Broncos’ Mike McGlinchey leaves practice early ahead of training camp

A day after the Broncos began training camp with full attendance and “one of the cleaner report dates that I can recall relative to (health),” according to head coach Sean Payton, Thursday featured the first player absence.

Right tackle Mike McGlinchey left practice after stretching and didn’t return. An exact reason for his absence wasn’t clear, as Payton didn’t speak with reporters after practice.

Whether McGlinchey’s back Friday or the absence lingers, Thursday highlighted two truths about Denver’s offensive line. First, that the group has so much continuity and history together, it can likely get ready for the regular season even if it’s not a perfectly healthy camp.

Also, however: The unit is so central to the Broncos’ offensive identity that the idea of a run of injuries or a substantial loss is daunting.

That’s far from the case at present, of course. At present, it’s a group that’s confident about being in the upper echelon this fall.

“We can just pick up right where we left off,” right guard Quinn Meinerz told reporters. “All of our calls that we’ve developed throughout the years, we already kind of know what to do. We can move through our installs faster and we can get into more detailed work and more technique stuff. A lot of the stuff that we’ve been building through the foundation is something we don’t have to really think about anymore.

“There’s still a lot of details and finishing to do with this group, so I’m excited to keep working every day.”

Fans on deck: When the Broncos hit the practice field Friday morning, fans will be in attendance. Denver’s got temporary seating for about 800 set up as a way to ensure fans can continue to see camp through the construction of the club’s new headquarters and training facility.

“I’m excited to see all that orange,” said safety Talanoa Hufanga, who signed with the Broncos as a free agent this spring. “I know they fill it up. I know that we have the construction or else there’d be more fans out here, but I’m very excited and very blessed to be here.”

Other notables

• Rookie outside linebacker Que Robinson showed flashes of pass-rush ability throughout the offseason program and that’s continued each of the first two acclimation practices of camp. He’s regularly been a pain for Denver’s tackles to deal with off the edge. Robinson is long and rangy but not the most physically imposing, so it will be interesting to see how he fares when the pads come on. If he keeps producing like he has the past few days, look out.

The second wave of edge players, in general, is off to a good start. Dondrea Tillman and Jonah Elliss have also been regulars in the backfield.

• Undrafted rookie wide receiver Joaquin Davis is one to watch. At 6-foot-4, he’s got athleticism that can’t be taught. He’s got a long way to go, and it will not be easy to crack the 53-man roster given Denver’s receiver group, but Davis made a couple of plays Thursday that stood out.

• Hufanga had a humorous thought when asked about the idea of going back to San Francisco in a couple of weeks for the teams’ joint practice on Aug. 7 and preseason game Aug. 9.

The return will be an emotional one for him and for inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw, even though the stakes are relatively low.

All the same, Hufanga has a welcome-back idea at the ready.