Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders continues to recover from a torn Achilles tendon suffered during an early December practice.
There are positive signs on his rehabilitation process, though, as he worked on lateral movement and going 100 percent at straight-line speed with trainers Tuesday.
The latter category provided plenty of encouragement for the ninth-year pro.
"Once they told me I hit 19.2 [miles per hour] and it's only four months in, I was like, 'All right, I still got it,'" Sanders said, via Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official website.
Still, there is no timetable on when Sanders, who added "I feel good" when running at full speed, will be ready to run routes or participate in team-related drills when the Broncos open training camp later in the summer.
"We'll see," he said. "You know how the trainers are. We're not going to put a date on anything. We're just going to take it one day at a time. Hopefully I'm back out there by then, but if I'm not, I'm not going to rush it. I'm going to take my time and make sure I'm 100 percent by the time I get on the field."
In the meantime, the Broncos aren't likely to rush Sanders' recovery. Before going down for the 2018 season, Sanders led the team in receiving with 71 catches for 868 yards and four touchdowns.
The best-case scenario is for the team to take it slowly to ensure Sanders is ready for the regular season when games matter.
Sanders also has extra incentive to ensure he is 100 percent ready for the regular season. The 32-year-old wide receiver enters the final year of his contract, which pays a base salary of $10.1 million.
