Friday’s practice was highlighted by a number of big plays on both sides of the ball. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas continued to get into a rhythm with quarterback Peyton Manning, but in his battle with veteran cornerback Champ Bailey, both players got the best of each other at least once.

Today’s trivia question involves the defense. During the last minute of practice, a defender jumped a route on the sideline and intercepted quarterback Brock Osweiler. Who made the pick?

The answer — and winner — will be announced in the comments section of this blog at 8 p.m. MDT. The winner will receive a Broncos prize pack.

ROLL CALL

Safety Quinton Carter (hamstring and knee), wide receivers Tyler Grisham (knee) and Greg Orton (ankle), running back Ronnie Hillman (hamstring) and tackle Orlando Franklin (concussion) did not practice Friday.

Head Coach John Fox said that Franklin has been cleared by team doctors.

“We’ll use him sparingly tomorrow,” Fox said.

Defensive tackle Justin Bannan left practice early due to a calf injury.

PLAYMAKERS

• In seven-on-seven’s, Bailey jumped up to knock the ball away from Thomas, tipping it into the air. It nearly led to an interception for safety Mike Adams, but he was unable to corral the deflection before it hit the ground.

Every day in practice, wide receivers and cornerbacks go head-to-head in one-on-one drills.

What made Friday’s especially fun to watch was the fact that this afternoon’s drill came exclusively in the red zone.

Wide receiver Eric Decker, practicing fully just two days after he left practice early due to a groin strain, was the star of the drill.

He made the first catch of the session, hauling in a Peyton Manning pass over his shoulder in the back corner of the end zone. He kept his feet in bounds for the touchdown with cornerback Tracy Porter right behind him.

But Decker wasn’t finished. On his next rep, Manning again found him with a perfectly placed ball in the back corner of the end zone. This time Decker reeled it in with one hand past rookie cornerback Omar Bolden and tiptoed to stay in bounds.

His third rep drew a back-shoulder throw from Manning, and Decker made the catch in front of Porter — making him three-for-three.

His fourth and final attempt was his first incompletion — but he still brought the ball in with one hand. He just happened to be a step or two out of the back of the end zone.

We’ll have plenty more from Friday’s practice session in a little more than an hour. In the meantime, check out photos from the first portion of practice here. The gallery will be updated with exclusive action shots from the rest of practice later this evening courtesy of team photographer Eric Lars Bakke.

-Gray Caldwell

Thursday morning’s practice was once again open to the public, and fans showed up in record number — the 5,034 in attendance set another Dove Valley record. It’s the third time an attendance record has been broken during this year’s training camp, and the fans in attendance certainly got a show.

Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had two of the biggest highlights of the afternoon, which we’ll get to shortly.

First and foremost, we’ve got a new feature in the blogs, and it comes with a prize. Today’s trivia question is this: During team drills, who tipped a Peyton Manning pass to himself for a one-handed grab while on the run? The answer will be revealed in the comments section of the blog at 6 p.m. MDT. In the event of a tie, the winner will be selected at random from the correct responses.

ROLL CALL

Yesterday, Head Coach John Fox reported that wide receiver Eric Decker had a groin strain. On Thursday, Decker was back on the field in full pads.

Missing from practice were safety Quinton Carter (hamstring and knee) and wide receivers D’Andre Goodwin (foot) and Greg Orton (ankle). Wide receiver Tyler Grisham (knee), running back Ronnie Hillman (hamstring) and tackle Orlando Franklin (concussion) were all on the practice field wearing shorts, but did not participate.

Newly signed wide receiver Cameron Kenney, wearing No. 19, participated in his first practice.

PLAYMAKERS

• There were plenty of playmakers during Thursday’s session, but we’ll start with Thomas. In the first team drill of the morning, Thomas caught a Manning pass on the sideline while on his knees. The very next play was another connection from Manning to Thomas on the sideline. This time, Thomas was on his feet, and he quickly used them to juke a defender and then stiff-arm another to the ground en route to what would have been a long touchdown.

A forecast of inclement weather forced the Broncos to cancel Wednesday’s public practice and move the session up a few hours.

The media-only practice ended just in time, as a torrential downpour began just as Head Coach John Fox blew his whistle to signal the end of the session.

But the Broncos were still able to get in a full, productive session at the new start time of 10:35 a.m. MDT. Without further ado, here is a recap of the practice.

ROLL CALL

Safety Quinton Carter (hamstring and knee), tackle Orlando Franklin (concussion) and cornerback Joshua Moore (hamstring) did not participate in practice. Fox said that during practice, wide receiver Eric Decker strained his groin, running back Ronnie Hillman injured his hamstring and wide receivers D’Andre Goodwin and Greg Orton suffered ankle injuries.

DRILLS

• One of the first drills of practice involved one linebacker acting as a ball carrier as another lined up him for a big hit. Assistant Secondary Coach Sam Garnes oversaw the drill and didn’t like what he saw in the first few reps. “I haven’t heard a pop yet!” he shouted. Then Von Miller ran through the drill and delivered a nice pad-popping hit, which drew a, “Yes sir, five-eight!” from Garnes.

Due to inclement weather forecasted for this afternoon, the Denver Broncos have canceled today’s public practice scheduled for 2:20-5 p.m.

The team will practice from 10:35 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., with that session open to the media only. DenverBroncos.com will have coverage of the practice.

The Broncos are back on the field Thursday morning for a practice free and open to the public scheduled from 8:50 to 11:30 a.m. MDT. Gates open an hour prior to the start of practice.

By the time the Broncos took the field for practice Monday evening for a walkthrough, there were no signs of a storm that passed over Dove Valley at around 3 p.m. In fact, it was a pleasant, cloud-covered 72 degrees when the evening session got underway.

After a two hour and 40-minute full-contact practice this morning, the atmosphere during the evening session was far more laid-back, with players wearing just their jerseys, shorts, cleats and an assortment of hats and visors.

Defensive tackle Sealver Siliga played catch with his fellow defensive linemen before practice started, and even tried out a punt. It’s safe to say there’s no controversy brewing over any competition between Siliga and incumbent punter Britton Colquitt. Running back Willis McGahee wore a dark blue Broncos bucket hat, and with no fans and only a few members of the media present, the intensity was substantially lower than it was during the morning session.

QUICK HITS

• At promptly 6 p.m., the sound of a horn was accompanied by the voice of Head Coach John Fox, who yelled out, ‘Let’s go to work.’