ENGLEWOOD — Broncos fans at Empower Field on Saturday will see mostly backups in a preseason game against the Cardinals.

Coach Sean Payton explained the decision to rest the majority of starters following a joint practice Thursday with Arizona at Broncos Park. It’s related to their training camp schedule after Denver also had joint practice last week at the 49ers.

“Neither (Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon) or myself are going to play the number ones,” Payton said. “Now, there will be … five-to-six players that are on an eight-play pitch count that we consider number ones, but maybe have a lack of reps or for whatever reason. So, we’re really going to feature two phases. When I say the number twos, don’t read into that. Basically, we’re going to have a first half and a second half. But the front line … quarterback, corners, receivers — I’m going to sit those guys because of the uniqueness of two (joint practices) in a week’s time.”

Payton added that starters will play some in the preseason finale on Aug. 23 at the Saints; a game typically reserved for depth players.

“You’ll see practice Sunday,” Payton said. “Monday they’ll be off, and then Tuesday (in) pads, Wednesday (in) pads and Thursday (in) pads. I don’t want to hear any complaining. Friday, we fly to New Orleans and get ready to get good work in with the (Saints). Then we come back for another Sunday practice. (Roster) cutdown comes Tuesday (Aug. 26) and Wednesday.”

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QB decisions

The Broncos carried three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster a year ago with Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson. Will they do it again in 2025 with Nix, Stidham and Sam Ehlinger?

That is one of several challenging roster decisions looming for Payton and the coaching staff. Specifically, it might be difficult to get Ehlinger through waivers for the practice squad without him being claimed by another team.

“It’s a topic,” Payton said. “When we discuss these (decisions), we try to (analyze) how many players last year were claimed at quarterback? How many players were claimed as later-round picks? We get these percentages to help us predict. … We discuss those risks for long, long hours. You’re right on it. We discussed that.”

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Allen’s Arizona history

All-Pro defensive lineman Zach Allen started his career with the Cardinals as a third-round draft pick in 2019. Allen reconnected with old teammates on Thursday at joint practice with Arizona at Broncos Park.

“It was great,” Allen said. “I still have a lot of good friends there. It was fun to see them again, especially in this environment. It’s not like a preseason game where you only see them for so long. Here (at joint practice) it’s a little bit more extended. … They’ve got a great thing going there, so it was really cool to do it again.”

Allen declined to give many specifics on how the defense performed overall against the Cardinals.

“It’s still pretty fresh,” Allen said. “Watching film will be the most important thing. Days like this, there is always some good and some bad. We’ll see. We probably wanted to come out a little faster. But we’ll watch the film and see what we could do better.”

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Engram talks Nix

Tight end Evan Engram, acquired in free agency, is building a strong bond with Nix.

“I’m his ‘yes man.’ Whatever he needs (and) whatever he sees,” Engram said of Nix. “He’s very open to conversation and just getting to know his vision of ball, and he asks questions about mine. It’s very cohesive. I think just the way he works and his mindset … I definitely think he can have a lot of success this year.”