ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- With a six-game losing streak and 3-7 record hanging over them, the Denver Broncos haven't brought a whole lot of cheer into the start of the holiday season.
The Broncos released a former draft pick, cornerback Lorenzo Doss, on Thanksgiving for being late for a meeting, and practice hours later featured two skirmishes, including one with cornerback Chris Harris Jr. and rookie wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie.
So, that all means in the past nine days the Broncos have released three players, been called "a little bit soft'' by president of football operations/general manager John Elway, fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and benched their second quarterback of the season to give Paxton Lynch the start Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
Doss, who has had previous issues with being on time, was a fifth-round pick by the Broncos in the 2015 draft. He was waived Thursday morning before what was described by several players as one the team's most heated practices of the season. Doss, outside linebacker Kasim Edebali and tight end A.J. Derby have been waived by the Broncos in the past nine days.
Derby, who led the team's tight ends in catches and was tied for the team lead in touchdown catches when he was released, was waived with a shoulder injury. Broncos coach Vance Joseph was succinct when he addressed Doss' fate after Thursday's practice.
"We're just trying to get better as a football team, simply put,'' Joseph said.
Doss has played in just three games this season and has been a game-day inactive for the other seven.
Joseph did not address the team's practice immediately following the workout. In the locker room following practice, running back C.J. Anderson spent several minutes speaking to McKenzie.
Elway spent several minutes right after the practice talking to cornerback Aqib Talib, who is one of the team's captains.
Harris has been one of the most vocal players about the Broncos' need to play with a little more emotion. He also said of Elway's comments, made last Friday night, that "everybody in this organization is accountable for how we're playing right now.''
Harris also said about the mood of the team: "It's not a good mood at all, we lost seven straight, it's not a good mood at all.''
The Broncos have not had a seven-game losing streak since 1967, when the team had a nine-game losing streak and finished 3-11.