Broncos add reinforcements Parnell Motley, Nate Hairston to secondary
Broncos add Parnell Motley, Nate Hairston to depleted secondary.
The Denver Broncos have struggled with injuries all throughout the 2020 season at pretty much every position group.
The defensive backfield, particularly at cornerback, has been hit hard.
The Broncos have had to deal with injuries (and now a six-game suspension) to veteran AJ Bouye, one of the team’s biggest pickups of the 2020 offseason. Bryce Callahan has a new foot injury, which landed him on injured reserve for at least three weeks. He had also previously missed the Atlanta Falcons game.
Essang Bassey recently landed on injured reserve with a torn ACL suffered against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Now, the Broncos are going to have to finish the 2020 season without Duke Dawson Jr. (knee) and Kevin Toliver (knee) who will both face lengthy recoveries.
So who do the Broncos actually have at the cornerback position right now?
It’s gotten very thin.
Thank goodness for the return of De’Vante Bausby, who will continue to start at one outside cornerback position. Rookie Michael Ojemudia will continue to start at the other.
Besides those guys?
The only other cornerback on the Broncos’ roster at this moment in time is veteran Nate Hairston, who was quietly signed off of the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad. Hairston has spent time with the Indianapolis Colts (where he was drafted out of Temple in 2017) as well as the New York Jets.
Hairston saw his most extensive action as a rookie with the Colts in 2017 when he played 50 percent of their defensive snaps. He picked off a pass and had a pair of sacks along with five passes defended.
He made some plays after being traded to the New York Jets as well, picking off another pass and making three tackles for loss and three pass breakups in 2019.
He played just two games this season for the Jets with five tackles and a tackle for loss on 51 snaps.
Incidentally, Hairston played those 51 snaps all against the Buffalo Bills, the Broncos’ opponent this Saturday. Hairston will make his Denver debut after going through COVID-19 protocols last week.
In addition to bringing in Hairston, the Broncos are bringing in rookie Parnell Motley, a former Oklahoma Sooners star.
https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1200988343707881472
To give an indication of how good Motley became for the Sooners in 2019, he had matchups against Ja’Marr Chase (LSU), Denzel Mims (2nd-round pick by the Jets), and Jalen Reagor (1st-round pick bytes the Eagles) and more than held his own, even holding Mims to zero receptions.
He finished his Oklahoma career with 33 passes defensed, six forced fumbles, six interceptions, and 7.5 tackles for loss. He was considered one of the biggest Scouting Combine snubs in the country before going undrafted and signing on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a rookie free agent.
According to Bruce Arians and the Bucs coaching staff, Motley was getting his hands on the ball just about every day in training camp and wound up playing his way to a 53-man roster spot.
With only two games under his belt and zero defensive snaps, the Bucs let Motley go likely in hopes they would get him back on the practice squad.
He was scooped up by the San Francisco 49ers, who later waived him as well before signing him to the practice squad.
The Broncos have poached him from there, a move that was first reported by Brandon Krisztal.
Per NFL Source: Broncos are signing CB Parnell Motley off 49ers Practice Squad. He signed as an undrafted FA out of OU with Tampa. Played 2 gms for Bucs, waived Oct. 12, signed to SF Oct. 13. Has to Covid test all week, so won’t play vs. Buffalo. #BroncosCountry @KOAColorado
— Brandon Krisztal (@BKDenverSports) December 14, 2020
The Motley pickup for the Broncos is a particularly exciting one. The Broncos have done such a great job of developing unheralded talent that fell through the NFL Draft cracks for one reason or another.
Specifically, Vic Fangio and Ed Donatell have a lengthy history of making studs out of late-round defensive backs together. Motley wasn’t a late-round guy, but he has a chance to develop in this defense all the same.
He won’t be eligible to play against Buffalo, and that’s probably okay considering the Vic Fangio defense is not an easy language for players to learn. Hopefully, at least in Motley’s case, the Broncos have a player who can stick with the team through next year and potentially be a depth piece moving forward.