| | Associated Press
DENVER -- In the face of mounting evidence that Steve Young
will retire rather than resume his career in Denver, the Broncos
offered brief, conditional tributes on Thursday, then got back to
work at their minicamp.
"If that is the case, I wish him well," said Broncos wide
receiver Ed McCaffrey, who was Young's teammate in San Francisco in
1994.
"I'm sure it's been a tough decision for Steve, because he's an
unbelievable athlete, a very smart guy, and football is his
passion," McCaffrey added. "Thank goodness he has many talents.
I'm sure he'll be successful in whatever he does after football.
But it's tough for anybody to give it up."
Asked if the Young saga has been a distraction, McCaffrey said,
"It's interesting, but I don't think it really has any impact on
what we've been doing out on the field."
Two 49ers sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the
Associated Press that the Hall of Fame-bound quarterback will
announce his retirement on Monday.
Denver tight end Byron Chamberlain said he never counted on
Young being a Bronco.
"We're dealing with the guys we have here, not in hope and
possibilities," Chamberlain said. "I'm ready to roll with (Brian)
Griese. I know he's learned a lot from his first season, and he's
anxious to come in and show he has improved."
Griese, who has tried to remain unruffled by the speculation
about Young, insisted he wasn't bothered by the Broncos' attempts
to woo Young.
"That's their job," he said. "It's not my place to tell them
what to do. It doesn't bother me at all. Like I said before, if
Steve came, I was looking forward to meeting him. I don't know
whether he's coming or not. Either way, I wouldn't have been angry
or been in a situation where I was going to be vindictive."
Griese also maintained that the Young courtship hasn't hurt his
confidence.
After three days of minicamp, he said, "I feel a lot more
comfortable (with his teammates and the offense). I realize what I
have to do now. That wasn't the case last year. I've learned a lot.
As far as my teammates are concerned, hopefully they feel more
comfortable with me. I think they do."
Gus Frerotte, slated to be Griese's backup, said he and Griese
"didn't stop working because Steve was going to come here or he
wasn't going to come. We kept working hard. I don't think too many
people really thought about it because there was a lot of
speculation and a lot of rumors. So we went about our business."
Asked about his reaction to Young's reported retirement,
Frerotte said, "I'm happy for him. It was probably a hard decision
for him to make. If that's true, it's good for him. Good for me,
too."
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who met with Young for about two
hours Monday at a Denver hotel, decline comment again Thursday,
even though Shanahan said Tuesday he had "a strong feeling of what
(Young) is going to do."
"As I said before, we'll wait until Steve makes an
announcement," Shanahan said Thursday.
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