With the Broncos having won three straight games and Jaleel McLaughlin on a hot streak, the running back actually didn't want a bye week.
Nevertheless, each NFL team must have one. The Broncos (8-5) returned Monday after being one of six teams to have the latest bye week this season.
"Honestly, it's tough because I'm just very excited with how this team was playing,'' McLaughlin said. "It was kind of tough to get away and I was still watching film and trying to be detailed and seeing how I could have been better from last week's game and stuff like that. So it was tough to have a bye week at this time of the season. We're excited to get back in the building."
Before the bye week, McLaughlin had games of seven carries for 44 yards in a 29-19 win at Las Vegas on Nov. 24 and a career-high 14 carries for a career-high 84 yards in a 41-32 home win over Cleveland on Dec. 2. While averaging 6.1 yards per carry the past two games, McLaughlin now is averaging 4.6 on the season and has 367 yards.
Entering Sunday's game against Indianapolis at Empower Field at Mile High, McLaughlin has been by far Denver's best running back lately. In the past two games, Javonte Williams has 12 carries for 1 yard and rookie Audric Estime has six attempts for 27 yards.
Broncos coaches have talked about having a "hot-hand" approach to which running back gets the most attempts in a game. McLaughlin, though, shrugged off any thoughts about there being pressure to do well in early-game carries in order to get more.
"I don't really think about it much at all,'' he said. "When my number is called, what I'm going to do with the ball is my thought process and I don't worry about how many touches I get or how many touches I might get."
Against the Browns, McLaughlin had five carries for 20 yards in the first half. That got him extended work for a second half in which he had nine carries for 64 yards.
"I just try to do whatever I can to help the team win," he said.
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Payton wishes "best" for Reynolds
Broncos coach Sean Payton, speaking for the first time Monday about last week's decision to waive Josh Reynolds, wished "the best" for the veteran wide receiver.
The Broncos, who signed Reynolds to a two-year, $9 million contract last March, waived Reynolds last Tuesday and he was claimed Wednesday by Jacksonville. The move was made after Reynolds had been on injured reserve since Oct. 12 due to suffering a fractured finger Oct. 6 against Las Vegas. He then suffered minor injuries as a victim of an Oct. 18 shooting in Denver and had his 21-day practice window opened Nov. 13.
"From a roster-management standpoint with Josh, it just became a numbers game,'' Payton said. "He's done a great job. We would have liked to have been able to keep him, but as guys got healthy and came from injured reserve, we had to have space. Some of the younger guys have been playing well, and I wish him the best. He's one of those guys that helped us get to where we're at right now."
When Reynolds was out, rookie wide receivers Devaughan Vele and Troy Franklin and second-year man Marvin Mims all stepped up.
Reynolds was inactive for Jacksonville's 10-6 win Sunday at Tennessee. After joining the Jaguars, he spoke for the first time to the media about the shooting incident.
"It's one of those things I'd rather put behind me," Reynolds said. "But anybody going through that, man, it's a crazy ordeal. ... (It) was tough for a few weeks, but I had a good support system behind me. A lot of the organization (in Denver) was helping me out a lot, so they made it easier for me to kind of transition through that whole process."
Briefly
A source said the Broncos on Monday worked out cornerback Jerry Jacobs, who started 29 of the 40 games he played the past three seasons with Detroit after being undrafted in 2021 out of Arkansas. The Broncos have an opening on their practice squad after linebacker Kwon Alexander was plucked Nov. 29 by the Lions off Denver's squad. ... Payton liked how rookie cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine looked in his NFL debut against the Browns, playing 12 snaps from scrimmage and 12 on special teams. "He's smart,'' Payton said. "He has a savviness to him. ... I thought he handled his role (well). ... I thought he had a pretty good game in the kicking game." ... Broncos Hall of Fame linebacker DeMarcus Ware will be the subject of an NFL Icons episode that premiers Jan. 24 on MGM+.