3 free agents the Denver Broncos must sign ahead of Week 13
The Denver Broncos have a Monday Night Football game in Week 13, and they should consider signing a few free agents before the game. The Broncos could be on the cusp of snapping the second-longest playoff drought streak in the NFL.
It's been an eight-year Super Bowl hangover thus far, but Denver can stop that right in its tracks if they clinch a spot in the dance. They do have some small injuries beginning to mount, and them not having their bye week yet could be a reason for that.
Denver plays the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football to closeout Week 13. Before that big game, they should make a few free agent signings.
3 free agents the Denver Broncos must sign ahead of Week 13
Shaq Lawson, DE
The Zach Allen situation is a bit dicey to me. Sean Payton said that Allen "...should be fine," but just how fine is that? I guess when the first injury report comes out this week, we will know for sure. Allen popped up late on the report in Week 12 with a heel injury and was held out of the team's game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
His absence was felt in the first half, but fortunately, Denver ended up being fine. Being that the Broncos have one more game against a weaker team at home before the bye, the Broncos could again elect to keep Allen on the sideline and rest him through the bye. That would give him three weeks of rest, which could be ideal.
In the meantime, they should consider signing Shaq Lawson, a free agent defensive end who is still 30 years old. Lawson has been a rotational player during his NFL career, having 26 sacks and 77 career QB hits.
Xavien Howard, CB
Another player whose injury status is kind of up in the air right now is Riley Moss, who took a tough hit to his knee during the Denver Broncos Week 12 game. Sean Payton did say that they were considering putting him back into the game, but you just never know.
Knee injuries are serious, so the best course of action may be to also hold Moss out of the team's Week 13 game against the Browns and rest him through the bye. The Broncos should be thinking big picture, but I guess if he is healthy enough to play...
The team should consider signing CB Xavien Howard, who was a top-3 CB in the NFL at his peak. He's a true ball-hawk and could be a nice veteran presence for this secondary in the even that Riley Moss would need to miss some games.
Jimmy Graham, TE
Jimmy Graham's peak was back in 2011, but he did suit back up for the New Orleans Saints in 2023 and caught four touchdowns. There may not have been a more dominant player in Sean Payton's offense during his time with the Saints than Graham. Now yes, Graham is 38 years old and it is 2024, but I can't help but wonder if they could deploy him for about five snaps a game and give him some red zone targets.
This could be redundant, as the Broncos do have a guy in Courtland Sutton who is money in the end zone, but the Broncos TE room is about as effective as drying yourself with a wet towel. The team just cut Greg Dulcich and will need to embark on yet another search to find a viable TE.
Jimmy Graham could be a fun add for a few games. He's familiar with the offense and familiar with how Sean Payton runs his teams, so there has to be some value here.