The Denver Broncos initial 53-man roster is absolutely good enough for this team to win it all, but that doesn't mean there aren't still some questions about certain positions. And even with the roster being set now, that doesn't guarantee it will remain the same come Week 1.
There is still a good bit of a time for the Broncos - 12 days - for the team to make any late-offseason move if a certain free agent now makes sense or even if a trade suitor emerges. If either if these things do happen, this could mean certain players currently rostered are gone by the time Week 1 rolls around.
Let's dive into three players who make not make it to Week 1...
3 Denver Broncos players who may not make it to Week 1 after roster cuts
Jordan Turner, ILB
Inside linebacker Jordan Turner didn't make the Broncos initial roster in 2025 and ended up playing just seven games last year. He had seven total tackles and played 23 total snaps. Turner really isn't much of anything at this point. Sure, he's a younger player, but viewing him as a backup might even be too generous. While the top inside linebacker free agents are long gone, there are still some interesting players left on the market.
Future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner is a free agent, along with Germaine Pratt, a reliable veteran. Specifically regarding Wagner and Pratt, how could the Broncos possibly view Turner as a more reliable option than the others?
While Denver's ILB room is again primed to be among the worst in the league, I don't really see a downside in the Broncos swapping out Turner for someone like Wagner or Pratt.
Nate Adkins, TE
Veteran tight end Zach Ertz tore his ACL in 2025 but is cleared for football activities and has actually been a productive player these past couple of seasons. While potentially bringing in Ertz would very likely mean the end of Nate Adkins and his ability as a blocker, the Broncos simply don't have a tight end room nearly good enough at the moment.
It's continually been among the least-productive in the league, and given the contract situation with Evan Engram and Adam Trautman, those two aren't going anywhere. They're also the two best TEs on the roster.
The team also kept rookie Dallen Bentley, and the main thing that would make Bentley a more enticing player to keep over Adkins is his potential ceiling, as Bentley is a rookie and has both blocking and receiving upside.
With Denver having blocking ability in the room even without Adkins, signing Ertz to simply bring more production to the room, even for a year, would be, if nothing else, a floor-raising move that could benefit the team late in the season.
Sam Ehlinger or Jarrett Stidham, QB
I'm not sure this is a wild thing to believe, but I am in the camp of the Broncos keeping both Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger because neither really cemented themselves as the clear backup quarterback.
Stidham's performance in the preseason this year was a major regression from 2025, and his performance in the AFC Championship Game was flat-out horrendous. Ehlinger, though, just does not have near the experience that Stidham does and might not be viewed as quite 'ready' for QB2 duties.
Denver may feel like rostering both for the time being is the safest bet, but at some point, Denver may revert to their 'normal' method of operation - keeping Bo Nix and the backup on the active roster, with the third, 'emergency' QB being on the practice squad.
This could especially be the case if Denver wants to pursue an upgrade at another position and end up needing another roster spot. While the debate of whether Stidham or Ehlinger should be the QB2 is an entirely different discussion, one of them could end up making room for a future roster upgrade.
Add us as a preferred source on Google