ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- After a whirlwind arrival to the Denver Broncos, which saw Brandon McManus kicking field goals for the team just two days after being acquired by the team, the Broncos have decided to keep McManus around for a bit.
The Broncos worked out another kicker Saturday -- former Washington State kicker Andrew Furney -- but when the initial cut to 53 players was made, McManus was still the kicker tabbed to fill in for Matt Prater. Prater is suspended for the first four games of the season for violations of the league’s substance abuse policy.
Executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway was asked Saturday evening if he was still confident in McManus, who was 2-of-4 in the Broncos' preseason finale against the Dallas Cowboys Thursday night with misses from 52 and 54 yards -- both kicks were wide right -- to go with field goals from 20 and 40 yards.
“I am now," Elway said. “He’s going to be our guy now. He got in here late last week, he’s got a tremendously strong leg and he’s got a lot of upside. I’ve got a lot of confidence once he gets working with the center and [holder Brandon] Colquitt, get used to that, he’ll be much better off. I think Brandon will be fine for us."
The Broncos sent a conditional seventh-round draft pick to the New York Giants on Tuesday, brought McManus on the trip to Texas on Wednesday, and he kicked Thursday night in AT&T Stadium. The Broncos like McManus’ overall leg strength, and he had touchbacks on all five of his kickoffs against the Cowboys.
The Broncos will face the Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals during Prater’s suspension. Because of a Week 4 bye for the Broncos, Prater will not be eligible to return to practice until Oct. 6 and cannot be reinstated to play in a game until the Broncos’ Week 6 game against the New York Jets on Oct. 12.
McManus was 2-of-2 in field goal attempts for the Giants in the preseason.