ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- After sitting out the past couple days of practice, wide receiver
Royal has been nursing a sore hip as of late -- though not the same one that required offseason surgery -- and as a result, he was held out of the Broncos' first preseason game in Dallas.
But Royal insists he and the team are just being cautious during the exhibition season.
"It was no setback," Royal said of missing the preseason opener. "We were just being smart about it for the first preseason game. We just wanted to rest it a little bit and make sure I came out here ready to go today."
Royal was at full-speed Monday, participating in team drills and running his typically precise routes and the wideout was happy to be back out there after a couple days of watching from the sideline.
"I felt good today," Royal said. "Running around, my routes felt good -- the rhythm and timing was there, so it was a good day."
Royal will continue to work throughout the week but his status for the preseason home opener against the Buffalo Bills is yet to be determined.
He might be eager to play against somebody other than his own teammates, but the Broncos want to make sure their wide receiver is at full health once the regular season gets underway.
"I'm always anxious to get on the field," Royal said. "You don't like seeing your teammates out there and not being able to help them win games, but we were being smart about it and we'll see this week."
