Which players could be surprise cuts for the Denver Broncos?
Outside of injuries, roster cuts are the worst part of training camp every year. In 2020, even with a shortened offseason, they are going to be particularly brutal for the Denver Broncos.
Predicting roster cuts isn’t like trying to predict the NCAA March Madness bracket — it’s much more of an exact science than that. With that said, there are plenty of unpredictable factors like trades that can impact final roster projections.
There are also situations with players who will go on the initial roster and eventually revert to injured reserve, or as we’ve seen in years past, it’s possible the Denver Broncos will put a guy on their initial 53-man roster only to cut him the next day if someone preferable is awarded to them on waivers.
Roster moves at this time of year can be financially motivated decisions, but at this juncture of the ‘offseason’ there’s no question that the majority of moves made are football-related.
With expanded practice squads, the Denver Broncos have a chance to really keep a lot of the guys they will cut on Saturday, but they will have to expose them to the waiver wire first.
Which players could be ‘surprise’ cuts in 2020?
Without preseason play, it’s more difficult to determine which players would qualify as surprises because we can base a lot of these moves off of draft status or guaranteed money on a contract.
With that being said, here are my picks for players who could be surprising cuts for the Denver Broncos on Saturday.
1. DaeSean Hamilton, WR
At this point, there are not a lot of wide receiver cuts that would be really ‘surprising’ even if you count seventh-round pick Tyrie Cleveland, who has had a strong camp and is projected to play a big role on special teams if he makes the roster.
The one wide receiver who could be in danger of losing his spot is DaeSean Hamilton.
The Broncos would undoubtedly prefer to keep or trade Hamilton, a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but he could ultimately wind up getting caught in a numbers game.
Here’s a scenario that would be surprising to a lot of people but is not impossible:
The Broncos cut Hamilton and keep Fred Brown.
Not a lot of people are talking about Fred Brown, but he spent a lot of time with the Denver Broncos last year on the active roster and even though he didn’t make a tremendous impact on offense, he was a core special teams player.
Hamilton, at this point, is not.
The big advantage Hamilton has right now is KJ Hamler’s injury. If not for Hamler’s injury, it could mean bad things for both Hamilton and return specialist Diontae Spencer.
With Spencer and likely Cleveland making such a heavy mark on special teams, it’s not impossible to think that with Tim Patrick, Courtland Sutton, and Jerry Jeudy taking the lion’s share of reps at receiver, that Hamilton’s role will be diminished enough that the Broncos look to a guy like Brown, who has better athletic traits than Hamilton, plays special teams, and is a similar age.
2. Jake Butt / Troy Fumagalli, TE
Right now, no one expects the Broncos to cut Jake Butt, which is why him being cut would be a surprise.
As good of a camp as Fumagalli has had, his cut wouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the Broncos’ tight end depth overall.
It would be surprising to see both of these guys cut come Saturday, but it would also make some sense if you are crunching the roster numbers.
If you justify Andrew Beck as a fourth tight end/fullback, you can fit another tight end like Butt or Fumagalli on the roster. If you are needing roster spots elsewhere, it may not be as easy to justify basically a fifth tight end on the roster.
Even as snakebitten as the Broncos have been in recent years at tight end, they may choose to go into the regular season with four total including Beck, and the top three guys appear set in stone (Noah Fant, Nick Vannett, Albert Okwuegbunam).
Although I expect Butt to make the roster, the Denver Broncos could make him and Troy Fumagalli a pair of surprising cuts hoping to sneak one onto the practice squad.
3. Demar Dotson, OT
Let me preface by saying I don’t expect Demar Dotson to be let go, but isn’t that what would qualify this as unexpected?
The reasons the Denver Broncos should keep Dotson at this point are simple. He’s an experienced player at the right tackle position and in the NFL, you’re always just one injury away from desperately needing someone to go play in a pinch.
The Broncos only gave him $400,000 in guaranteed cash, and he didn’t establish himself as the top right tackle against Elijah Wilkinson in camp, so they could get out of his deal easily (even though $400K is an expensive camp rental).
While Dotson is inexpensive insurance at the tackle position, the fact that he didn’t win the right tackle job outright in camp over Elijah Wilkinson speaks volumes.
The Broncos also have another young tackle they like in Calvin Anderson, who worked both the right and left side throughout camp.
It would be cheaper to go with Anderson, who is a player the team stashed for the majority of the 2019 season on the active roster. If they believed in his potential enough to do that, why not put some faith behind that investment?
Anderson was working with the second offense longer than Dotson was, and he could be a viable alternative if the Broncos need help at either tackle spot. He may not provide the veteran presence of Demar Dotson, but Dotson’s inability to take that right tackle job from Wilkinson has me wondering if he could potentially be a surprise cut on Saturday.
4. Josey Jewell, LB
As I’m writing this article up, the Denver Broncos made a trade for Austin Calitro.
You typically don’t make trades for players at this juncture who aren’t going to make your final roster, and if Calitro is making the team, it could spell doom for former fourth-round pick Josey Jewell.
With Todd Davis’ health rapidly improving, the Broncos appear on track for an opening day lineup that includes Davis, Alexander Johnson, and now Mark Barron in the nickel/dime role.
The Denver Broncos could very well choose to keep more than four inside linebackers on their roster, but they could also put someone on the practice squad like Josh Watson and protect him from other teams.
Josey Jewell was a fourth-round pick for a different defensive regime, and he was benched in favor of Alexander Johnson last season. He wants to start, and understandably so, but he hasn’t translated well yet in the coverage department.
If the Broncos want to keep him for special teams value, that’s great, but Calitro has just as much regular-season experience as Jewell playing defense and he is also good at special teams.
5. Joe Jones, LB/ST
As great as Joe Jones has been in the Denver community, his time with the Denver Broncos could be coming to an end.
The Broncos have plenty of talent at the linebacker position, and with positions on this year’s roster so scarce, it’s going to be tough to justify a linebacker who really only plays special teams when you have other guys on the roster who can do exactly that.
In recent years, the Broncos have maybe had Jones on the team as a necessity for special teams but also because their roster wasn’t deep enough to justify cutting a guy who was so good in that phase of the game.
Heading into the 2020 season, this team has a kicker, punter, long snapper, and return specialist. Can they justify a fifth spot on the team — making up 1/10 of the roster, basically — for another specialist?
That’s not really wise roster management.
Although the Broncos could keep Jones again this year, he could be a surprise cut as one of the team’s top special teams performers in recent years.
6. Duke Dawson, DB
The next potential surprise cut for the Denver Broncos is former second-round pick Duke Dawson.
The New England Patriots swapped late-round picks with the Broncos in 2019 to send Dawson Denver’s way, and he actually looked pretty good in limited action last season before he was hurt against Buffalo and replaced for the remainder of the season by Will Parks.
Dawson has the potential to be a strong nickel or even a Kareem Jackson hybrid type of player at the NFL level, but he got off to a slow start in camp and might not have recovered in time.
Vic Fangio said that Dawson had been practicing better of late, and his path to the roster right now is really the Broncos’ lack of clarity at safety beyond the top three guys.
If they keep 10 defensive backs as they typically do, Dawson would probably be the 10th guy.
If not…
Dawson’s roster status is anything but certain right now. The trade of Isaac Yiadom seemed to open things up a bit for him, but the ascension of Essang Bassey as the possible top or number two nickel corner for the Broncos this year muddles Dawson’s roster status even more.