Perhaps the list grew while the Broncos were delayed flying home from the Bay Area due to plane issues. They didn’t arrive in Denver until after 3 a.m. Sunday, about 1½ hours behind schedule. Payton said that altered the team’s practice schedule due to “sleep studies” and “the days it takes to recover from” the travel situation.

"This year's team has a chance to be [better than 2024] ... but we're right at the beginning with a lot of work ahead of us.”