Denver Broncos Trade for Kicker Brandon McManus, Waive Mitch Ewald

According to multiple reports, the Denver Broncos have traded a conditional seventh-round draft pick in the 2015 draft to the New York Giants for kicker Brandon McManus.

From the Broncos’ official website (David DeChant): 

"The Broncos have traded a conditional seventh-round pick to the Giants for kicker Brandon McManus and waived kickerMitch Ewald, the team announced Tuesday.In seven career preseason games, McManus is 3-for-3 on field goals (with all kicks from 46 yards or farther), 4-for-4 on extra points and has 18 touchbacks on 25 kickoffs. Two of his extra points came from the 33-yard line that the NFL experimented with for the first two weeks of the preseason.To make room for McManus on the roster, the team waived Ewald. Ewald was 1-for-2 on field goals this preseason, missing from 36 yards against the Texans on Saturday, and 5-for-5 on extra points, with two touchbacks on eight kickoffs.McManus, a first-year kicker from Temple, signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in April of 2013 but was waived in late August. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Giants after the 2013 season ended.He received the 2012 College Football Performance Awards Specialist Trophy as the nation’s best overall kicker his senior year. He also served as the team’s punter, with a 45.4-yard average on 54 punts as a senior."

We don’t know much about McManus, but we do know Mitch Ewald wasn’t ever expected to make the team. A move at kicker had been anticipated with the  Broncos losing Pro-Bowler and NFL record-holder Matt Prater for the first four games of the regular season due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. There’s just something about Peyton Manning that drives his kickers to get liquored up and act like idiots, but the Denver Post’s Benjamin Hochman already covered that.

Prater’s suspension will force him to miss games against Indianapolis, Kansas City, Seattle, and Arizona- teams that all won 10 or more games in 2013. Field position and field goals will certainly factor into the outcome of at least one of those games, so here’s hoping McManus can continue his pre-season success outlined above and not cost the Broncos an early season victory.

McManus joins fan favorite Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton as the only Temple Owl alumni currently on the roster.