In what might be the worst idea ever, the NFL is looking to add regular Wednesday night games to the regular season schedule. Surprisingly, there have been a few instances of those happening in recent years which I’ll cover later in the post. First, let’s recap the Denver Broncos happenings of the day.
Broncos daily recap
The league meeting continued today and we got some good tidbits from head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton. The two most interesting comments we covered today:
George Paton says Broncos
are not interested in trading away their WR depth Don’t expect Denver to flip any receivers after the Waddle haul. Paton shut down the idea flatly, telling reporters the room goes seven or eight deep and asking why the team would build up this group just to trade someone now. With Courtland Sutton and Waddle headlining the room and the next three receivers all drafted during the Payton era showing real development, Paton sees the depth as a feature, not a trade chip — and that includes contributors like Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Michael Bandy.
Sean Payton says that Jonah Elliss will take some snaps at ILB
Here’s an interesting wrinkle. Sean Payton revealed that second-year edge rusher Jonah Elliss will get some looks at inside linebacker this offseason. The former third-round pick has the smarts and toughness for it, and he’s been stuck behind Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper on the edge depth chart. Meanwhile, inside linebacker has a hole after the Dre Greenlaw release, and with Vance Joseph’s blitz-heavy scheme, a versatile chess piece like Elliss playing inside could unlock some creative defensive packages.
Potent quotables
We have a ton of quotes from the NFL league meeting, but I’ll pick out some of the most interesting ones from GM George Paton here in today’s roundup:
On the trade for WR Jaylen Waddle and what he brings to the team
“Obviously we are excited. I would say that this process took a while. Credit [to] Miami and [General Manager] George [Paton]., the patience of coming to a real fair deal. With regards to the player, he is explosive. I think if you asked me the single biggest thing that I think he does well is he’s extremely fast and he stops fast. He can sink his hips in transition and then the other thing that came up time and time again is how competitive he is. I’m very close with [Lions QB] Teddy Bridgewater, we’re very close with [former University of Alabama Head] Coach [Nick] Saban and we’re close with a lot of people who have had the chance to work with him. Whenever you get into a big-name free agent or a trade of this magnitude, all the other stuff is important to research. When it comes to [WR Jaylen] Waddle’s all the other stuff, it was 10, 10, 10, 10, 10. So I think obviously it will help us.”
On if he sensed angst on the outside during free agency
“We tune out the angst. There was a lot of angst when we selected [QB] Bo [Nix] where we selected him. There was a lot of angst when we made quite a few of these decisions. You have to tune that out. Now, I said this in a jokingly manner. We are aware of that. We understand that. And yet, you cannot chase what others outside of the building feel like you should be doing. We spent a lot of time on this free agency class. We had a pecking order of what we thought was most important, and we were able to accomplish that. I’m sure glad that we had the [WR Jaylen] Waddle trade done before I was coaching that flag football game and our fan base wasn’t going crazy as I’m working on a flag gameplan. (Laughs) I think in fairness, and I recognize that everyone would say, ‘Hey, you have [QB] Bo [Nix] on his rookie deal.’ Well no kidding, but just do the research. You go back in that first week of free agency and if you are batting .380 or .395, it’s about where the numbers lie. If you went back five years from now… Just go backwards and said, ‘Would they do it again?’
“We did a really good job of in Year 1 of hitting on some priority free agents that were immediately able to change the flight pattern in which we were traveling. I think [General Manager] George [Paton] and I felt strongly that there were a few of these players that really, ‘A’, we were re-signing that were already on our existing team and, ‘B’, a number of these players who we re-did contracts with. That time of the season has been marketed right in front of every one of your eyes. What is the next word that comes after free agency from the NFL Network and from NFL.com? ‘Frenzy.’ Frenzy is what you don’t want. Frenzy implies that it has to happen, chaos… It’s all marketing. Steady, right decision. ‘What’s our plan?’ Stick with our plan. Tune out the noise. Same is going to apply to this draft. We don’t know who is driving this bus. The first-round bus, I call it. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up selecting a player that maybe someone else thinks… We are excited to add a player like Jaylen. We spent a lot of time looking at that selection and trying to determine… We could safely say that pick would’ve been one of these seven or eight players. We didn’t feel like that would help us as much as Jaylen Waddle.”
On releasing 49ers LB Dre Greenlaw and the plan at inside linebacker
“That was a tough one. Here is why: he is so passionate. In my career as a coach, I’ve been lucky enough to coach a lot of passionate players that love the game. I’m always disappointed internally that that didn’t work out because I love that player. I love how he competes. I love all the things he brings. You feel somewhat responsible when it doesn’t work out. We knew it would take a little bit of time with [ILB] Alex [Singleton] and [ILB] Justin [Strnad]. You’re going to see [OLB Jonah] Elliss take some snaps inside. That is something that we have discussed relative to our depth at the edge. Then we will see where that goes during the draft. Those aren’t fun when you re-sign your own players, and I understand… But when we look at the puzzle, you have to take the red magnets that are [unrestricted free agents] and put them off the depth chart, then begin to address the ‘musts’, ‘needs’ and ‘wants’.”
On the free agency process
“If you have a list that says ‘musts’, ‘needs’ and ‘wants’, you have to jump into the draft first, jump back to free agency and then look at the draft again. Then begin to look at, ‘Where is the best way to address this must? In the draft or in free agency?’ And look, we never get to live in a perfect world, but you’d always love to be drafting the best player. Sometimes—there are a lot of times where that can happen. [General Manager] George [Paton] and I, we are all sitting in there and going through the puzzle. I think there were certain priorities. [RB J.K.] Dobbins was a priority, ahead of all others. Now that will anger people. We know that he has been injured, and we understand that the injures haven’t been soft tissue driven. He is someone who is one of those compound multipliers, like he brings 10 others along with him in a positive light. Our success last year, he has some finger prints on that. [49ers LB] Dre [Greenlaw] has some. All these players that came in that have been in winning programs are a big part of how you win 14 games in call it Year 3 of the program.”
On OLB Jonah Elliss getting snaps at inside linebacker
“It’s the decision to give him snaps going forward. Skill set, it’s a position where we are wanting—I drafted his brother [Saints LB Kaden Elliss]. The same thing happened with [Eagles LB] Zack Baun, only we couldn’t get Zack Baun on the field. Now Philadelphia managed to. It was really looking at your assets, and we know that he is smart, tough and he has all the… Sometimes, that inside backer position—one of the best in our league at San Francisco in [49ers LB] Fred Warner, you saw him play more out in space, outside backer. Sometimes you have to look at the skill set, and then project where you think it can go, and your depth on the edge that allows you to do something like that. We will have a chance to visit with him on it.”
On if they believe they will be able to ‘run it back’ this upcoming season
“I saw the stories and I don’t believe that. So it’s not, ‘Let’s run it back.’ I hate that term. It’s not, ‘Let’s run it back.’ Let’s understand one thing: it is anything but that. When you win 11 of 13 one-score games, like you saw the flip in just one season with Kansas City. It’s how do you improve your team. The better you get, the harder it is to improve your team.”
On if they feel good about where they are now
“I never feel good. We have the draft coming up and we are excited about that. The point is though, you have to apply some patience and have a good plan. We recognize where we are at. We understand exactly where we are at with [QB] Bo [Nix]’s contract, our team. And yet, the mistake that two-thirds of the teams make is trying to win the day. Win the draft day, win the hiring cycle day and win the free agency day. We are interested in winning. That’s why our fanbase is extremely important to us, but we are going to do what we think is best for our team to be better when this puzzle is finished at the end of call it June. Then what do we look like at that point?
“I think honestly, as a head coach of a team and recognizing it was great to see us, compared to the year before, play very well in those one-score games. That’s a bye-product of a little confidence, and it started I think in Philadelphia. If you pin-pointed a couple of key games, every one of you guys would say, ‘Yes, that was an important moment.’ Not just for Bo, but for a lot of people. Then pretty soon if you are in that game next time, you feel like you can do it. Just go do the analytics, lopsided in your favor one-score games, which certainly 11 of 13 would be, and then track the next season. There is nothing that… That is why I said to you that I never feel good. You are always understanding the next challenge. We have a tough schedule. We don’t know when we are playing these teams, but we are playing a real good schedule of teams that have been in the postseason. I do think that patience is important. My brother is 71-years old and [on] Day 2 of free agency, the phone rings. Free agency frenzy, right here. You are the frenzy guy. And if it is frenzy, that is not good, but that sells.”
On how much WR Jaylen Waddle affects the other receivers in the room as well as the running game
“Well I think my experience is when the locker room is kind of where we have it, if you can help us, come on in. If you train and are like-minded like us, come on in. Now if you can’t… I think whenever you are able to bring in someone that is highly competitive, his personality and all of those things. I think the good teams welcome those players because they know it’s another piece and another opportunity to improve your team.”
On WR Jaylen Waddle’s flexibility at the wide receiver position
“If you guys said, ‘Where has he played?’ He’s played everywhere. I’ve seen him outside as a tremendous route runner, inside. The route tree is pretty expansive. I’d say—I just said it. The best thing that I think he does is he’s explosive; he’s dynamic. A lot of times, the guys run fast, but I think he sends his hips in transition. I think you’ll see him play inside in the slot; you’ll see him outside. We’ll have speed packages that will feature… We’re not just going to have, and I know someone’s getting ready to ask me, ‘Is he receiver [No.] 1 or 2?’ So we don’t have [that]. We just play different packages and try to give those guys the things that they do well.”
On finding consistency in the run game
“So right now I’m going to answer the question. That could be a position that gets addressed if the opportunity presents itself. We love the way [RB] RJ [Harvey] played. We ran it more consistently earlier in the year than we did later in the year. I don’t like how we rushed it in the postseason. It’s one way to take pressure off your quarterback, and I think that will be a focus.”
On if having a new play caller in Offensive Coordinator Davis Webb will change their offseason schedule
“It doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change any of that. Typically we come in in April. The first four weeks—I know what the league’s phases are—we kind of tweak it. I always want the first month to be weight room, nothing to do with football. So this year, we went three weeks further into the season. Our players won’t be in our building until May, the first Monday in May. I think it’s the third or fourth. All of May will just be weightlifting. You’ll see us on the field in June. We’ll have two weeks of OTAs and a week of mini camp, but I don’t want them to feel like they were just here. So we’ve done that before. I think it’s important, and I think the players appreciate it because they were just here.”
On QB Bo Nix and Bears QB Caleb Williams’ abilities to win one-scores games in the fourth quarter and if that carries over from season to season
“For both of those players, you guys have heard me say this: Confidence can only be born out of demonstrated ability. So I would ask everyone here, if I said to you, ‘Caleb and Bo, are they more confident this year?’ Absolutely. Now there’s nothing that says that’s promised the next year, and [Bears Head Coach] Ben [Johnson] knows this. You turn the board upside down. You place it and you collect your pieces, whatever the game is. You have to start back at zero. But when you start back there, you have a little bit of a bank vault that is filed with these positive experiences. If you believe it can happen once, then… You’re a different player at the start of this season than you were at the start of the other season. The one-score games, I think it just provides you… In the college game there are far fewer of those games. So it provides you with [knowing], ‘This is more the norm.’ We might be down six [points], up six, up three, tied at half. You get used to living in that world. I think that’s a big thing, especially for the quarterback.”
On what Year 3 development will look like for QB Bo Nix
“I think look, his job—and we say this all the time—is lead your team into the end zone, lead your team to wins. We see him every day at the facility. He’s ahead of schedule with his rehab. He likes being around football. That draft and the significance of trying to get that right is like, ‘Holy cow.’ It’s so important. We’ll be able to grade that whole class… I always say three years out, but we could begin to apply that. Then certainly 10 years out, you really know. I think the tweaks, the changes, the additions, and then understanding the challenges ahead.”
On how Offensive Coordinator Davis Webb calling plays will affect QB Bo Nix’s development
“I think it changes for Davis and Bo a little. Bo is in there with [Quarterbacks Coach] Logan Kilgore now. Logan will be his warm and fuzzy. Now, Davis and myself will be like, ‘Hey! What are you…’ (Laughs) I think they have a great relationship. There’s a cohesiveness in general with our sides of the ball. I’ll still be working in every of the offensive meetings. I just think that it’s… I’m glad we have Davis coming back, and I think that that experience will only help us.”
On bringing back TE Adam Trautman
“You know exactly what you’re getting in the player. Look, if we want to run the ball well, he’s one of the better blocking tight ends. He’s really good in pass protection. We evaluate every ounce of the tape. I’d be leery of someone that grabs three clips. We know exactly what [TE] Adam [Trautman] is. That was just going to take time to see where the market value went. So I’m glad he’s back. I don’t take him for granted because we knew… When you have [Ravens Offensive Coordinator] Declan [Doyle] who has left and you have these other coaches, [Bills Offensive Coordinator] Pete [Carmichael] and [Bills Defensive Coordinator] Jim [Leonhard], the other challenge with that is, they have a little more exposure to your free agents relative to… So that was a little bit of a concern.”
On the depth of tight end prospects this draft class
“In fairness to the question, we did our front board meetings prior to the Combine which is an overview. Today’s Tuesday. Tomorrow morning it’s 7:30, we enter that team meeting room and we’re in there for the next 26 days. There are some really good prospects, but I’m anxious to see who they are because right now I just know the names. Honestly, I just know them like you do. Hopefully we can get to know them and possibly have a target in there.”
Under the radar
The NFL can’t seem to do anything but mixed bag announcements. The MNF concurrent games thing was so annoying, but mostly because whenever the Broncos got one it was the annoying time slot they got. So to resolve this, they might now play a Wednesday night game? Yikes, players already hate the Thursday night slot due to recovery and injury risk issues. I hate the idea of a Wednesday night game.
The FEED happenings
Is 2025 going to be the springboard that launches the Broncos to new heights in 2026? drtacp thinks so!
GratefulBronco talks trade value and the process the Broncos went into to decide how to go about getting Jaylen Waddle to Denver.
Post your own thoughts on MHR’s Feed.
Broncos history
Playing on a Wednesday is dumb.
I didn’t recall there being any Wednesday games during the season before, so I did a quick AI search and was quickly educated on the fact we have had a few of those — though only one was on purpose.
Key Historical Wednesday NFL Games:
- Sept. 5, 2012: The Dallas Cowboys defeated the New York Giants to open the season, avoiding a conflict with the Democratic National Convention.
- Dec. 2, 2020: The Baltimore Ravens played the Pittsburgh Steelers on a Wednesday afternoon, a game delayed from Thanksgiving due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
- Dec. 25, 2024: Two games were played on a Wednesday (Christmas Day), featuring the Kansas City Chiefs at the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens at the Houston Texans.
- Sept. 9, 2026 (Scheduled): The Seattle Seahawks will host a Wednesday season opener to accommodate a game in Australia played on Thursday.
Before 2012, the league had not played a Wednesday game since 1948.
The first one was to open the season, which would bother me the least if they used that as one of their regular Wednesday games each year. The second was due to COVID stuff, so that’s a one-off situation. So that brings us to last year and I forgot about this one because it was a Christmas Day game. Oddly enough, I wasn’t bothered by that one either. It felt natural.
So perhaps having a Thanksgiving Eve game won’t be too bad, but I suspect I won’t like it anyway. It would have to involve two teams coming off either a bye week or a Thursday night game. I just don’t see how players can recover and prepare in two days time between games. I give these Wednesday games a 2/10 score. They could work in specific situations, but knowing the NFL, they’ll make it annoying like the dual MNF games were.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate a regular Wednesday night game during the regular season?
