The Denver Broncos are embarking on a 9-day road trip

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos left town on a roadtrip.

The Broncos, of course, are heading to Tampa for their game against the Buccaneers on Sunday. Instead of returning Sunday night, which is the usual protocol, the Broncos will stay on the East Coast for a week before taking on the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium the next Sunday.

“I do like being away for a week with the team,” head coach Sean Payton said. “In other words, when [we] traveled to London, those are times that you get a little bit better focus I think and you can grow as a team.”

Before the NFL created the 2024 schedule, the Broncos submitted a request. They wanted two of their East Coast games to be back-to-back, so that they would have the opportunity for a roadtrip like this one.

“When the schedule came out, then it happened to be Tampa and the Jets,” Payton said. “It could’ve been Baltimore. The reason we put the request in is just to stay in that time zone, practice and then be more acclimated relative to back-and-forth four different times.”

The Broncos will spend the week in West Virginia’s Allegheny Mountains at The Greenbrier Resort. They should be more than comfortable.

The self-proclaimed “America’s Resort” opened its doors in 1778 under the name “White Sulphur Springs,” which featured a spring of sulphur water under a simple green dome with white columns that is still the center of the current resort.

Over the past 246 years, the names of the property have changed from “White Sulphur Springs,” to “The Grand Central Hotel,” to “The Old White,” and finally to “The Greenbrier” in 1913. Since its initial opening, the resort has hosted 28 of the United States’ 45 presidents, as part of a long list of notable guests.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee wrote “The White Sulphur Manifesto” from the resort, in which he advocated for the merging of the North and South under one government after the Civil War.

During World War II, the United States interned German and Japanese diplomats at the resort.

During the Cold War, the United States built a secret underground bunker at the resort. The government hid the construction by building a new wing of the hotel over the bunker, which was 100 feet underground. In the event of a nuclear holocaust between the early 60s and early 90s, the United States would have relocated its entire congress to the bunker.

The golf course at the resort has played host to a number of events, including the Ryder Cup, which pits the best American men against the top European men, and the Solheim Cup, which is the women’s equivalent. World Golf Hall of Famers Sam Snead, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino have served as the course’s head golf professional.

In 2014, the resort and the New Orleans Saints, led at the time by Broncos head coach Sean Payton, agreed on a three-year deal to be the home of the Saints’ training camp. The resort built a 55,000 square-foot sports performance center that includes two grass football fields, a turf field, meeting rooms, a training rooms, a weight room and locker rooms. The Texans, Browns, Patriots, Cardinals and 49ers have also used the facility.

“The set up will be fine there [with] the facility,” Payton said. “All of that will be fine, but it was more about—we looked at a handful of places. It was just going to be dependent on who the back-to-back teams were.”

For an 0-2 team, a nine-day road trip could be a turning point.

“I’m looking forward to it, just the camaraderie,” cornerback Pat Surtain II said. “I think we all have a unique opportunity to really get to spend time, spend [time] some bonding with each other also off the football field and build those relationships that we already have. I think this week is crucial because we have two tough opponents on the road. Being able to set our sights away from things out here and go to different scenery. A different landscape will definitely change the mindset so I’m looking forward to it.”

Another cornerback, Riley Moss, agrees.

“I think we need it,” he told DNVR. “It’s nice to be around the dudes. It’s an older hotel. There’s some stuff for us to do as a squad. It’s tough after games everyone has family and kids and so it’s tough to hang out with the boys like you would in college.”

The Broncos will have plenty of work to do during the trip, but The Greenbrier provides plenty of activities during downtime. The resort provides guest opportunities to participate in archery, bowling, yoga, whitewater rafting, fishing, zip-lining, shooting, paintball, pickleball, multiple escape rooms, an arcade and afternoon tea.

Wide receiver Courtland Sutton could barely contain his excitement.

“I’ve been—I’ve been… I won’t say that,” Sutton said with a smile on Wednesday. “I’ve been talking to my boys about the trip and I’ve been referencing a certain movie. I’m sure you guys will pick up on it.”

But Sutton is keeping his focus on football for now.

“The biggest thing is us going and taking care of Tampa,” he said. “We have a big week ahead of us. Sitting in the position that we’re sitting in, we’re the only ones that can control our direction, where we go next. Tampa is the game that’s most important to us. We’re going to go take care of Tampa, prepare this week, go out there and play that game Sunday and everybody’s going to leave it all on the field. Then after that we’ll move forward to the next week after that.”

Ideally, the Broncos will be 1-2 when they head to West Viriginia. They’ll have their first momentum of the season. They’ll have an opportunity to beat the Jets and erase their 0-2 start before heading back to Denver.

But if the Broncos lose to the Buccaneers and carry an 0-3 record into West Virginia, the road trip could be important to maintaining morale.

“I think going on trips with your teammates and being able to spend a large amount of time that you’re not normally used to spending is always a fun time,” quarterback Bo Nix said. “I’ve never been on a team trip and have been like, ‘Man I didn’t have fun,’ or ‘Man I wish we could go home early.’ Usually, we have a great time and you’re able to get away and you kind of change settings, go practice at a different place, be in a different place. I don’t think I’ve ever been to West Virginia in my life, but we have an important week ahead of us. When we take care of Tampa Bay, then we can move on to our road trip, but I do feel like road trips are good for a team.”