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Sean Payton full of praise for new play caller Davis Webb: 'He has a gift'
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- Sean Payton full of praise for new play caller Davis Webb: 'He has a gift'
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton confirmed at the NFL combine this week that newly-promoted offensive coordinator Davis Webb will call the team's offensive plays in 2026.
It's a big change for Payton, who has handled play-calling for most of his career, but at age 62, he has acknowledged that his play-calling is not as fast as it once was. Still, Payton wouldn't hand over the duties to just anyone.
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"With regards to play calling, it's something that he'll be really good at it," Payton said of Webb. "Man, it's like, 'Would you give up play calling?' I would only do that if I felt like it would help our team. I'll still be involved with what we do offensively, just like what we do defensively. But I do think he has a gift. He's real sharp. I'm glad he's on our staff.
"Typically, any decision we make like that is to benefit our team. So listen, I'm looking forward to it. I challenged him in the offseason prior to that preseason game [in which Davis called plays]. He did a good job. I think it will help us, and certainly, I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it was going to help our team win. You get to a point where you're focused strictly on improving your team any way you can."
Payton noted that he will still be involved in play calling on game days, and he joked that the bad plays will be his calls and the good plays will be Webb's calls.
"I'm sure there are going to be times where I say, 'This is what I want to run,'" Payton said. "But there's trust there. There's trust with his ability and trust in our relationship."
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George Paton, the team's general manager, said Payton's decision reflects well on Davis.
"The cool thing is that he [Payton] is one of the best to ever call [plays], and yet he is going to let this young up-and-comer [do it]. That just goes to show you how much he believes in Davis."
Webb called plays for one preseason game last summer, and Payton praised him for his fast, efficient play-calling following a win. Now, Webb's taking over for the games that count.
"I think it's going to help our team, and I'll do everything I can to support him," Payton said. "It's something that I wouldn't do if I didn't think would help."
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: NFL: Broncos HC Sean Payton confident in new play caller Davis Webb
