Broncos signed Elliott Fry to replace Brandon McManus but will continue 'looking at' other available kickers

Jun. 1—Elliott Fry has played in just three NFL regular-season games since being undrafted out of South Carolina in 2017. He'll have to show coach Sean Payton plenty if he hopes to get into a fourth one while with the Broncos.

The kicker was signed Wednesday, eight days after Denver released Brandon McManus, who was quickly signed by Jacksonville. McManus played nine seasons for the Broncos, getting into 144 games.

Fry took part in organized team activities on Thursday wearing No. 39, not exactly standard digits for a kicker. And afterward Payton didn't deny that the Broncos will be continue to look at kickers while Fry is on the roster.

"That's not the only position we're going to keep looking at," Payton said. "One of the things that I learned early (from Hall of Fame coach) Bill Parcells (was) when he would talk to the team, he would say, 'Don't pay attention to the depth chart, just in your meeting room.' "

Payton, who was an assistant coach under Parcells with Dallas from 2003-05, made note of a kicking battle he had when he coached New Orleans for 15 seasons before taking last year off to serve as a Fox NFL studio analyst. He said two kickers battled it out during training camp and the preseason.

"Then the final cutdown takes place at 53 and I get a call from someone I know well with another staff that (recommended a) kicker," Payton said. "We bring him in on Monday, work him out, and we sign neither of the two in the kicking battle. So don't pay attention to the line in front of you or the room you're in. You're competing with yourself to put your best product on the field."

Fry played in one regular-season game with Atlanta in 2020 and one apiece with Kansas City and Cincinnati in 2021. In those games, he made 5 of 6 field-goal attempts and 5 of 7 extra-point attempts.

Lots of Nuggets fans

There are plenty of Nuggets fans on the Broncos, starting with Payton.

Payton attended Game 1 of the NBA Finals between Denver and the Miami Heat on Thursday night at Ball Arena. He said he texted coach Michael Malone to offer congratulations after the Nuggets' 4-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

"The star players are unselfish, and I feel like it's a team that enjoys each other," Payton said of the Nuggets. "I'm going to guess that they probably do things together off the court and I don't know that that's the case with every team."

Payton said he was talking with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and asked about the Finals matchup. He said Krzyzewski "mentioned culture with both teams," and Payton was in agreement.

Payton lauded Stan Kroenke, whose Kroenke Sports and Entertainment owns the Nuggets as well as the 2022 Stanley Cup champion Avalanche and the Los Angeles Rams, Super Bowl champions the season before last.

"In two years, the Kroenkes have have won a Super Bowl, have won a Stanley Cup and they're in a position to win an NBA championship," said Payton, who said he had planned to attend the Game 1 with some former teammates when he played quarterback at Eastern Illinois. "It's good to be a Kroenke for the last two years. That's pretty impressive to have that type of success."

During a press conference Thursday, Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II wore a Nuggets hat. Surtain is from South Florida but said he's "got to rep the Nuggets" in the Finals.

Broncos safety Justin Simmons also is from Florida, and said many members of his family are Heat fans. Simmons said he grew up following the Lakers because of Kobe Bryant but that it would "be cool" to see the Nuggets win the title.

Simmons was at Thursday's game. So was quarterback Russell Wilson and legendary Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

Notable

When Surtain was asked Thursday how he believes he ranks among NFL cornerbacks, Simmons, standing nearby, said, "Number one." Surtain, though, said he doesn't get into ranking himself. ... Payton said rapidly improving second-year tight end Greg Dulcich had "one of his better practices" Thursday. "He's got a unique skill set," Payton said. "And he's got traits in the passing game. ... Man, he can run, he's got good ball skills." ... Payton said Wilson continues to play well in the spring by having another "good day." The Broncos worked on third downs while "contesting every throw."