Denver Broncos wide receiver Eddie Royal is back with the team after recovering from February hip surgery. He is expected to start opposite Brandon Lloyd this season.
Speaking about the injury for the first time, Royal said that the injury occurred during the season opener with the Jacksonville Jaguars (via the Denver Post):
"Like, first play coming out of the rain delay we had," Royal said. "I made a quick move. (I hate) that it happened, but I'm past it now."
However, it took Royal and the training a little while to figure this out. But Royal was committed to getting back to the field as soon as he could, which meant he took to an aggressive rehab program.
Royal had been used in Josh McDaniels' three wide receiver sets, but John Fox and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy will move away from that. That's what made it easy to trade Jabar Gaffney to the Redskins for Jeremy Jarmon. While Royal is the starter at the moment, watch out for second-year receiver Eric Decker to challenge him throughout camp.
Royal and Decker figure to be the secondary targets while Brandon Lloyd remains the main threat. Demaryius Thomas is out for at least several more weeks while he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon.
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