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With the myriad of concerns facing the Broncos as they head into a critical Week 6 divisional game on the road in primetime, the team cannot afford to add instability at long snapper to its list of issues.
That’s why Denver signed a pair of long snappers to the practice squad this week, and has been putting that duo — Mitchell Fraboni and Joe Fortunato — through an exhaustive head-to-head tryout to determine who will earn an elevation to the game-day roster on Monday against the Chargers.
“It’s a combination of a lot of (variables) we’re looking for — accuracy, timing, blocking ability, coverage ability,” said head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who was a long snapper in high school and college at UC Davis. “The most important thing is the accuracy, the velocity and the blocking. If you also have a dimension of coverage down the field, that’s always an added bonus.”
Fraboni and Fortunato are the two finalists to make it through two separate tryout groups Monday and Tuesday to be Jacob Bobenmoyer’s replacement. The Broncos’ starting long snapper for the past three years, Bobenmoyer fractured his thumb in the Week 5 loss to the Colts and is on injured reserve. The injury resulted in surgery and snaps Bobenmoyer’s streak of 38 games played in a row.
The 6-foot-2, 223-pound Fraboni is a first-year pro who was a four-year letterman at Arizona State and then played for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League. The 25-year-old also spent time in the Texans’ camp. He’s competing against the 6-4, 240-pound Fortunato, 28, an undrafted pro out of Delaware who has tried out or spent time in camp with the Eagles, Colts, Falcons, Giants, Cowboys and Packers.
Neither of the two snappers, who are friends, has ever snapped in an NFL game. Special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes said testing the snappers’ mettle under pressure has been part of this week’s tryout.
“We rush the heck out of them — eight-man fronts, nine-man fronts, we’ll run twists and games up front to try to confuse them and see how disciplined they are (in their blocking),” Stukes said. “Snapping should be easy for them. It’s the protection part that gets some guys in trouble.”
For Fraboni, making his debut on Monday at SoFi Stadium would be the accumulation of a lifelong dream and a way to honor his late grandfather.
“I’m dedicating this season to my grandfather, David Fraboni, who passed away last March,” Fraboni said. “I’m doing this all for him… I was very close with him. He was like my dad.”
Injury updates: After being limited earlier this week, quarterback Russell Wilson fully participated in practice on Friday. Hackett said the quarterback’s right shoulder (and his right lat muscle, specifically) is feeling a lot better. “In the case of his shoulder, he’s been (rehabbing) on it non-stop, 24/7, and that’s how he’s gotten back to full so fast,” Hackett said… Meanwhile, while the Broncos are already dealing with injury issues at the tackle spots and at right guard, left guard Dalton Risner did not practice for a second straight day due to back cramps. Right guard Quinn Meinerz (hamstring) was limited again…. Inside linebacker Josey Jewell also did not practice for a second straight day, signaling another possible start for Alex Singleton in Jewell’s place.
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