Every week during the season, Denver Gazette beat writer Chris Tomasson will take you around the NFL and inside the Broncos locker room:

After offensive lineman Orlando Franklin retired from the NFL in 2017, he was doing a lot of sitting around the house. His wife Kiaana didn’t like that.

“Two weeks into my retirement, my wife asked me what my plan was and I looked at her and I said, ‘What do you mean?’” Franklin said. “She basically told me, ‘We can’t have you in the house all the time.”’

At that point, the Franklins had one small child and another was on the way. Franklin said his wife told him that “having you in the household is like having another child.”

Franklin said he initially was “(ticked) off” by what she said but eventually realized she was “absolutely right.” So Franklin, who had done a weekly show on KKFN-FM 104.3 The Fan with Sandy Clough when he played for the Broncos from 2011-14, was able to land a full-time gig with the station.

Now he’s branching out into television. Franklin, while also maintaining his Denver job, recently signed a deal with ESPN to serve as an analyst for 15 games this season on the ACC Network while also doing some radio work for the network.

“I’m just super excited for the opportunity,’’ he said. “It’s a huge stepping stone. It’s ESPN. People dream of this.”

Franklin’s first game on the ACC Network will be Colgate at Syracuse on Saturday. His second will be Southern Mississippi at Florida State on Sept. 9.

Some viewers who see Franklin, 35, on the air might not immediately recognize him. When he played in the NFL from 2011-17, he was listed at 315 pounds. And not long after he retired, Franklin said he ballooned to 350 pounds.

Well, the 6-foot-6 Franklin now weighs 235. That’s a loss of 115 pounds.

“I was going to have my second child and I wanted to make sure I was going to be around for longevity,’’ Franklin said of the period not long after his retirement. “And I wanted to do all the things that my children wanted to and not complain and be perfectly fine with running up and down and jumping on the ground.”

So how did Franklin lose all that weight? He started walking five miles a day before he began to run. He went on the Paleo diet. Three years ago, he gave up alcohol.

Now, Franklin is the lightest he has been since early in his days of high school in Toronto. Franklin weighed 150 pounds as a freshman and was a basketball player until he realized he had a better shot of earning a college scholarship as a beefy offensive lineman.

“That summer (after freshman year), I drank a gallon of milk every day and I ate a whole loaf of bread every single day to go with sandwiches as well as two or three other meals,’’ said Franklin, a native of Jamaica who moved to Toronto at age 3 and later finished high school in Florida. “I gained about 50 pounds.’’

Franklin got up to 305 pounds before earning a scholarship to play at Miami from 2007-10. He was eventually listed in college at 326 pounds, although he sometimes weighed more.

After being a second-round pick in 2011, Franklin started all 63 games he played in his four Denver seasons. Franklin, who later played for the San Diego Chargers from 2015-16 before finishing his career with Washington in 2017, isn’t bashful when talking about his Broncos days.

“I think I was the best right tackle the Broncos had in the last three decades,’’ he said.

Considering his girth, it wasn’t surprising Franklin got the nickname “Big O.” But he said being very big often was uncomfortable.

“Nobody starts off their football career wanting to be an offensive lineman,’’ he said. “I think that everybody that ends up as an offensive lineman is somewhat to a certain extent self conscious about their weight.”

Now, though, Franklin is a svelte broadcaster. But he has no problem still being called “Big O” on the air.

“I put in a lot of work to create a certain brand, so I still feel really good about that aspect of my life even though I’m not as big as I once was,’’ he said.

***

Ndubuisi sees improvement

Defensive lineman Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi, a native of Nigeria, had little chance of making Denver’s 53-man roster but vows to continue to play football as long as he can.

Ndubuisi does not count against the 90-man roster limit due to his participation through the International Player Pathway Program. That exemption will end when regular-season rosters are set Tuesday but it’s possible he could end up on the Broncos’ practice squad.

“I want to keep going,’’ said Ndubuisi, who only has been playing football for five years, said of his future prospects. “I want to continue to learn and keep getting better and better.”

Ndubuisi was moved this year from the offensive to the defensive line. He said that has been an adjustment but he feels “way more better” from when he joined the team in March.

Ndubuisi said being on the Broncos has led to fans in Nigeria following the team.

“A lot of people look forward to the games we play,’’ he said. “They download the video and see what we do.”

Ndubuisi said some fans in Nigeria, which is 9 hours ahead of Denver, watch the preseason games live early in the morning.

***

What I’m thinking

The process of selecting senior candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame needs to be changed. When former Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar was named a senior finalist on Wednesday by a 12-member committee, his press conference had the makings of someone who definitely will be part of the class of 2024.

Gradishar still needs to get 80 percent of the vote in February from a full 50-member committee, and that is almost certain to happen. So why drag it out for another six months? Gradishar, as well as senior finalists Steve McMichael and Art Powell, should have been named as definite inductees.

***

What I’m Hearing

Undrafted running back Jaleel McLaughlin has tried to downplay his chances of making Denver’s 53-man roster. It says here will make it. And after Saturday’s 41-0 win over the Los Angeles Rams in the preseason finale, McLaughlin couldn’t deny his prospects are good.

“Just try to stack another day,’’ he said. “I don’t have any regrets, and that’s what I’m happy about.’’

Asked then if the wall of days McLaughlin has stacked up is high, he laughed and said, “Yeah.”

***

What I’m Seeing

Former Colorado State star Ryan Stonehouse set an NFL record last season for Tennessee by averaging 53.1 yards gross per punt. Perhaps the Broncos’ Riley Dixon will challenge it this season. Dixon, returning to Denver after an initial 2016-17 stint, averaged on eight preseason punts 54.5 yards gross and 44.0 net. After Dixon’s first punt of the preseason went for just 32 yards, he averaged a staggering 57.7 yards on his last seven boots.