Denver Broncos could try to poach linebacker from the Rams

The Denver Broncos could try to poach linebacker Travin Howard, recently placed on waivers by the Los Angeles Rams. Would it be a wise move?

NFL general managers never stop tinkering with their rosters, and Denver Broncos general manager George Paton is no exception.

With mandatory OTAs on deck, could Paton snipe a player that was recently waived by the Los Angeles Rams?

It’s not out of the realm of possibility.

Denver Broncos could poach Rams postseason stud Travin Howard

The Los Angeles Rams surprisingly decided to waive safety/linebacker/special teams player Travin Howard, who was a seventh-round pick by the team all the way back in 2018.

Howard was a restricted free agent this past offseason and was given an original round RFA tender at $2.54 million.

One great way to know whether or not you could be getting a potential steal off of waivers is to check what fans are saying in the comments. Of course, that’s not always the most reliable source of a future projection for certain players, but it can be the most honest indicator of where the player is currently at.

It seems as though Rams fans are not thrilled about the decision to waive Howard, a financially motivated move as the Rams have made no shortage of blockbuster deals in the last handful of months.

The Rams obviously didn’t try to trade Howard, or they couldn’t find someone to take him at his salary. At $2.54 million, Howard would be one of the highest-paid linebackers on the Denver Broncos roster.

And yes, they would have to pick up the entire 2022 salary as the whole salary goes on waivers along with the player.

The Rams are likely trying to subject Howard to waivers now in hopes that teams, with their 90-man rosters still mostly healthy, will pass on the chance to add him at that price point so they can re-sign him at a discounted rate.

So, what it sounds like we have here is a classic case of a great roster having to let go of a solid player due to salary cap crunching.

Because there’s nothing off-field or health-related with this, I think we can clearly list off a variety of reasons why it would be a wise move for the Broncos to poach him from the Rams on waivers (they have the 9th spot on the waiver priority list).

Why poaching Travin Howard makes sense for the Denver Broncos

• The Broncos don’t have the best depth at linebacker
• Howard has played plenty of special teams for Dwayne Stukes
• Broncos DC Ejiro Evero has familiarity with Howard and how to utilize him
• Howard has starting and postseason experience
• Howard is only 26

Considering his experience working with both Ejiro Evero and Dwayne Stukes, and the fact that the Broncos prioritized a variety of players that come from a 4-2-5 defensive alignment defensively in this year’s draft, Howard could be a great depth piece and scheme fit.

Further, the Broncos won’t have a high waiver priority for long. That fluctuates throughout the season and this team plans on doing quite a bit of winning, which means they’d have a lower waiver priority.

You might as well use that high priority while you’ve got it.

The only issue here is really the price tag. We’ve seen the Broncos sort of pinch pennies at linebacker this offseason, re-signing Josey Jewell for $5.5 million per season and then giving Alex Singleton a deal worth barely over $1 million.

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The Broncos have the cap space to afford this kind of move, it’s just a matter of whether or not they would want to bring in a depth piece at the price point of $2.54 million.

I think it would be a wise move, all angles considered.