Through the years, the Denver Broncos have acquired a number of players through free agency or trades who have simply looked weird in the team's uniform. There are just some players who, when you think of them, you picture them with certain teams and it's almost impossible to try and imagine them with anyone else.
There may even be some NFL legends you didn't realize wore the orange and blue at one point or another.
From NFL legends to simply some big-name players, let's take a look at 10 players who just flat-out looked weird in Denver Broncos uniforms.
10 players who look plain weird in Denver Broncos uniforms
1. Jamaal Charles, RB (2017)
There is absolutely no question that Jamaal Charles suiting up for the Denver Broncos was one of the weirdest things to happen to the organization in the last 10 years. Charles, a longtime Kansas City Chiefs superstar running back, came to Denver in the 2017 season just two years after the Broncos won Super Bowl 50.
Actually, the 2017 season ended up being the Broncos' first losing season of the 2010s since 2010. Charles played in 14 games for the Broncos, scoring a touchdown and running for 296 yards. Even after finishing his career with 14 games in Denver and two in Jacksonville where he averaged four yards per carry, Charles' NFL career yards per carry average still sits at 5.4, the best for any running back in modern NFL history.
2. Jerry Rice, WR (2005)
Yes, for a brief moment, this actually happened. After a Hall of Fame career with the 49ers and Raiders, Jerry Rice bounced around for a bit in the mid-2000s. First, he spent some time with the Seattle Seahawks. Actually, unlike with the Denver Broncos, Jerry Rice actually played in Seattle and averaged over 14 yards per reception with three touchdowns at the age of 42.
Rice played in the preseason for Denver before ultimately deciding to retire before the 2005 season. Crazy story as well, I was actually at training camp in 2005 as a high school student, and I was on the sideline marveling at Jerry Rice in a Denver Broncos uniform. He ran a route to the sideline right by where I was standing, caught a pass, and after toe-tapping on the sideline I could have reached out and hugged him he was so close.
Instead, I opted to continue watching practice and not get thrown out. But it was amazing to be that close to such a giant NFL legend.
10 players who look weird in a Denver Broncos uniform
3. Joe Flacco, QB (2019)
Considering what Joe Flacco did to the Denver Broncos in that 2012 season, it's almost hard to forgive the organization for making this an actual part of the team's history.
To put it lightly, the eight games Joe Flacco started for the Denver Broncos in the 2019 season was arguably the biggest waste of time in franchise history. Flacco did nothing positive for the organization, throwing just six touchdowns in those eight games. He was the choice of first-year head coach Vic Fangio at the time.
The Broncos made things even worse by pushing some of Flacco's 2019 money into 2020, keeping him on the books for longer than he ever should have been. The Broncos traded a fourth-round pick to acquire Flacco in the 2019 offseason and that will go down as one of the worst trades in team history.
4. Pacman Jones, CB (2018)
In case you're wondering which players have worn the jersey no. 24 since Champ Bailey played for the Denver Broncos, the list is just one player. That player is Adam "Pacman" Jones.
And his brief stint in Denver back in 2018 has got to be one of the weirdest in team history.
The Broncos needed Pacman's help to come in and return some punts and round out the defensive backfield, and he did that. In just seven games with the Broncos, Jones actually had an interception, three passes defensed, and a couple of TFLs. He wasn't overly effective in the return game, averaging under three yards per punt return.
Jones was a longtime member of the Cincinnati Bengals, and his stint with the Denver Broncos was the last regular season NFL action he would see.
10 players who look weird in a Denver Broncos uniform
5. Mark Sanchez, QB (2016)
Somewhat similar to the Joe Flacco trade in 2019, the Denver Broncos completely wasted everyone's time by trading for Mark Sanchez in the 2016 offseason. Thankfully, it didn't end up costing them any actual draft capital as there were conditions in the Sanchez trade protecting the Broncos if he didn't even make the roster that year.
Which he didn't.
The former first-round pick out of USC spent one offseason in Denver and all he really did was make it abundantly clear to head coach Gary Kubiak that 2015 7th-round pick Trevor Siemian was the best option he had to lead a team that had just won the Super Bowl a few months prior.
6. Vernon Davis, TE (2015)
Many people were expecting the Denver Broncos to make a big trade for offensive tackle Joe Thomas during the 2015 season. Although that trade actually came close to happening, the one trade that did happen during the Denver Broncos' 2015 Super Bowl run was a trade for tight end Vernon Davis.
The Broncos needed really any jolt they could get offensively, and Vernon Davis was at least a super-athletic option at the tight end spot to add to the mix. He was a former Pro Bowl tight end with the 49ers who ended up playing 12 total games and winning a ring with the Broncos, but he made absolutely zero contribution in the playoffs.
He caught 20 passes as a member of the Broncos, but was probably more known from the fan base for dropping passes than anything else.
10 players who look weird in a Denver Broncos uniform
7. Ty Law, CB (2009)
When you think of Ty Law, I'm not sure how you can picture him as anything but a New England Patriot. And yet, he spent the last few years of his NFL career bouncing around between the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Denver Broncos.
There was an obvious connection for Ty Law in Denver in that 2009 season, specifically being head coach Josh McDaniels. When the Denver Broncos needed some veteran cornerback help, they called upon Ty Law and actually made him playing in Denver a thing.
In seven games with the Denver Broncos, Ty Law actually picked off a pass and had 10 tackles for the team that season.
8. Garrison Hearst, RB (2004)
If you're a 90s kid like me, the name Garrison Hearst undoubtedly rings a bell, but not for what he did in his lone season as a member of the Denver Broncos. Hearst was drafted by the Cardinals organization and really made a name for himself as a member of the San Francisco 49ers starting in the late 90s.
Hearst ran for over 1,000 yards in 1997 before making the Pro Bowl in 1998 after racking up over 2,100 yards and nine touchdowns from scrimmage. He was forced to miss the 1999 and 2000 seasons with avascular necrosis, and won NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2001 with the 49ers after two years away from the game.
After his time with the 49ers, Hearst played one season with the Denver Broncos -- 7 games -- and only carried the ball 20 times.
10 players who look weird in a Denver Broncos uniform
9. Wes Welker, WR (2013-14)
Believe it or not, Wes Welker is the only player on this list who spent multiple years with the Denver Broncos. Thinking back on his time in Denver, it's still so weird that we got to see Peyton Manning throwing passes to Wes Welker in orange and blue.
For the longest time, those two tortured the Broncos as members of the Colts and Patriots, respectively. Back in the 2013 offseason, the Patriots were seemingly trying to decide between keeping the legendary slot machine that Welker was or re-signing Julian Edelman to take his place.
They chose Edelman, and the Broncos landed Welker, who became a key piece of the greatest offense in NFL history.
Welker caught 122 passes and 12 touchdowns in his two seasons as a Bronco, but his 2013 campaign was undeniably his best and most productive between the two.
10. Courtney Brown, DE (2005)
We'll do another article on this, but Courtney Brown is one of three former number one overall picks to play for the Denver Broncos. I think you know the others.
Brown was the top overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2000 NFL Draft out of Penn State, but injuries really cut his time in Cleveland (and the NFL) short. He didn't make it to the end of his rookie deal with the Browns, and Brown became a free agent in 2005 where he signed with the Denver Broncos for five years, $18.8 million.
By 2006, the Broncos asked Brown to restructure, which he did. He signed a revised four-year deal in 2006. By October, the Broncos placed him on IR, and he only ended up playing one season in Denver (2005) before being released in 2007, marking the end of his NFL career.
Bonus: Michael Myers, DL (2005-06)
Part of the infamous "Browncos" from 2005-2006, Michael Myers is another player that was weird to see in a Denver Broncos uniform. For most of his career, we've become accustomed to seeing Myers in one uniform and one uniform only:
That's why it was so bizarre from 2005-06 to see Myers wearing orange and blue:
All kidding aside, Myers and the "Browncos" actually contributed to one of the most underrated and best defenses in Denver Broncos franchise history. That 2005 team is one of the top two or three in Broncos history that "got away".