5 mistakes the Denver Broncos made with their final 53-man roster

Denver Broncos roster mistake no. 3: Questionable depth at LB

There’s no doubt that the Denver Broncos have some of the best depth at the EDGE position in the entire NFL. They kept six players on the final 53-man roster and all of them are going to contribute in big ways this coming season. As part of the roster numbers game, though, the team sacrificed at the inside linebacker position, keeping only four.

That’s a substantial difference from just a couple of years ago when they opened the year with a whopping six off-ball linebackers on the roster. Times have changed dramatically in the NFL and keeping four guys is not necessarily the issue I’m taking with this position group. The primary issue is the players that were kept and the situation surrounding projected starter Jonas Griffith.

If healthy, the Broncos have a very fun starting duo in Griffith and Josey Jewell. Those two could be one of the more underrated duos in the NFL this season, actually. The issue is that right now, Griffith is dealing with a dislocated elbow. The Broncos’ goal is to have him back for Week 1, but we’ll have to wait and see. While we wait, the team has just Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad on the roster and Kana’i Mauga on the practice squad.

To me, that’s not good enough. We saw the Broncos actually kind of agree with that when they signed veteran Joe Schobert after Griffith’s injury. Unfortunately for Schobert, he looked absolutely horrendous and was cut after barely being on the team for a week. Still, the decision to sign Schobert in the first place showed the team’s hand a little bit, that even internally they are questioning the depth.

There are still some players available — Blake Martinez who has connections to this coaching staff was recently released — and the Broncos might need to add someone before the team’s Week 1 matchup against the Seahawks just to make sure the depth is good with Griffith on the mend.