Denver Broncos: Team makes wave of roster cuts ahead of camp
The Denver Broncos have made some roster moves ahead of the start of training camp.
Things in the NFL are a little different this summer, as they are with pretty much everything in today’s world. Teams were able to hold 90 players on their roster but due to an agreement for this year only, there are two deadlines — July 28 and August 16 — in which to reduce the number of players on the roster down to 80.
If teams keep 90 players past July 28, they must split the roster into two separate groups during the first portion of training camp. On Monday, the Broncos opted to start to reduce before the first deadline.
The Broncos parted ways with eight players on Monday:
DB Shakial Taylor
DB Kahani Smith
RB Khalfani Muhammad
LB Tre’ Crawford
OL Nico Falah
QB Riley Neal
WR Kelvin McKnight
DE Joel Heath
None of these players were expected to make this year’s final roster, though it is a bit surprising to see the team cut ties with Khalfani Muhammad this soon. That may open the door for undrafted rookie Levante Bellamy to sneak onto the roster.
With the release of Kahani Smith, the Broncos now have just four safeties on the roster, Justin Simmons, Kareem Jackson, Trey Marshall and P.J. Locke.
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Nico Falah missed all of last season after tearing his Achilles in mini-camp in May. After staying with the team for over a year following that injury, he was given his walking papers as part of these cuts.
Riley Neal was an undrafted rookie out of Vanderbilt. He was sure to be the proverbial “camp arm”, but his release makes it official that Jeff Driskel and Brett Rypien will battle for the team’s backup job.
Kelvin McKnight was able to turn a few heads last preseason after the team signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Samford. He spent last season on the team’s 10-man practice squad, but the organization apparently felt it had seen enough.
These moves take the Broncos’ current roster down to 82 players. There is a good chance we will see two more players released before Thursday when training camp is set to officially open, in order to get down to the 80-player limit.