Miller being “brutally honest”

Von Miller insists he relishes difficult conversations with teammates. It’s an integral part of a captain’s role, and it’s one the Broncos’ Pro Bowl linebacker takes seriously.

“I love telling people uncomfortable stuff,” Miller said. “I love keeping it brutally honest. I think that’s one of my best characteristics. I love keeping it brutally honest with not only my teammates but my family. I just like keeping it real. I guess it’s a little sick feeling I get from that, telling people the truth.”

There have been more “brutally honest” talks required of Miller in 2017 than at perhaps any previous time during his seven-year career. As he has begun to take stock of his second straight season without a playoff appearance, the Super Bowl 50 MVP said Thursday that he’s not sugarcoating where his team stands heading into a vital offseason.

“If you look at the leadership we have here, not going to the playoffs two (consecutive) times is just not going to ride,” Miller said. “There’s going to be some drastic changes this offseason, and I’m up for it. I want to get back into the mold of being competitive and winning.”

The Broncos still have a chance to end the season as the NFL’s best defense in terms of average yards allowed per game. But Miller said that wouldn’t obscure the fact that Denver’s defense, the backbone of the championship team in 2015, must prove itself all over again.

“We didn’t win this year, so you can’t really call it a championship defense,” he said. “We’d still be living in the past if I said we were still a championship defense. We still have a really good defense that can win championships. Yes, we do have that. We’ve just got to build on that. I think we will.”

Wide receivers still out.

The Broncos could be thin at wide receiver Sunday for the second week in a row.

Emmanuel Sanders (ankle) and Cody Latimer (thigh) were held out of practice Thursday, the second straight session they have missed this week. Neither player made the trip to Washington with the Broncos last weekend, and both are still “really sore,” coach Vance Joseph said Thursday.

The Broncos had only four active wide receivers against the Redskins — Demaryius Thomas, Bennie Fowler, Jordan Taylor and Isaiah McKenzie — and compensated with a larger volume of multiple-tight end sets. Joseph said the same four receivers would be active if Sanders and Latimer are unable to suit up Sunday.

Defensive end Zach Kerr (ankle) was also held out of practice Thursday, as was offensive tackle Elijah Wilkinson (illness). Offensive tackle Donald Stephenson (hand) and linebacker Joe Jones (Achilles) were limited participants in Thursday’s workout.

No regrets for Butt.

Broncos tight end Jake Butt has no interest in being used as a cautionary tale.

Butt suffered an ACL tear during his last game at Michigan — last season’s Orange Bowl against Florida State. Butt was projected by some as a second-round prospect before the injury, but the setback kept him from being drafted until the fifth round. Butt was unable to get on the field this season and was placed on injured reserve by the Broncos last month.

Butt still has no regrets about his decision to play in a bowl game during the season in which first-round prospects Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette skipped their teams’ postseason games.

In an article he wrote that was published Thursday in the Players’ Tribune, Butt shared a message with future prospects weighing the same decision.

“Trust your gut,” Butt wrote. “Talk to the people around you — the people you trust — and lean on them for guidance. But at the end of the day, trust your gut and do what you feel is best for you. Also … don’t make your decision out of fear. Don’t let what happened to me scare you into not playing in a game that means something to you.”

Honoring Clady.

The Broncos will honor former offensive tackle Ryan Clady, an all-pro selection three times in his seven seasons with Denver, during Sunday’s season finale against the Chiefs.

Clady, who will serve as an honorary captain and will be recognized on the field during a break in the first quarter, started 98 regular-season games and four playoff games with the Broncos.

“He was a dominant tackle in general,” said Miller, a teammate of Clady’s from 2011-14. “I just remember him locking up some of the best. … I don’t think he got enough credit for that.”