One member of the Denver Broncos couldn't be happier that Cam Newton and Stephon Gilmore likely will play this Sunday.
Why? Because he doesn't want there to be any room for excuses.
Sunday's Week 6 matchup between the Broncos and New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium originally was scheduled for this past Sunday. However, positive tests for COVID-19 within the Patriots forced the game to be postponed.
That delay has allowed for Newton and Gilmore to recover from the coronavirus. And for Broncos offensive lineman Dalton Risner, that's a good thing.
“You know what, I would rather go into Foxboro and beat Cam Newton and Gilmore on the Patriots than go in there and not beat Newton and Gilmore," Risner said, via WEEI.com. "And then come home and have the Patriots say, 'Well, what if we had all of our players?' Because we're a great football team, I know that. Regardless of who's starting on defense, regardless of who's starting at quarterback, we've got to go in there and play Broncos football.
"We're a good football team and we can go in there and win regardless of who they play. We've got a lot of guys getting healthy. We got a little bit of time off. The schedule change is hard -- of course we would have liked to know so we can take a bye week instead of practicing all week. But we got two weeks to prepare for the Patriots, so we should be fully prepared to go in there and get a win. It's going to be fun."
Of course, excuse-making generally doesn't fit the mold of how the Patriots speak publicly. That said, you can't fault Risner for wanting the Broncos to face a tough task.
