[sigallery id=”AbALxa3zxVBxuC4EKM87vR” title=”Broncos Opening Night” type=”sigallery”]
Last summer, Denver Broncos rookie receiver Jordan Taylor turned heads during training camp. He wasn’t able to make Denver’s crowded 53-man roster, but he did land on the team’s practice squad.
The 6-5, 210-pound receiver from Rice has been on the team’s practice squad all year, and when starting quarterback Peyton Manning needed to rehab from injury, Taylor ran routes and caught passes for him.
“The workouts were really intense,” Taylor told the Denver Post‘s Troy Renck in December.
Earlier this month, KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis called Taylor “Manning’s favorite private receiver” after the quarterback told media members to watch for Taylor in 2016.
“Initially when he asked me to come out there with him to get some extra throws with him when he was first injured, I was happy to jump out there and do whatever he wanted me to do,” Taylor told Klis.
“We got four weeks into it eventually. It was great to see him progress day by day and week by week and then see him get back out there.”
Now Manning and the Broncos are preparing to face the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. As a practice squad player, Taylor will travel with the team, but he will not be eligible to play in the game.
Denver’s active players received $71,000 in bonuses for winning in the Divisional Playoffs and AFC Championship, according to Klis. Taylor only receives a $6,600 weekly playoff salary.
Manning showed his appreciation for Taylor by getting him fitted for a custom suit and buying it for him, according to the Denver Post‘s Nicki Jhabvala.
Here’s Taylor in the suit, courtesy of team multimedia journalist Phil Milani:
Called ‘Sunshine’ by Manning and his teammates, Taylor caught 175 passes for 2,585 yards and 20 touchdowns while at Rice.
Taylor will turn 24 on Feb. 18.
Story update: USA TODAY’s Lindsay H. Jones wrote on Tuesday that Taylor asked Manning for a hand-me-down suit:
“He texts me back and all he said was, ‘I’ll get you set up,’” Taylor told USA TODAY Sports. “I didn’t know what that meant.”
What it meant was Taylor was about to receive his first custom suit. Manning’s suit guy showed up at the team facility in Englewood, Colo. the next day and took all of Taylor’s measurements. The suit and a pair of shirts and ties arrived in time for the team’s Sunday departure, and Taylor proudly wore the fitted gray suit – complete with an orange-and-blue tie and blue-and-white pocket square – on the team flight.
