Denver Broncos rookie RB Audric Estime warmly greeted in debut (2024)

It’s 152 miles from Notre Dame Stadium to Lucas Oil Stadium, but it seemed even closer Sunday for Audric Estime.

On Sunday in Indianapolis, the Broncos' rookie running back played his first NFL preseason game in the state where he starred in college at Notre Dame. He was greeted by a good number of folks loyal to the South Bend, Ind., school.

“I saw a lot of Notre Dame jerseys and a lot of people scream my name and 'Go Irish,'" Estime said. “So it was good to be back in Indiana.”

Estime’s fans saw the fifth-round draft pick carry 10 times for a team-high 31 yards and catch three passes for 13 yards in a 34-30 win over the Colts. He scored on a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

“It definitely felt great,’’ Estime said of his debut. “It was a dream come true to go out there and play in front of my family and friends.”

Then again, it wasn’t all great. In the third quarter, Estime lost a fumble that Colts cornerback Micah Abraham ran back 45 yards for a touchdown.

But Estime wasn’t yanked from the game. He returned for Denver’s next drive and had runs of 6 and 8 yards on his next two carries.

“It’s just learning,’’ he said. “Rookie mistakes. It definitely felt good to finally get that over with, so it won’t happen in the season. I’m just playing one play at a time. Bad play, but I was back in the next drive and we had a scoring drive right after that. So that was a good way to bounce back from that.”

Fumbling was quite rare for Estime at Notre Dame, where he rushed for 1,341 yards last season. He fumbled just once in his final 18 college games.

“Unfortunately, (the Colts) do a good job of holding players up, stripping the ball,’’ said Broncos coach Sean Payton. “That was Audric’s turnover.”

Otherwise, there were a number of positives for the 5-foot-11, 227-pound Estime in his debut. On Denver’s first drive of the second half, he ran 2 yards for a first down on fourth-and-1 at the Colts' 4. Then he went up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown run on the next play to give the Broncos a 20-10 lead.

“Audric is amazing,’’ said Broncos wide receiver Brandon Johnson. “You see how strong he is. He runs like that. He runs strong. I’m excited to see what he keeps doing.”

Estime has been considered a candidate to beat out Javonte Williams to be Denver’s feature back, but that prospect became more difficult after the incumbent lost 11 pounds prior to training camp and returned as a shiftier runner. Williams on Sunday had four carries for 15 yards.

Estime could beat out 5-11, 235-pound Samaje Perine to be Denver’s big back. Perine didn’t help his cause against the Colts by bobbling in the first quarter what should have been an easy reception from Jarrett Stidham and having it picked off by cornerback Kenny Moore. The Broncos would save $3 million on th salary cap by releasing Perine by the Aug. 27 deadline to get down to the initial 53-man roster limit.

Estime wasn’t the only Denver rookie running back to reach the end zone Sunday. Blake Watson, who was undrafted out of Memphis and at the minimum could be on the Broncos’ practice squad, carried nine times for 26 yards and had a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He also had a 33-yard reception in the fourth quarter from Zach Wilson for Denver’s longest play of the game.

“He’s electric,’’ Estime said. “It’s really good. We always push each other. I’ve grown to become friends with him off the field, so it’s really good to see him (have) success.”

As for Estime, he said after the win over the Colts he was ready to “flush it” and move on to Sunday’s preseason home opener against Green Bay.

“I felt like I did some good things, but definitely need a lot of improvement," he said.

The Broncos open the regular season Sept. 8 at Seattle, and in Week 4 Estime could have another homecoming. The Broncos on Sept. 29 face the New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J., 20 miles south of Estime's high school, Saint Joseph Regional, in Montvale, N.J.