The Broncos defense was out for blood Tuesday and proved perfectly capable of drawing it.
From the start of practice, the tenor was intense. As it grew more chippy throughout, a scuffle or two felt inevitable.
Rookie tight end Justin Joly was in a scrap during a one-on-one, which the defense apparently did not appreciate. The first time he caught a pass in the ensuing team period, he got rocked.
The real fireworks started in another round of team, however.
On the first snap for the top offense, the defensive line collapsed the pocket and ran into quarterback Bo Nix, who got knocked to the ground. He got up yelling at defensive players and spotted Malcolm Roach celebrating. Nix fired the football he was holding at the defensive tackle.
Two plays later, Nix was intercepted by Alex Singleton. On the other side of the field, Throckmorton ended up at the bottom of a pile with his helmet off and the fracas was on.
Nik Bonitto ran to the pile and appeared to jump on right tackle Mike McGlinchey. Nix ran after and grabbed Bonitto by the leg, trying to pull him off the pile.
Nix, for his part, downplayed the whole thing after practice.
“I love it. It’s football,” Nix said. “It’s getting me ready for the games coming up. It’s a physical practice out there played by physical people. It got intense and we were just really enjoying it.
“Sometimes in the dog days of summer practice gets long and the intensity runs high.”
Any apologies issued afterward from his end?
“Uh, no,” Nix said with a smile.
It took a minute or two to pull the groups apart and tempers clearly ran high. McGlinchey and Nix both had to be walked away from defensive players. Throckmorton was bleeding from his face and was taken back into the facility with a bag over his eye by training staff.
Several veterans stood by themselves for a couple minutes once the No. 2s were in.
It was as spicy a scrap as there’s been here since Payton’s been the head coach.
“It’s going to happen. We just can’t cross the line,” offensive coordinator Davis Webb said. “Sean said that and I agree. I’m glad we’re fiery. I love the competition out here. It’s been unbelievable to watch both sides of the ball win some plays and win some periods. But we can’t cross the line.
“That’s offense and defense. … We all had a part in that. We’re going to handle this in that meeting.”
Vance Joseph said there will be a reminder not to hit the quarterback, but he also wants his side of the ball to play aggressive.
“When we’re playing our style of football, it’s aggressive and it’s downhill,” Joseph said. “But you can’t hurt your team. ..
“Bo’s our quarterback and we don’t want anyone near Bo.”
This story will be updated.
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.