Denver Broncos sign DL Billy Winn, Phil Taylor to IR
The Denver Broncos added Billy Winn to the 90-man roster and placed defensive tackle Phil Taylor on IR after a knee injury in practice this weekend…
The roster shuffling of training camp and the unfortunate reality of injuries is officially underway for the Denver Broncos as defensive lineman Phil Taylor has been placed on injured reserve. Veteran Billy Winn, a former draft pick of the Cleveland Browns and current Broncos front office executive Tom Heckert, was added in his place.
Taylor’s injury wasn’t deemed overly serious, but after extensive testing, it seems as though the Broncos deemed it necessary to hold him out for the remainder of this season and take another look next offseason.
Taylor had a cryptic tweet not too long after the news broke…
Fishy Fishy 🤔
— Phil Taylor (@PhilTaylor98) July 31, 2016
Perhaps Taylor thinks something is fishy…
Just a wild guess.
At any rate, Taylor is out, and another former Browns defensive lineman is in. Actually, Billy Winn played most recently for the Indianapolis Colts, where he played in 12 games and started three. He recovered two fumbles and tallied 14 tackles on the season, relatively modest numbers but this — like signing Phil Taylor — isn’t a typical camp-depth move.
I’m not going to guarantee Billy Winn a roster spot at this point, but it’s certainly a different signing than an undrafted rookie or a guy who has bounced around the league that has no chance of competing. This is a player who has started games in the NFL, and one the Broncos’ front office is familiar with.
Winn tweeted out evidence of his making the deal official, putting pencil to paper…
Unlike Taylor, it seems like Winn is a player who will compete at defensive end. Taylor was perhaps in line to compete with Darius Kilgo for backup nose tackle snaps, but the Broncos must feel like they have some room at the DE positions. With Derek Wolfe, Adam Gotsis, Vance Walker, and Jared Crick occupying the top spots at defensive end, Winn could be in a tough spot but the Broncos know the value of having good depth on the defensive front.