Niko loses linebacker battle

Citizen photo by Nick Carroll

Niko Koutouvides greets fans last month at the General Electric/Petit Family Foundation 5K Road Race in Plainville.

Niko Koutouvides' dream to earn a starting job in the National Football League is still on hold.

The Denver Broncos announced this week that Koutouvides, a Plainville High School alumnus, will begin the season as the backup to starting middle linebacker Nate Webster.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan told reporters the competition between Koutouvides and Webster was "nip and tuck" throughout the preseason.

Koutouvides, who signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract in March, told The Denver Post: "I was doing my job. I just wasn't making a lot of plays out there. I felt like if I could have made more plays it probably would have helped me out more. I'm not going to sit here and give you a bunch of excuses. You've got two guys competing and one guy wins, you've got to deal with it."

Webster is in his ninth year out of the University of Miami. Koutouvides is in his fifth year out of Purdue University.

Koutouvides spent his first four NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks where he was a special teams ace and a backup at middle linebacker.