Denver Broncos: Trying to predict who makes the practice squad

The Denver Broncos made a ton of roster moves on Saturday to get the roster down to 52. Which players will be brought back to the practice squad?

The Denver Broncos put together their ‘initial’ 52-man roster on Saturday, which will grow to a 53-man roster by Sunday afternoon.

We’re not completely sure, yet, who will be on that roster, but we know which players didn’t make the final cut.

The Broncos — and all other teams in the NFL — get to assemble a 10-man practice squad of players who could be considered those ’54th’ guys on the roster. It seems like every year, many of the guys who have made the Broncos’ initial practice squad end up playing regular-season games in Denver or elsewhere, so these guys are usually either pretty good or have strong development potential.

As far as guys who could wind up being considered around the league for the 53-man roster, we’ve got you covered there. As far as who the Broncos are bringing back from their big wave of cuts for the practice squad?

Let’s take a stab at predicting the 10-man practice squad, assuming all of the guys the Broncos cut make it through waivers.

QB Brett Rypien

The Broncos gave Rypien a very nice bonus coming out as an undrafted player this year from Boise State. He didn’t look great in preseason play, but he’s a guy worth developing for this team.

RB Khalfani Muhammad

Muhammad had two stellar games in preseason play, but the Broncos obviously needed to see more. He has big-time speed and looked like he could do a little bit of everything from returning kicks, catching passes, and running between the tackles.

OL Sam Jones

Jones was a sixth-round pick in 2018 for the Broncos. You’ve got to think they’d like to continue seeing his development through as an interior lineman.

OL John Leglue

Versatile player who could work in at guard or tackle, I could also see the Broncos looking at Quinn Bailey — another 2019 UDFA — with this spot. Teams usually keep 10 offensive linemen on the roster, so having two on the practice squad makes sense for the Broncos.

WR Trinity Benson

Benson has all of the athletic traits you look for in a wide receiver, he just needs time to put things together. I would love to see him become an option as the Broncos’ punt returner since he did that so well in college. He made some big plays on offense in preseason play.

WR Fred Brown

Brown looks like a receiver worth developing. He probably got a serious consideration to be the sixth receiver on the roster before the Broncos ultimately decided to keep River Cracraft for the initial cuts. He had a nice preseason and made plays throughout training camp.

LB Jamal Carter

The converted safety, the Broncos openly talked about how they hoped to have Carter back to work at linebacker. It’s possible he is one of the first called up to the active roster if they are able to sign him back to the practice squad.

OLB Ahmad Gooden

Gooden showed some really strong effort as a pass rusher down the stretch of the preseason. The Broncos have only four rushers on the roster right now and they need some depth there. Gooden was a fun player to watch in preseason play.

CB Alijah Holder

The Broncos gave Holder a huge signing bonus coming out of Stanford as an undrafted player and he had an interception in the preseason finale. He didn’t flash much outside of that but the front office obviously liked his college tape enough, so it makes sense to try to keep him around. I think it will be him, Linden Stephens, or possibly an outside candidate at corner on the practice squad.

FB George Aston

The Broncos decided not to keep a traditional fullback on the roster outside of Andy Janovich, which comes as no huge surprise. Aston, however, could be called upon at some point and showed some flashes of being a really good fullback in the NFL.

I could see the Broncos using this 10th spot on a number of players, but Aston is deserving.