ENGLEWOOD — Broncos tight end Greg Dulcich had sat out 22 games in his first three NFL seasons, but all were due to injury.
That changed last Sunday.
In Denver’s 38-14 win over Las Vegas, Dulcich was a healthy scratch for the first time. It was a tough blow.
“Definitely not ideal,’’ Dulcich told The Denver Gazette on Friday. “Not what you want to hear but that’s what they decided.”
Dulcich’s previous missed games came in his first two seasons, when he sat out seven as a rookie in 2022 and 15 last year due to hamstring injuries. Dulcich, once a third-round pick out of UCLA, entered this season with high hopes due to being fully healthy. That remains the case.
But Dulcich got off to a tough start, catching just five passes for 28 yards in the first four games. He had two drops in Week 2 against Pittsburgh and didn’t catch any passes in Week 3 at Tampa Bay and Week 4 at the New York Jets.
Dulcich then found himself inactive against the Raiders with Lucas Krull getting the nod after he had been inactive the first four games. Denver’s other tight ends, starter Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins, have been active for each of the first five games.
“I wanted to make sure Greg knew that ‘Hey, this is week-to-week (who is active),’’’ said Broncos coach Sean Payton.
Payton declined to say whether he will activate Krull or Dulcich for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High, and Dulcich said he doesn’t know what the decision will be. But Payton did touch upon some reasons why he made the move against the Raiders to go with Krull.
“I kept seeing Lucas with some things during the week and I wanted to change it up,’’ Payton said. “Now, he helped us a little bit in the kicking game. They both run well. … Both of them are similar in their strengths.”
Against the Raiders, Krull caught one pass for five yards while playing 18 snaps from scrimmage and eight on special teams. While Krull is adept at that part of the game, Dulcich has not played a snap on special teams in his NFL career. Neither tight end is regarded as an elite blocker.
“I just got to make my plays in practice and contribute however I can and help this team in whatever way is possible,’’ Dulcich said of what he needs to do to be active again. “Just continue to make plays and be positive and be excited for this team and everything that we do.”
Dulcich believed he had a good week of practice heading into the game against the Chargers. He said he doesn’t know how much his slow start this season factored into his benching against the Raiders.
“They decided what they decided and I can only control what I can control, so I’m going to continue to try to do that,’’ he said.
Dulcich is making $1.183 million this season and it remains to be seen what his future will be in Denver. He is on the books to make $1.422 million in 2025, but none of it is guaranteed.
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