**
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. —** The Broncos' team captains for the 2015 season will be Peyton Manning on offense, DeMarcus Ware on defense and David Bruton Jr. on special teams. There will also be captains picked on a week-to-week basis.
"I know it's very important," Kubiak said, "and those guys have been leaders on this team for a while now. So I don't think it's surprising that their teammates see them as leaders."
This is Manning's 14th year as a team captain (fourth as a Broncos team captain), Ware's seventh (second as a Broncos captain) and Bruton's third (all with the Broncos). Though this may not be a new honor for them, that doesn't diminish the meaning in the slightest for them.
"It's certainly an honor. It's not something that you take for granted," Manning said. "We voted today, and it's kind of been a process since April. There's a lot of new players and new coaches. I've always thought for any player, one of his first priorities is to try to earn the respect of your teammates and of your coaches. And since there are new ones every year—certainly new players, there's always some new assistant coaches, obviously this year, quite a lot of changes in the coaching staff—that's what you want to do as a player: earn their respect. So it was a nice honor when I heard that news today."
Quarterback and wide receiver drills lead off our practice gallery as the Broncos continue preparation for Sunday's season opener against the Ravens.
Kubiak announced the captains after Wednesday's practice, and added that the team will have weekly captains.
"We'll also do weekly captains once we get going," Kubiak said. "I think that's important because you've got a chance as a coach to kind of lift up guys that are performing well, guys that have stepped up and you never know when you start a season, who's going to be surprise guys that do well for you at certain times in the year that become leaders on your team. So we'll do it both ways."
Offense
QB Peyton Manning (14th season as team captain—4th as Broncos captain) – Entering his 18th NFL season, the NFL's only five-time MVP was named a team captain during each of his first four years with Denver and in each of his final 10 seasons with Indianapolis.
Defense
OLB DeMarcus Ware (7th season as team captain—2nd as Broncos captain) – The eight-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro First Team selection enters his second year with Denver needing just 10 sacks to move into the Top 10 all-time in NFL history.
Special Teams
S David Bruton (3rd season as team captain) – The seventh-year safety, who has amassed 43 special-teams tackles since he was drafted by the club in 2009, is the longest-tenured player on Denver's active roster.
