Gut Reaction: Broncos Waive 5 Players
Gut Reaction: Broncos Waive 5 Players: The Denver Broncos have until Tuesday at 2:00 pm Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) to reduce their roster from its present size of 90 players to 85 players.
We are a little more than an hour away from the end of the contest, and we already know which five players were given their release papers.
The NFL’s head coaches and general managers have to deal with it on a daily basis, and it’s the single most frustrating aspect of their jobs. But, sadly, you can’t keep each and every one of them.
Who did the Broncos cut, and what can we learn from each of the positions that were eliminated? Let’s dive in.
Max Borghi
Borghi is a rookie who went undrafted and was a standout student at a nearby prep school. After Damarea Crockett sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament and Melvin Gordon was managing a foot injury that held him out of practice, the Broncos decided to sign him the previous week.
Reaction: Despite how cool it would have been to see Borghi follow in the historic footsteps of another Colorado star who made it big in Denver, the odds of him replicating Phillip Lindsay’s early success with the Broncos were always slim.
However, it would have been cool to see Borghi follow in the historic footsteps of another Colorado star who made it big in Denver.
Borghi had five touches for a total of nine yards in the first preseason game, which was not enough to justify the Broncos carrying him beyond Tuesday’s deadline. The Broncos needed a body to keep things moving during practice, and Borghi’s performance did not justify doing so.
Kaden Davis
Davis arrived in Denver shortly after the draught having been signed as a college free agent after playing wide receiver for Missouri State. He was brought in to strengthen a wide receiving squad that was already a strength for the Broncos.
Davis was unable to stay up with some of the other young wideouts who have managed to shine and climb Denver’s depth chart this summer. As a result, this cut does not come as a surprise, despite the fact that it is unfortunate. Here’s hoping that he gets back on his feet after this.
Travis Fulgham
In January, Fulgham was given a futures and reserves deal by the Denver Broncos. He came to Denver with some previous experience in the NFL. In 2021, he was a member of three separate clubs at the same time.
The situation with Fulgham is very similar to the one with Davis; he did not perform well enough this summer to compete with the plethora of ‘risers’ who play wide receiver. Even after Tim Patrick suffered an injury that would ruin his season in the middle of training camp, Fulgham was only able to maintain his position as other receivers such as Montrell Washington, Brandon Johnson, Seth Williams, and Kendall Hinton rose to the challenge.
Jamar Johnson
Johnson was selected by the general manager for the first time in the fifth round of the previous year’s draught.
Johnson was unable to demonstrate the level of physicality and tackling reliability that was required of him by the coaches, despite the fact that he led the Broncos in tackles during the first preseason game and had the best overall season as a rookie.
Reaction: Johnson was known as a ball-hawk at Indiana, but what he brought to the table in coverage and as a football predator was overshadowed by his awful tackling abilities.
Johnson left Indiana with a reputation for being a ballhawk. Caden Sterns, Johnson’s draught classmate, was able to establish a job on defense as a rookie for Denver and eventually became the team’s No. 3 safety, while Johnson struggled.
In the meantime, the Broncos strengthened their safety unit over the offseason by acquiring J.R. Reed, a former player for the Los Angeles Rams, as well as Delarrin Turner-Yell, who was selected in the fifth round of the draught. P.J. Locke, a holdover from the Vic Fangio administration in Denver, has turned a corner and earned the trust of the current coaching staff. This comes as a further blow to the team’s reputation. Best wishes on your journey, Johnson.
Rodney Williams
Although the Broncos did not select the tight end from the smaller college when they completed their draught, they did sign him as a college-free agency. Williams was added to a crowded position on Denver’s depth chart for tight ends.
Reaction: Williams was always going against the grain of conventional wisdom. Although I wouldn’t go as far as to say that tight end is a roster strength for the Broncos, the team has made significant investments in multiple players other than Williams this year.
These include the re-signing of veterans Andrew Beck and Eric Saubert, as well as the acquisition of free agent Eric Tomlinson. Williams is the only player on the team who was not involved in these moves.
Williams just didn’t have a big enough seat at the table to show off his skills to the new Broncos coaches once you factored in Albert Okwuegbunam and another undrafted rookie named Dylan Parham.
Final words
The Broncos didn’t have much of an interest in any of the players that were waived on Tuesday, with the exception of Jamar Johnson. Every player who was cut came from a position group that had a lot of other players competing with them.
On August 30, at 2:00 pm Mountain Daylight Time, the Broncos will have to cut their roster down to its final 53 players. The race for the open roster places that are still available will continue to take form over the course of the remaining two preseason games.
Following that, the Broncos will head out on the road to take on the Buffalo Bills in a preseason game on Saturday.