The Denver Broncos have a talented roster ahead of the 2022 season but they will soon be facing some difficult decisions before the season kicks off.
The Broncos will open training camp this Wednesday in preparation for the 2022 season, one that is filled with promise in the Mile High City. It has been six straight seasons that the Broncos have missed the playoffs and they are determined to break that streak.
The team has many new faces including Russell Wilson, Randy Gregory and Nik Bonitto, all of whom will be expected to make a big impact this season. But the teams that make it the furthest do so with the deepest rosters, requiring all 53 players (and in most cases, more than 53) to get the job done.
The Broncos will face some difficult choices in trimming their roster from 90 players down to 53.
Going off of the projected 53-man roster that I recently composed, these will be the five most difficult cuts that the Broncos have to make. They will look to add each of them to the 16-man practice squad, should they clear waivers and are eligible.
Broncos’ toughest roster cuts: Eric Tomlinson, Tight end
The blocking tight end is a useful piece in today’s NFL and it seems quite clear that Nathaniel Hackett’s offense will feature one of them prominently.
The Broncos have Eric Tomlinson, Eric Saubert and Andrew Beck on the roster fighting for that job. Beck has experience as a fullback and was the last player picked for my 53-man roster. It comes down to Tomlinson and Saubert.
That is a competition that could go either way and Tomlinson could be seen as the favorite simply because he was signed as a free agent well before the Broncos chose to bring back Saubert this offseason.
But Saubert probably offers a bit more as a receiver and I have him beating out Tomlinson for that job. But it should be one of the tighter battles in camp this year.
Broncos’ toughest roster cuts: Kendall Hinton, Wide receiver
Kendall Hinton is always going to be near and dear to the hearts of Broncos fans for the way he stepped up and played quarterback in an emergency situation against the New Orleans Saints in 2020.
If the Broncos choose to keep six wide receivers on the roster, most projections right now would likely have Hinton on that list. My projection has Travis Fulgham edging him out (and that’s assuming that rookie Montrell Washington is safe) but it won’t be easy for him to take Hinton out.
Hinton will always be remembered for his insertion into the lineup as the starting quarterback against the Saints, but he has shown progress as a wide receiver. He suited up for nearly every game for the team last season and caught 15 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown.
Those aren’t bad numbers for a guy deep on the bench who could come in and play at a moment’s notice.
The sixth wide receiver spot will have other notable players pushing for it beyond Fulgham and Hinton. Tyrie Cleveland and Seth Williams will also be there to provide stiff competition so there will be some difficult decisions to make within this group.
Broncos’ toughest roster cuts: Mike Purcell, Defensive lineman
It was quite difficult to leave Mike Purcell off my 53-man projections as he has been a solid defender against the run for the Broncos when he has been on the field. The question mark is how he will fit into the new defensive scheme run by Ejiro Evero, but I’d much prefer to put McTelvin Agim in this spot.
Along with DeShawn Williams, a roster spot could come down to either Agim or Purcell. Agim has done almost nothing since being chosen in the third round of the 2020 draft but Purcell has managed to play in just a little more than half of the team’s games the past two seasons.
Williams has been a good hand off the bench for the Broncos so I see it coming down to either Purcell or Agim for a spot. Agim will not be handed a spot just because he was a third-round pick, he has to show that he belongs. Purcell has more experience and has shown himself to be a much better player, but he’s really only when being coached by Vic Fangio.
Because of that fact, it could be tough for Purcell to truly fit in with this team.
Broncos’ toughest roster cuts: Christopher Allen, Outside linebacker
Easily the most notable of the Broncos’ undrafted free-agent signings following this year’s draft is Christopher Allen, who played at Alabama. He could become an instant force for the team.
The problem for him is that the Broncos have so much talent as the pass-rushing position.
Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory will be the main guys getting after the quarterback but behind them, second-round pick Nik Bonitto and second-year player Baron Browning should also get plenty of chances.
Browning will be moved over, at least part of the time, from the inside linebacker spot.
Jonathon Cooper comes back after a good rookie season and Aaron Patrick is no slouch either. But the key for Allen seems to be what the team decides to do with Malik Reed.
Reed, once an undrafted free agent himself, has been predicted as a roster cut by some or a potential trade candidate. He could be seen as expendable and just a player the Broncos don’t have enough room for and George Paton, a general manager who loves to orchestrate trades, could be looking to get a draft pick for him.
The Broncos only have five picks in the 2023 draft so trading Reed could certainly be an option and if that move is made, Allen could land a spot on the final roster.
Broncos’ toughest roster cuts: Brett Rypien, Quarterback
The Broncos only have three quarterbacks on the roster and obviously, Russell Wilson is going to be the starter. But who is going to back him up?
That will be decided between Josh Johnson and Brett Rypien and for my projections, I have Johnson winning that job based solely on his ability to have Wilson in the film room and with game prep due to his huge advantage in experience over Rypien.
Could Rypien beat him out? Absolutely. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell seems to think that not only will Rypien be the backup, he could even win league MVP!
But the Broncos know better than almost any team what playing in the post-COVID-19 world is like and teams can have players become ineligible at a rapid pace. For that reason, there might be a strong argument to keep all three quarterbacks on the roster.
But if they do that, who do they keep off?
These are some of the tough questions a coaching staff has to answer when formulating a 53-man roster. Rypien has been with the Broncos since 2019 and has started one game in that time.
He has the ability to beat Johnson for the job outright, but the biggest question is going to be over whether two quarterbacks are enough to have in today’s NFL.