ENGLEWOOD, Colo – Organized Team Activities are voluntary. That is a mantra repeated in every NFL city by seemingly every NFL Coach, every single year.
Certain players like wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who hasn’t taken part of any of the Broncos off-season work at Dove Valley, were not expected to be here. However, veteran defensive lineman Antonio Smith has been here all Spring, and his absence was noticeable at Wednesday first day of OTAs.
Last week it was reported that Smith was currently being investigated for complaint of sexual child abuse in Houston. Thus, he and the team agreed he wouldn’t return to Denver until the situation was resolved.
“I talked to Antonio late last Wednesday night and he informed me of what the situation was, or that there was fixin’ to be something come about,” Head Coach Gary Kubiak said. “We spent the weekend, I talked to him numerous times, spent a lot of time with John (Elway), with Joe (Ellis) and yesterday we met again. And, bottom line, between us and Antonio, we just felt like, both of us felt like the best thing to do was for Antonio to devote all of his energy and time right now to this situation.”
Kubiak seemed hopeful that this matter would be settled one way or the other in the coming weeks. “It’s our understanding, and I don’t know if I’m right,” he said. “But, it’s our understanding that maybe we’ll have some answers in a week or two. I hope that’s the case.”
When asked if Kubiak would have been okay if Smith attended OTAs, Kubiak was quick to say that this was the best way to handle things, and like his predecessor, John Fox, he did not want to get into hypotheticals. He did say that this was “absolutely not,” punishment for Smith.
Smith and Kubiak have a familiarity as the 11-year veteran played five seasons, and made one Pro Bowl under Kubiak with The Texans. According to Kubiak, that relationship has no bearing on Smith’s current situation, or garner him any leeway. “I have relationships with all the players I work with…out here” Kubiak said. “Everybody in this organization, I’ve coached thousands of players throughout the course of my career. I’m always gonna do what’s best by the organization and the player. That’s what we’re gonna do right here. We’re gonna take our time to do it the right way, and hopefully we have some answers here coming soon.”
