UPDATE: The dates and times of the club's preseason matchups were finalized Thursday, April 18.
Click here for a photo gallery of the team's preseason opponents.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --Thursday marked the start of arguably the most exciting stretch in the NFL offseason.
In exactly three weeks, the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft will kick off, and the full regular-season slate for all 32 teams is expected to be announced somewhere in between. In addition, many players will be back in the building in a little more than a week for the start of the club's offseason conditioning program, signaling that training camp will arrive sooner than it seems.
But the excitement began with Thursday's announcement of the Broncos' 2013 preseason schedule.
Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers — Thursday, Aug. 8, 6 p.m. PDT (KUSA-TV)
Week 2: at Seattle Seahawks — Saturday, Aug. 17, 7 p.m. PDT (KUSA-TV)
Week 3: vs. St. Louis Rams — Saturday, Aug. 24, 6 p.m. MDT (Nationally televised on CBS)
Week 4: vs. Arizona Cardinals — Thursday, Aug. 29, 7 p.m. MDT (KUSA-TV)
It marks the 16th consecutive season the Broncos have opened the preseason on the road, extending the franchise record. The club's third game will be nationally broadcast for the fourth time in the last five years.
All four of Denver's opponents reside in the NFC West, and three are relatively familiar preseason foes.
San Francisco is Denver's most common preseason opponent, with this year's matchup representing the 35th between the two clubs. Arizona is Denver's second-most common preseason opponent, and the Broncos met the Seahawks as well in the 2011 and 2012 preseasons. This year marks the ninth preseason meeting between the Broncos and Rams -- the first since 1998.
The Broncos have won at least one preseason game in every year but one — the club's inaugural 1960 campaign. Denver owns a 127-114 (.527) all-time record in the preseason and has registered at least a .500 record in the preseason during 15 of the last 17 seasons.
For the 44th consecutive year, 850 KOA will broadcast all Broncos games as the team's radio-rights holder. For the third consecutive season, 9News KUSA will carry Denver's preseason games -- with the exception of the nationally televised game on CBS.
