Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton spoke out Friday about Josh Reynolds’ “shaken” condition after the wide receiver was shot last week.
The Broncos player was shot in the head after leaving a local strip club in the early hours of October 18, police confirmed on Thursday.
Reynolds, who is currently on injured reserve after undergoing finger surgery earlier this month, was one of two men injured in the shooting, which took place outside Shotgun Willie’s, a strip club in Glendale, Colorado.
Payton gave a brief update on the 29-year-old and admitted that Reynolds was saddened by the ordeal.
‘Josh Reynolds was involved in a very serious incident last week. …I’m a bit like you where I have the first details, [but] he’s lucky,” Payton said after Friday’s practice, via ESPN. “I had a chance to talk to him, he was quite upset.”
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton (L) spoke out about the ‘shaken’ condition of Josh Reynolds (R)
The coach insisted the franchise would make as many resources as needed available to Reynolds in the coming weeks, including counseling.
“They all play a role,” Payton said, also revealing that he had spoken to the rest of the team about the incident.
Reynolds and two male acquaintances were at Shotgun Willie’s in Glendale, Colorado, until almost 3 a.m. on the morning of October 18.
Shortly after they left, police were called to a reported shooting in the area and eventually found Reynolds, who was hit in the back of the head and left arm, according to Denver’s NBC affiliate.
No one was seriously injured in the shooting and Reynolds and another man were treated at a local hospital for minor injuries before being released.
Two men have been arrested in the case, Burr Charlesworth and Luis Mendoza, both of whom are being held “for investigation of” attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault, a police statement said.
Police received a 911 call around 3 a.m. on Oct. 18 near East Hampden Avenue and South Dahlia Street in Denver’s Southmoor Park neighborhood.
The caller, who said he was driving a blue Ford Bronco, claimed to have been shot.
Police discovered the victims’ abandoned Bronco (pictured) which suffered bullet damage
The victims’ blue Ford Bronco appeared to have sustained significant bullet damage
The 911 operator reported that at one point the caller became unresponsive and sounded like they were running.
Another 911 caller said he was being followed and a third claimed they too had been shot, according to 9NEWS.
Responding officers found three victims: Reynolds, a man who was shot in the back, and another man who was injured by broken glass.
Police discovered the victims’ abandoned Ford Bronco riddled with bullet holes along a Denver highway. It is unclear if the vehicle belonged to Reynolds and if he was driving at the time of the shooting. According to police, the circumstances of the shooting are still unclear.
The victims had reportedly been at Shotgun Willies, a strip club in Glendale, Colorado.
NBA fans will remember that club from a 2023 incident involving Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, who was recorded flashing on the court. Morant would ultimately serve a lengthy suspension for that incident and others.
Reynolds signed a two-year, $9 million deal with the Broncos in free agency last April.
He hasn’t played since breaking a finger on a nine-yard touchdown catch in the Broncos’ Week 5 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Reynolds was reportedly at a strip club called Shotgun Willie’s earlier in the evening
Reynolds, a native of San Antonio who played college football at Texas A&M, was picked by the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
He has 232 catches for 3,116 yards and 20 touchdowns during stints with the Rams, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions and Broncos.
Reynolds isn’t the first Broncos player to be shot in Denver.
Cornerback Darrent Williams was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting in January 2007 as he left a New Year’s Eve party hosted by then-Denver Nuggets star Kenyon Martin.