Sean Payton breaks silence on Josh Reynolds after star was shot

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton spoke out on 'shaken' Josh Reynolds' condition Friday after the wide receiver was shot last week. The Broncos player took a bullet to the head after leaving a local strip club in the early hours of October 18, police confirmed 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 of Shotgun Willie's, a strip club in Glendale, Colorado. Payton provided a brief update on the 29-year-old, admitting that Reynolds was left distressed by the ordeal. 'Josh Reynolds last week was involved in a very serious incident. ... I'm kind of like you where I've got the initial details, [but] he's fortunate,' Payton said after Friday's practice, via ESPN. 'I've had a chance to talk with him, he was pretty shaken up.' The coach insisted that the franchise would make as many resources as needed available to Reynolds in the coming weeks, including counseling. 'They go into play, all of it,' Payton said as he also revealed that he had addressed the rest of the team about the incident. Reynolds and two male acquaintances were at Shotgun Willie's in Glendale, Colorado until nearly 3 am the morning of October 18. Shortly after they left, police were called to a reported shooting in the area and ultimately found Reynolds, who was hit in the back of his head and his left arm, according to Denver's NBC affiliate . Nobody was seriously hurt in the shooting and Reynolds and another man were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital 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, according to a police statement. Police received an emergency call near East Hampden Avenue and South Dahlia Street in Denver's Southmoor Park neighborhood at around 3am on October 18. The caller, who said he was driving a blue Ford Bronco, claimed to have been shot. The 911 operator reported that the caller stopped responding at one point and sounded as if 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 his back, and another man who was wounded by shattered glass. Police discovered the victims' abandoned Ford Bronco, which was left riddled with bullet holes along a Denver Interstate. It's unclear if the vehicle belonged to Reynolds and if he was driving at the time of the shooting. Police say the circumstances of the shooting remain 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 premises. Morant would ultimately serve a lengthy suspension over that incident and others. Reynolds signed a two-year, $9 million deal with the Broncos in free agency this past April. He has not played since he fractured a finger on a nine-yard touchdown catch in the Broncos' Week 5 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. A San Antonio native who played college football at Texas A&M, Reynolds 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 over stints with the Rams, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions and Broncos. Reynolds is not the first Broncos player to be shot in Denver. Cornerback Darrent Williams was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting in January of 2007 as he was leaving a New Year's Eve party hosted by then-Denver Nuggets star Kenyon Martin.