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KJ Hamler is ready for Seattle.
The Broncos wideout returned to action on Saturday in the preseason finale, Hamler’s first game since season-ending knee/hip injuries in Week 3 of last year. He had three catches for 18 yards on five targets, and said he’s ready to go for Week 1 on Sept. 12.
“I felt good out there,” Hamler said. “It’s very exciting to be back. (Head coach Nathaniel Hackett) didn’t really want to play me, but you know, I was just like, ‘Man, just let me get in. Let me get a few reps and just see if I’m still myself.’
“I just wanted to know that I am back to myself, and I am.”
Hamler was the only offensive starter to play in the 23-13 win over the Vikings at Empower Field. The third-year pro got the majority of the first-half snaps, and drew a personal foul penalty after getting crunched on a hard hit by Minnesota safety Myles Dorn. Hamler caught a 6-yard pass coming across the middle on the first play of the second quarter, and Dorn came sprinting from the defensive backfield to deliver a crunching blow.
But No. 1 popped right back up from the hit.
“I think I needed that (physicality) a little bit,” Hamler said. “It wasn’t nothing to me.”
After enduring an extensive offseason rehabilitation on his left ACL and left hip, Hamler took time to savor his return to a game on Saturday. Just before kickoff, he sat on the bumper of an ambulance in the underbelly of the stadium, looking out through the tunnel onto the grass and collecting his thoughts as he was about to take the field.
“I’ve been through a lot this offseason, so to see where I am then versus now, it’s a blessing,” Hamler said. “It’s just like, wow, I’m really back to football, you know? I’ve been out for a year, so I just wanted to soak everything in.”
Hackett called Hamler’s performance “very encouraging.”
“It’s great for him to be able to catch the ball, take a couple pops,” Hackett said. “You want him to want to play in those situations, especially for a guy that hasn’t played for as long as he had.”
Hamler, the Broncos’ second-round pick out of Penn State in 2020, has 35 career catches for 455 yards and three touchdowns. He is expected to be part of Denver’s primary receiving core this year, along with Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton.
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