This summer, the pads will come on and the Broncos will host a grueling training camp, then the club will play three preseason games. After a spring spent focusing getting their body ready for the fall, Payton said players will "build a callus" over the summer. Training camp is expected to begin in late July.

It's also the period that NFL quarterbacks like to gather their receivers and tight ends, and hold a passing camp, or as Bryant described it, a retreat. That's A-okay, as far as Broncos head coach Sean Payton is concerned; he saw Drew Brees do it for years during their time together with the New Orleans Saints.