is very good that the Broncos can bring in a veteran player that knows the system.
This is great! KJ is vastly underrated in the red zone. He really opens up the play action inside the 10, because he is such a great route-runner and always seems to get open on bootlegs at the goal line. I am really excited about this, and I hope the team keeps him around for the long haul…
Not to mention he has always been one of the class acts on the team. Welcome back Kyle Johnson!
Ahhhhh even more to be Thankful for! Johnson should have never been released in the first place!!!!
He blocks well, he can get open in the red zone, and he can catch it. I am sure the Bears will get a run heavy gameplan. I would imagine Mike Bell will get some carries this week and he should be fresh and quick. Things could really be turning for this team.
GO BRONCOS
I am real glad to hear this. He should have never been released anyhow
is he going to start over paul smith??? is javon going to be able to play sunday??
Andrew Mason, how about some new away alts or maybe a new away uniform??
Check these out:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j169/pcola_playa82/DENbroncoswhiteorange.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j169/pcola_playa82/DENbroncoswhiteblue.jpg
Please reply with your thoughts.
Andrew Mason, how about some new away alts or maybe a new away uniform???
Check these out:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j169/pcola_playa82/DENbroncoswhiteorange.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j169/pcola_playa82/DENbroncoswhiteblue.jpg
Please reply with your thoughts.
This is excellent! I was shocked that Kyle Johnson was at the team anyway - but this is incredibly exciting that he’s back now.
I meant to say that “I was shocked that Kyle Johnson wasn’t on the team.” As mentioned earlier, he’s a really classy player, and his drive and ability is a valuable force.
I am glad to have Kyle back
[...] Online wrote an interesting post today on The Return of Kyle JohnsonHere’s a quick [...]
Glad to see this guy back in the team : a classy guy .
It’s about time! Johnson was a staple in the offense for the longest time. I see him playing fullback and Sapp moving to tailback for depth.
I’m surprised he was still unemployed…
Glad to see Johnson is back and I agree that I thought that he should have never been released in the first place and I am also surprised that no one else had picked him up. He is truly underrated and is a classy guy.
Even if Walker is used more as a decoy, it would really help to have him in there and be able to put Stokely in the slot, especially against an injured Bears secondary. Having him in there will open up Scheffler, Graham, Stokely and make the run even more potent. The middle of the field should be Denvers for the taking with Marshall and Walker on the outside.
I havent heard anything about the defense this week, which I’m going to take as a good thing and be thankful for. I am curious as why Bates didn’t have his usual Wedneday interview though.
This is great news! With the injuries that we have had at running back, it should free Bell up to run for us again.
Love the news about Kyle and Javon. Kyle brings that passing option back into the backfield around short yardage and red zone situations that we have been lacking outside of our TE’s. Not to mention his blocking which was a big part of the reason for the success’s of Droughns, Anderson and T.Bell. With Javon back, we can really use Stokley in the slot for those mid range passes that he is so great at taking across the middle. If only our O-line was back at full strength we would be a really serious force to be reckoned with.
I like the news
Well that solves the red zone issues. Should have never been released in the first place. K.J owns that Full-back postion.