The Denver Broncos may be on a break from the practice field until training camp in July, but a general manager's work in tinkering with the roster is never finished.
George Paton and the Broncos are doing a little shuffling in the defensive backfield as the team has officially announced the signing of UFL star cornerback Mario Goodrich, who previously spent a couple of years in the NFL with the Giants and Eagles. In order to make room for Goodrich on the 90-man roster (or 91 in the Broncos' case), the team waived safety Tanner McCalister.
McCalister played four years at Oklahoma State at the college level before transferring to Ohio State and putting himself on the NFL map. He had three interceptions in his lone year with the Buckeyes before making the jump to the NFL.
As deep as the Broncos had been in the secondary, McCalister made a few appearances for the team last year with 54 snaps on special teams.
Broncos move on from Tanner McCalister to bring in Mario Goodrich
This move feels like it could simply be the tip of the iceberg for the Broncos as they reshuffle their defensive backfield in the 2025 offseason. There are minor moves like bringing in a low-risk, high-reward type of option like Mario Goodrich, and then there's the big-money signing of safety Talanoa Hufanga and the first-round investment in Jahdae Barron.
The secondary was really strong last year for the Broncos but had way too many lapses down the stretch. There's an interesting combination of talent and veteran experience out there now and the Broncos are banking on competition bringing out the best in this overall very young group.
Now, you add a player like Goodrich into the mix who has the advantage of having just played in real games recently. He can use that to his advantage as the team gets back out onto the practice field for training camp in July.
For McCalister, you have to think it's goodbye "for now". The Broncos really liked what he brought to the table last year but they've just gotten too deep at the safety position. He could be an option to return at some point down the line if he doesn't find a landing spot right away.