The Denver Broncos will not be taking part in this year’s NFL playoffs, but several former members of the team will have that opportunity.
While the Broncos continue their search for the team’s next head coach, players that used to wear orange and blue, as recently as this season, will be on the field playing football this weekend.
If you haven’t already sworn off the NFL until next season, there are still players to root for and wish success upon as they navigate through the postseason. Each of these players once played for the Broncos.
The NFL playoffs are always fun and there are always reasons to tune in, even if your team has been eliminated. But to have some kind of rooting interest in a game makes it that much better.
Perhaps Broncos fans can get behind some of these guys and cheer them on in the playoffs, even if they now wear a different jersey.
Former Broncos to root for in playoffs: Bradley Chubb, Miami Dolphins
It was tough to see Bradley Chubb go elsewhere but when the Broncos were struggling and needing to recoup some of what was lost in the Russell Wilson deal, he was an obvious piece to move.
The Miami Dolphins looked like a contender to make a deep playoff run earlier this season, getting a big win over the Buffalo Bills and winning any game in which Tua Tagovailoa was the starter up to that point.
The Dolphins now limp into the playoffs with Tagovailoa already ruled out of the team’s Wild Card game and Teddy Bridgewater, another former Bronco, limited in practice, the team could be looking at starting Skylar Thompson against the Bills this weekend.
The Dolphins will have an uphill battle in that one but it will be the first playoff game of Chubb’s career. Miami gave up a first-round pick to get him so win or lose, it would be nice to see him have a good performance.
Since being dealt, Chubb has 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble for the Dolphins.
Former Broncos to root for in playoffs: Noah Fant, Shelby Harris and Drew Lock, Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks were projected to be one of the worst teams in the league. They were supposed to be in full rebuild mode after trading Wilson to the Broncos and getting what was seen as “scraps” by many in return.
Noah Fant and Shelby Harris have been regular contributors for a surprising Seahawks team this season, one that proved many doubters wrong and slid into the playoffs. Though they have a difficult matchup in the Wild Card round against the San Francisco 49ers, they are in the playoffs and the Broncos are not.
For that reason, many Broncos fans may be unwilling to cheer for these players but they were all respected members of the team while they were in Denver.
Fant caught 50 passes for 486 yards and four touchdowns on the season. Harris had two sacks but his experience could be a factor for Seattle in the postseason.
Drew Lock ended up losing the starting job to Geno Smith in the preseason and Smith was one of the biggest surprises in all of the league this season, playing quite well as the team’s quarterback and considerably better than Wilson did in Denver.
Unless there is some sort of unfortunate circumstance, Lock will just be spectating from the sidelines this weekend but he is still going to get the opportunity to be in a playoff game.
Former Broncos to root for in playoffs: Isaiah McKenzie, Buffalo Bills
This would have been Von Miller in this spot, who many Broncos fans would have readily cheered for, but a season-ending injury derailed that for the Broncos legend.
Instead, Isaiah McKenzie, a player whose time in Denver is basically forgotten at this point, has become a key piece for the Buffalo Bills offense.
McKenzie was drafted in the fifth round of the 2017 draft and quickly fell out of favor in Denver. The Bills have given him new life and this season, he caught a career-high 42 passes.
The Bills have become a sentimental favorite for a variety of reasons so if your favorite team is already eliminated, this is the kind of bandwagon a lot of fans are going to jump on.
Broncos fans can root for McKenzie and even Miller, who will still get a Super Bowl ring if they happen to win it all, which would be his second in a row and third overall.
Other former Broncos in the playoffs
Casey Kreiter, who made the Pro Bowl as the long snapper of the Broncos in 2018, is now with the New York Giants, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Bryce Callahan is with the Los Angeles Chargers and he has had a good year for them, totaling 47 tackles and three interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
Brett Kern, who punted for the Broncos nearly 15 years ago, was recently brought back into the league. After 14 seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Kern was cut this summer after losing the job to rookie Ryan Stonehouse. But when the Philadelphia Eagles lost Arryn Siposs a few weeks ago to injury, they turned to the 36-year-old Kern, who will now be the punter for the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
Oh, and then there’s Melvin Gordon, a former player Broncos fans would probably like to forget. He is still on the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs and will likely never see the field in the playoffs, but you also never know in the world of the NFL.