Broncos officially give up on former 3rd-round pick in trade with Cardinals

The Denver Broncos have officially moved on from former third-round pick Baron Browning, sending him off to the Arizona Cardinals in a trade deadline deal following the team's 41-10 blowout loss against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9.

According to NFL Network insiders Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport, the Broncos are sending the former Ohio State star and third-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a 6th-round pick.

Denver Broncos give up on Baron Browning after three-plus seasons

The Broncos used a third-round pick on Browning back in the 2021 NFL Draft, the first draft class of George Paton's tenure with the Broncos as general manager. The Broncos took one of the best athletes in the 2021 draft class who was thought to be a hybrid off-ball linebacker coming out of college and gave him the opportunity to transition to playing full-time off the edge in 2022 under defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

The transition for Browning appeared to be smooth and at his best, Browning drew comparisons from Broncos fans to the great Von Miller for his burst and bend off the edge.

READ MORE: Broncos players who could be traded at 2024 NFL Trade Deadline

Unfortunately, injuries limited Browning to just 9.5 sacks in a little more than three seasons for the Broncos, and stifled his potential for future earnings with the team. Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto have significantly outplayed Browning, who has become known more for jumping offsides than actually getting after the quarterback and making plays.

This season, Browning has 0 QB hits and 0 sacks to his name. He was placed on temporary IR earlier in the year due to injury and that's also become an unfortunate theme for him. The Cardinals are taking a calculated risk here and the Broncos are honestly getting a pretty great return with a 6th-round pick considering wide receiver Diontae Johnson was traded by the Panthers to the Ravens for a pick swap of 5th and 6th-rounders.

What's next for the Broncos will be fascinating. Browning's departure will give way to more snaps for rookie third-round pick Jonah Elliss as well as Dondrea Tillman, who capitalized on his opportunity earlier in the season and frankly played a lot better than Browning.

The Broncos also have Drew Sanders recovering from an Achilles injury suffered back in April, and there is some thought that he could come back at some point this year from that injury to make a contribution as a pass rusher.