2017 HOME, ROAD OPPONENTS SET

The dates aren’t scheduled yet, but the Broncos home and road opponents are set for 2017.

Next season, the Broncos will host the Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers, Patriots, Jets, Cowboys, Bengals and Giants.

And they’ll hit the road to take on the Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers, Bills, Dolphins, Eagles, Redskins and either the Titans or Colts, whichever of those finishes third in AFC South.

Injury updates.

Safety T.J. Ward, who remains in the concussion protocol, attended the team’s walkthrough but did not participate. Tight end A.J. Derby (concussion) and defensive end Derek Wolfe, who suffered another neck injury in the Broncos’ loss at Kansas City on Sunday, did not attend.

Tight end Virgil Green and inside linebacker Brandon Marshall (hamstring) both participated on a limited basis.

Asked whether Marshall had a good chance of playing Sunday, coach Gary Kubiak said: “I don’t know. We’re really light in what we’re doing this week. It’s just good to have him back on the field. I wanted to end the year with getting him back on the field. Whether he plays or not, we’ll see.”

Sanders’ take.

Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders topped 1,000 yards receiving for the third consecutive year, but his assessment of what went wrong this season is brutally honest without pinpointing one unit or player.

“I’m going to tell you, first and foremost, the only thing that happened this season is that we blew it as a team,” he said. “Offensively, defensively, as a special teams unit, we didn’t handle business. We didn’t make the playoffs. That’s exactly what it is, and we have to come back next year stronger and have way more camaraderie as a team and keep advancing and try to win it all again.”

Although focus has shifted to 2017, Sanders said he’s eager for a respite from the game.

“Right now, I just want to take a break from football,” he said. “At this point, you just have to take your mind away from football for three or four months and just recover and rejuvenate. That’s what I’m going to do.”

Elway talks QBs.

In his weekly interview on the team’s website, Broncos general manager John Elway echoed what Gary Kubiak said earlier in that Trevor Siemian deserved to start Sunday in the season finale against Oakland.

“He’s been our starter the whole year, and he deserves the start, and I think it gives us the opportunity to get Paxton in there and give him some playing time because he’s a young guy that needs that valuable experience,” Elway said. “With the way the situation is, this is a good time for us to get him in. We’ll see them both, and hopefully with that combination, we can get a win and do some good things offensively.”