The Denver Broncos acted quickly to make a move at wide receiver with Emmanuel Sanders’ injury, claiming Andre Holmes off of waivers.
After it was learned that Emmanuel Sanders suffered an Achilles injury in practice for the Denver Broncos on Wednesday, we put together this list of players who could be considered options to replace him.
Forget all of it, because the Broncos apparently claimed veteran Andre Holmes off of waivers from the Buffalo Bills.
Timing is everything: Source says the #Broncos claimed former #Bills WR Andre Holmes.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 5, 2018
The Bills waived both Roberts and Kelvin Benjamin on Tuesday, and the Broncos decided to put in a claim after Sanders’ injury. It’s likely they got their claim in just before the deadline to do so.
Holmes, 30, has been in the NFL since 2012 when he broke in with the Dallas Cowboys. After just two regular season games with the Cowboys, Holmes ended up with the Oakland Raiders in 2013, where he established himself as a pretty solid deep threat.
In 2013, Holmes averaged over 17 yards per reception and caught his first NFL touchdown pass.
His role expanded from there, and the Hillsdale product caught 11 touchdown passes from 2014-16 with the Raiders. He ended up playing for Bill Musgrave in Oakland, who is now obviously the offensive coordinator for the Broncos.
The timing was right in this case as the Broncos’ need for a receiver suddenly became urgent with Sanders’ injury and Holmes’ availability, at least on some level, was unexpected.
Holmes enjoyed quite a bit of success with the Raiders as a backup receiver and spot starter. He did well enough to earn a free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills, and he ended up scoring three touchdowns in his first year in Buffalo as well.
This season, he has yet to reach the end zone, but hopefully, that will change now that he’s a member of the Broncos.
The former Hillsdale product is an outstanding athlete for his size, running a 4.53-second 40-yard dash coming out of college with a 35-inch vertical jump and 34-inch arms.
He’s an established player in this league and while the Broncos won’t be getting Emmanuel Sanders-level contributions from Holmes, he could end up being a nice late-season pickup.