Denver Broncos 3 most surprising roster cuts in 2022
Denver Broncos surprise cut no. 3: Mike Purcell, DL
When the 2 PM MT deadline passed, the Denver Broncos still had 54 players on the roster as far as we all knew. Obviously, the team had turned in its roster moves to the league offices, but we didn’t find out about Mike Purcell being one of the players cut until long after the deadline had passed.
Purcell’s inclusion in the roster cuts was a shocker, but the shock was sort of short-lived. Purcell’s absence from the active roster won’t be for long as general manager George Paton revealed that Purcell, along with veteran tight end Eric Tomlinson, would be “taking one for the team” in terms of being cut now and being brought back later.
Does that mean Purcell has agreed to a renegotiated contract and we’re now just awaiting the details there? That’s sort of what it sounds like but of course, nothing is official until it’s official.
As procedural moves, the Broncos will place rookie tight end Greg Dulcich and third-year cornerback Michael Ojemudia on short-term injured reserve as soon as they are able to on Wednesday, and the corresponding moves figure to be to add Tomlinson and Purcell back to the roster. Still, seeing Purcell among the final cuts was a shocker, there’s no question about it.
He was in street clothes all throughout the preseason, and the reason for that — according to George Paton — is that Purcell is a “core guy” on this Denver Broncos team. The Broncos’ defensive line depth was so bad in the preseason that the team actually decided to cut 2020 third-round pick McTelvin Agim and they kept two rookies on the initial 53 in Eyioma Uwazurike and Matt Henningsen.
After Purcell is added back to the roster again, the Broncos will have six defensive linemen among their 53 active players as well as six edge defenders. That figures to be a loaded unit in 2022.