The Denver Broncos have a rich history full of players that have been immortalized in the Hall of Fame or the team's Ring of Fame, but some of the best to ever wear the orange and blue played their best football after the Broncos gave up on them. How many players realized their full potential after leaving Denver? Unfortunately for the Denver Broncos and fans of Broncos Country, this list is rather expansive, even just in relatively recent team history.
3 players the Denver Broncos gave up on too soon
1. Jay Cutler, QB
Legendary head coach Mike Shanahan never used a first-round draft pick on the quarterback position until he and his staff fell in love with Jay Cutler in the 2006 NFL Draft. Cutler was an incredible talent coming out of Vanderbilt who seemed to be the perfect fit to run Shanahan's offense with his combination of mobility, arm talent, and moxie as a playmaker. The relationship between Cutler and Shanahan blossomed to the point that in 2008, just his third NFL season, Cutler threw for over 4,000 yards and made the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately for the Denver Broncos, Cutler's final time wearing the Broncos helmet would be in that Pro Bowl after the 2008 season.
The Denver Broncos fired Shanahan in 2009, replacing him with the wunderkind Josh McDaniels, a disciple of Bill Belichick and the architect of the Tom Brady offense. McDaniels, in his hubris, came to Denver and immediately ostracized Cutler to the point that the Pro Bowl QB demanded a trade to the Chicago Bears. Cutler would lead the Bears to a playoff win in 2010 while the Broncos had the second-worst record in the league that year. Although Cutler's time in Chicago wasn't spent hoisting Lombardi trophies, the combination of him and head coach Mike Shanahan felt like it was on the cusp of greatness at the time the Broncos traded him away.
2. Brandon Marshall, WR
For my money, Brandon Marshall might be the most underrated wide receiver in NFL history. He doesn't get discussed often among the all-time greats at the position, but he probably should be. The Broncos drafted Marshall in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Central Florida, and it didn't take long for him to become a household name in Denver. After flashing big-play ability in his rookie year, Marshall racked up 102 receptions on a whopping 170 targets in his second NFL season, establishing himself as the clear-cut WR1 in Denver.
He was selected to back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2008 and 2009 after completing three straight years with over 100 receptions for the Broncos, which included a ridiculous effort against the Colts in 2009 in which he caught 21 passes on 28 targets for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, Josh McDaniels did not see Marshall as a long-term piece of the puzzle, and the Pro Bowl receiver was traded to the Miami Dolphins in the 2010 offseason. After being traded way too soon by the Denver Broncos, Marshall would go on to reach the Pro Bowl with three other NFL franchises -- the Dolphins, Bears, and Jets.
He was named to the NFL's All-Pro team in 2012, ironically reunited in Chicago with his ex-Broncos teammate Jay Cutler, and he led the NFL with 14 touchdowns in 2015 as a member of the New York Jets, where he was also named an All-Pro.
3. Elvis Dumervil, DE
Three of the best players the Denver Broncos gave up on too soon just so happen to be from the same 2006 NFL Draft class. Just like Brandon Marshall, Elvis Dumervil was a fourth-round pick in the 2006 Draft, and just like Marshall, he was quick to make an impact in the Mile High City. Dumervil had 8.5 sacks as a rotational player in his rookie season in Denver before becoming a full-time starter in year two. Starting all 16 games in just his second NFL season, Dumervil had 12.5 sacks, 19 quarterback hits, and a whopping four forced fumbles. He was a game-changer.
By 2009, Dumervil was one of the top game-wreckers in the NFL. He earned an All-Pro nod and finished third in NFL Defensive MVP voting after notching 17 sacks and four forced fumbles along with 21 hits on the QB. He earned a second contract from the Broncos but unfortunately suffered a torn pectoral in the 2010 offseason. He picked up right where he left off in 2011 and 2012, making the Pro Bowl both years and forcing a career-best six fumbles in the 2012 season.
When his contract expired in the 2013 offseason, the Denver Broncos made the impossible error of taking negotiations with Dumervil down to the wire. A now-infamous fax machine snafu prevented a new deal with Denver going through with the league office, and Dumervil went from having a third contract in Denver to getting a big-money deal from the (reigning Super Bowl champion) Baltimore Ravens instead. He would go on to average 11 sacks per year for the next three years in Baltimore, and Denver sorely missed him in the 2013 season as injuries mounted on their defensive front, including losing Von Miller to a torn ACL.