It sounds like the Denver Broncos may be preparing to ease rookie tight end Greg Dulcich into the season.
Soft tissue issues are always the most dangerous to rush back from and hamstring’s are especially nagging. Denver Broncos rookie tight end Greg Dulcich suffered such a setback early on in Broncos training camp and the team has been cautiously bringing him back to full speed ever since.
Head coach Nathaniel Hackett believed both Dulcich and wide recevier KJ Hamler would return to practice this week, but he gave more of a toned down response when asked about Dulcich’s return on Tuesday.
“We’re doing everything we can to get him in there for all the stuff that we do and everything that he’s capable of doing. So, we’ll find out.”
I’d rather they work him back slowly than rush him back. Dulcich is a guy that looked like he could have some promise on the field. The third-round pick has flashed in the passing game in college and could be a guy that could help Russell Wilson attack the middle parts of the field more.
This situation could also be why Hackett and his staff pushed Albert Okwuegbunam to play the entire preseason game last weekend. If Dulcich is going to be coming back later than anticipated, they will need Albert O to do all the things – especially blocking in the run game.
It could also help a guy like Andrew Beck who is looking to secure a roster spot as both a fullback and tight end. Hackett noted on Tuesday that he likes Beck’s role a lot, so it could be safe to assume he’ll make that final cut down.
“He’s a guy that has come out here and played that swing position. He’s been both fullback, he’s been on the line, he’s been a ‘Y’ during 11-personnel, so he’s a guy that is kind of like a Swiss army knife. He can do so many different things. He does a really good job stretching the field down vertically, but also has done a really good job learning the fullback position and how we want to do it. So where that goes, you never know. We want to be as multiple as possible. We want to take advantage of defenses, so as much as we can utilize him in that role we will.”
Having a strong stable of guys at tight end will give the Broncos the time they need to work Greg Dulcich back from this nagging hamstring issue. He’s at least participating in workouts on the side and is relatively close to returning to practice full time again. It’s a situation we’ll need to keep a close eye on heading into Week 1.