Why the Broncos should hang onto Malik Reed at all costs

The Denver Broncos will open training camp in two weeks and one player who has suddenly found himself on the roster bubble is Malik Reed. 

Undrafted out of Nevada in 2019, Malik Reed will be entering his fourth year in the league. Now part of a crowded room at the edge rusher spot, there are those who feel that Reed may not make this year’s roster.

Trading him has also been floated around.

With that being said, cutting Reed or trading him should absolutely be off the table, even if it appears that the team is loaded when looking at the depth chart.

Reed has been incredible in recent years coming on in relief of star pass-rushers Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. He has played in 45 games across the last three seasons and has racked up 15 sacks, including a team-leading eight in 2020.

When given the opportunity, he has produced. So why would the team want to move on from that?

Yes, Chubb and Randy Gregory present a good combination on paper, but Chubb has missed about half of the team’s games across the last three seasons (25 missed games out of 49 potential) and Gregory has never played a full season in the league.

Chances are the team is going to need to look to its reserves and that could be great as well with Baron Browning being converted to the outside and second-round pick Nik Bonitto there as well. But both of those players will be unknowns as professional pass-rushers. The team won’t know what it’s getting right away but it does know what Reed has been able to do.

Beyond that, I would take Reed over the rest of the edge rushers on the team, including Jonathon Cooper, who posted a great rookie season last year.

There’s just no reason to get rid of Reed at this stage in his career, particularly by cutting him and getting nothing in return. Teams could offer a trade but due to his status as an undrafted player, that almost certainly would be no higher than a late pick on day three of the draft.

For that, just keep him.

It’s hard to compare Reed to Shaquil Barrett, who has become one of the best pass-rushers in the league since leaving the Broncos and joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But, the situations are not all that far off.

Like Reed, Barrett was also undrafted and like Reed, he played well when his number was called. But the Broncos had Miller and Chubb and Barrett was never going to be more than a rotational player. He wanted a chance to start and the Bucs afforded him that opportunity.

That’s not to say that Reed will lead the league in sacks someday and make a good case for Defensive Player of the Year the way that Barrett did in 2019, but it does show that the Broncos should not give him away for scraps, either.

Reed is still just 25 years old (he will be 26 on August 5) but he still has one season left on his current contract and still has a lot of good football in front of him.