ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- As the Denver Broncos players went through meetings Wednesday morning at their suburban complex, defensive end Antonio Smith was not among them.
The Broncos held the first practice of their organized team activities Wednesday. Broncos officials, after several discussions with Smith, agreed with Smith that the best course of action would be for Smith not to attend the OTAs, which are voluntary for players.
Smith is under investigation in Texas for a criminal allegation a Fort Bend County Sheriff has publicly described as "sexual in nature." Smith has not been arrested and charges have not been filed. The investigation was first reported by TMZ.
Elway has spoken to Smith on several occasions since the investigation became public last week. Multiple team sources said Wednesday morning that Elway had met with coach Gary Kubiak and team CEO Joe Ellis on the matter, and that the decision was made that Smith should not attend the team's offseason program as Smith deals with the investigation. Elway and Kubiak have each spoken to Smith on multiple occasions.
"I talked to Antonio last Wednesday night, late last Wednesday night," Kubiak said Wednesday after practice, "and he informed me ... what the situation was and there was something obviously fixing to come about him, he informed me about it. ... I talked to him numerous times, spent a lot of time with [Elway] and [Ellis], and [Tuesday] we met again. And bottom line, between us and Antonio, both of us felt like the best thing to do was for Antonio to devote all of his energy and time right now to this situation."
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls has said publicly a complaint was made against Smith in November, when he was still with the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders released him in March, shortly before he was signed by the Broncos. After its investigation, the sheriff's office forwarded its findings to the county district attorney's office in February.
"It's our understanding and I don't know that I'm right, but it's our understanding maybe we'll have some answers in a week or two and I hope that's the case," Kubiak said Wednesday.
District Attorney John Healey released a statement last Friday that an investigation was "ongoing," and that the "complaint is at this point an allegation only."
If charges are filed against Smith, his future with the Broncos would likely be in jeopardy, though Kubiak cautioned against a premature rush to judgment.
"We're going to take our time to do it the right way," Kubiak said. "And hopefully we have some answers coming soon."
Smith, 33, signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Broncos on April 2. Smith has played for Kubiak, Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and Broncos defensive line coach Bill Kollar when all were with the Houston Texans.
The Broncos released a statement last week saying they were unaware of the investigation involving Smith until last Wednesday when the original report became public, although the investigation started in November.
Kubiak said he would have liked to have known about the situation earlier but downplayed the impact of the timing.
"I would have loved to have had all of the information -- yes, at some point," Kubiak said. "But that's come and gone. It's time right now to do the right thing and go about it each day the right way. I'm past that, OK? Right now just trying to proceed with the football team. ... We need to stay focused on that, and he needs to stay focused on his situation."
The Broncos are scheduled for OTA workouts, including their mandatory minicamp, over the next four weeks.