Denver Broncos potential final transactions at 2022 roster cuts
After the Denver Broncos beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-13 in their final preseason game, the roster will be going through some quick changes. What changes could take place?
9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis had an interview during the broadcast of Saturday night’s game. Within that interview, he broke down his final prediction for the Denver Broncos’ 53-man roster entering the 2022 season.
That prediction had the Denver Broncos looking at the waiver wire for one position that I think is a must to look outside of the building, that was at cornerback. At a position that once seemed deep and ridden with quality backups, the last couple of preseason games has flipped the script on that narrative.
Seventh-round draft pick Faion Hicks has been picked on all preseason. A fourth-round pick, Damarri Mathis, looks to have the skillset but does not look quite ready to see prominent action just yet. That is fine, he should make the roster, but as the last cornerback on.
Donnie Lewis Jr. looks like he is a practice squad candidate and Essang Bassey has been OK, but ok is not enough when playing in the wild, wild AFC West. Bless Austin was called for a couple of penalties as well on Saturday night.
Against the Buffalo Bills, Micheal Ojemudia went down with a dislocated elbow and will miss the first couple of weeks of the regular season dwindling the Denver Broncos’ regular-season-ready cornerbacks to:
- Patrick Surtain II
- Ronald Darby
- K’wuan Williams
Add in Damarri Mathis as the last cornerback in, that puts the team with four cornerbacks locked in. Adding a free agent cornerback as well as scouring the waiver wire at this point seems like the best move for the Denver Broncos. There is plenty of evidence that when George Paton sees a glaring hole, he double dips.
Both K’Wuan Williams and Ronald Darby have missed time in their careers quite often. Having extra depth in this group with the skillsets you face this season is a must. Chris Harris Jr., Kevin King, or adding a Janoris Jenkins type who has made a living off of his route-jumping abilities, but also gets burned by it at the same time.
Whoever the Denver Broncos do add at this point will not be perfect and will have some sort of deficiencies, whether it is injuries, age, or decline in speed or athletic ability, but at this point, you have to live with that.
Along with adding a free agent veteran type, claiming a fit at the cornerback position should be the top priority. It is unknown who will be available at this point, but it is something to certainly keep an eye on.
Mike Klis also mentioned that the Denver Broncos may not have their backup quarterback currently on the roster. A couple of situations that might be worth watching are Nick Foles and Mason Rudolph.
Both find themselves in three deep quarterback rooms that could find both of them looking in from the outside. Nick Foles is battling it out with Sam Ehlinger for the number two job behind Matt Ryan, Ehlinger should win that job.
Mason Rudolph will fall out of rotation behind Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett, in a similar way Tarvaris Jackson did with Russell Wilson and Matt Flynn in Seattle in 2012. Flynn was dealt the year after, but the point being is three quarterbacks is not a direction I see either the Colts or Steelers taking this season.
For the record, if the Denver Broncos do keep one of the two, Brett Rypien or Josh Johnson on the roster, I think it will be Brett Rypien.
In last night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, two players played well on the defensive line that really needed strong performance, McTelvin Agim, and Eyioma Uwazurike. Agim has seemed to be a training camp darling every offseason, but it has yet to turn into regular season production.
This preseason, his play has been average along with the rest of the defensive line, but last night, he showed up and showed out. Agim had two forced fumbles, one was a strip sack that Baron Browning returned for a touchdown just moments before the half.
Agim also forced a fumble on the Vikings’ first offensive play from scrimmage backed up inside their own five-yard line after a tipped pass resulted in a Brett Rypien thrown interception. Minnesota was able to recover, but it was still a great play.
McTelvin Agim wreaked havoc all night long and probably played himself on a 53-man roster somewhere, if not with the Denver Broncos. If the Denver Broncos are looking for potential players to bring in IF cut, Montravius Adams should be a name to keep an eye on.
Montravius Adams was a third-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2017 after being a force for Auburn during his collegiate days. Adams is a 6-foot-3, 300+ body who is proved himself to be a fine pass rusher along the defensive line.
During the six games he played in Pittsburgh last season after being cut by the New Orleans Saints, Adams graded out to be the12th best pass rusher per Pro Football Focus amongst defensive linemen.
His body type compares well to McTelvin Agim’s and would not be a bad option if the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to move on from Adams. If anyone would know if he would be worth the roster spot, it would be this staff with their abundance of former Green Bay coaches.
Denver Broncos Roster subtractions and trade candidates
One position that most were confident in prior to the start of preseason, and have remained confident in throughout is the edge position. Baron Browning’s ability to adapt on the outside has been a revelation for the depth of this position.
Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory are the clear top two guys in this group.
Jonathon Cooper and Malik Reed are about as good as you will find on the back end of a team’s pass-rushing depth chart. Nik Bonitto looked great in obvious pass-rushing situations last night, but he still has a lot of things to work on before he is a full-time starter.
Aaron Patrick showed elite athletism last night and had an incredible defensive stand in the red zone. Remember the drive Dre’Mont Jones had against the Detroit Lions last season when he had a sack, tackle for loss, and a batted pass all on one drive? That is what Aaron Patrick pulled off last night, in his own way.
All of this spells trouble for the veteran, Malik Reed. When I say trouble, I just mean trouble for him being on the Denver Broncos this season. Plenty of teams would be interested in his services. He is a capable pass rusher and can fill in and play competent snaps for a team in a pinch.
Maybe the Baltimore Ravens call and inquire about his services. With David Ojabo having a red-shirt season, maybe Malik Reed is the perfect, cheap rental the Baltimore Ravens need for the 2022 season.
While the Denver Broncos do not have a battle for the starting quarterback this season, they do have a battle for the starting punter position!
Sam Martin looks to be the better punter, but as the broadcast pointed out last night, the Denver Broncos could save a couple million by handing the reins over to Corliss Waitman. If George Paton thinks the Denver Broncos could recoup a seventh-round pick from the Buffalo Bills by trading Sam Martin, I do not think he would hesitate.
He has said several times that he was not happy with the team’s current standings of draft capital. If Paton could add a couple of day three picks by dealing Malik Reed and Sam Martin, I think he would consider that a W.
Other players or position groups, that could bring in draft capital? Kendall Hinton or someone like Seth Williams could be an attractive piece to the Dallas Cowboys. Both scored a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys and both played well in that game and during joint practices with the.
With Micheal Gallup not ready to return for the Cowboys, adding a capable body until he gets up to speed would make a ton of sense. Kendall Hinton’s name may be a surprise here, but there are locks for this group:
- Courtland Sutton
- Jerry Jeudy
- K.J. Hamler
- Montrell Washington
If the Denver Broncos are to keep two more with who they have on their roster, I think Brandon Johnson is one as long as his injury is not substantial, and the other would be between Kendall Hinton, Jalen Virgil, Darius Shepherd, and the one who I think has to make the roster due to Special Team’s Coordinator Dwyane Stukes’ admiration with him, Tyrie Cleveland.
If Special Teams truly matters to this team as much as George Paton and Nathaniel Hackett have said, how can you honestly turn away the one guy he has been banging the table for openly? Would that create a rift? It could and I think it probably would/should.
As a Manager of any operation, it is important to supply your leadership with what they think is necessary in order for them to succeed. Dwayne Stukes obviously thinks that is Tyrie Cleveland when he returns from his throat injury, therefore, Tyrie Cleveland needs to be a member of the 53-man roster.
Two more players who I do not expect to see trade, but could absolutely draw interest solely because of their play this preseason? P.J. Locke and Mike Boone.
Both guys have shown that they can stand out when playing against second-team units. Doubt that George Paton actively shops these two, but if other teams were to offer a deal that Paton couldn’t refuse, ala the Trinity Benson deal, I think there could be something to that.
Delarrin Turner-Yell and Devine Ozigbo both played well enough to instill confidence in being reserves for the Denver Broncos in 2022 if the aforementioned were traded.