As the Denver Broncos ready themselves to assemble a 53-man roster, they may have to prepare without backup safety Dymonte Thomas.
The Denver Broncos’ secondary depth seems to be wearing thin lately with a number of question marks popping up beyond the fourth cornerback and third safeties on the roster.
Backup Dymonte Thomas, a former undrafted free agent out of Michigan who was on the active roster last season, is apparently going to be out of the equation for a while as he was seen recently on crutches with a knee injury.
Thomas played in 12 games last season and recorded his first NFL sack as well as his first NFL interception which came off of 2018 top draft pick Baker Mayfield.
Thomas’ injury was first reported by Nicki Jhabvala.
Dymonte Thomas is on crutches.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 28, 2019
A knee injury for Dymonte Thomas.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 28, 2019
It was reported earlier in the week that Thomas wasn’t practicing, and he hasn’t been playing very well this preseason.
He’s listed on the third team at safety with Trey Marshall, but when the Broncos decided to put someone in the starting lineup against the San Francisco 49ers last week, it was Marshall and not Thomas who got the nod.
As the team approaches roster cut day, Thomas is clearly a candidate for injured reserve. He’s shown well in the past and has proven a capable backup safety, but he’s given up four catches in four preseason games and the secondary beyond the top unit has really looked shaky as a whole.
Thomas is one of those players who can help contribute when the need arises, but at this point it’s hard to justify a 53-man spot on him, especially if he’s on crutches with a knee injury.
He’s also one of those players a number of teams would potentially look to snatch up off of waivers if the Broncos let him go, so the team’s best chance of keeping him might be to stash him on injured reserve.
It’s not the preferred method for either party, but sometimes that’s the way it goes in the NFL.