The Denver Broncos closed out their preseason against the Minnesota Vikings with a much better performance this time around than we saw last week against Buffalo. With the final preseason game in the books, the attention now turns to the final 53-man roster where the Broncos have difficult moves to make on both sides of the ball.
General manager George Paton stated during the broadcast of the preseason game that most of the 53-man roster spots have been decided at this point, so it’s not likely that this one game would tip the scales a ton one way or another. But you never know. The players went out and did their best to make a final impression on the front office and coaching staff, and now we have a pretty good idea of where things stand for the majority of position groups.
Paton also stated that he expects the Broncos will have to cut some good players that will get claimed by other teams. It’s a good problem to have, but it certainly makes projecting the final roster a little bit tougher. I’ll do my best here to read some of the tea leaves throughout the offseason along with providing some other nuggets at certain position groups that could alter the projection in the coming days.
Denver Broncos final roster prediction: Quarterbacks
QBs: 2 (2/53)
- Russell Wilson
- Brett Rypien
Ultimately, I think this numbers game really just comes down to whether or not the Broncos feel like they can sneak Brett Rypien onto the practice squad. They wouldn’t have to subject Josh Johnson to waivers and could probably get him back on the practice squad rather easily.
Over the course of three preseason games, I can’t say that either of these quarterbacks showed so much that you would say definitively one way or the other that someone “won” the backup job. Rypien may have been more consistent overall but Johnson had arguably the bigger “splash” throws.
Special Teams: 3 (5/53)
- Brandon McManus (K)
- Corliss Waitman (P)
- Jacob Bobenmoyer (LS)
Normally there are no real questions here, but the Broncos have had a punting competition going on all offseason and veteran Sam Martin is the only player among the specialists to really have any competition this offseason. Now, why is that?
Well, the Broncos could save over $2 million if they cut or trade Sam Martin and they have been highlighting Waitman throughout the preseason. That’s not to say Martin can’t make the roster, but it feels like Waitman has been impressive enough to earn the regular season opportunity, and there also just so happens to be a number of teams out there that could use help in the punting game, so Martin could have some trade value.