5 early veteran cut candidates for Denver Broncos ahead of 2023 season

The Denver Broncos are aiming to be a completely different team in 2023 and shed the image of AFC West cellar dwellers to get back into the kind of contention that Broncos Country became accustomed to.

That will start with new head coach Sean Payton forming his first 53-man roster after training camp and three preseason games later this summer.

The Broncos have a 90-man roster that is full of new faces including five draft picks, 15 undrafted players and some players from Payton's days with the New Orleans Saints. That leads to many questions when it comes to forming the final roster and all bets will be off as Payton does not have ties to a large percentage of the players that have been around.

That could certainly lead to some surprises as Payton is a no-nonsense kind of coach who likely doesn't care how long some of these guys have been around or what they have done while in Denver.

While I don't see too many "shock" releases coming from this roster, there are some veteran players who could be on the cut line by the time the regular season is about ready to kick off.

Broncos cut candidate: Mike Purcell

Mike Purcell came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Wyoming and after bouncing all over the league, he came back home to Denver and has been part of the team for the past four seasons. He played in all 17 games last year.

But the Broncos could be looking at a much more youthful and athletic defensive line with guys like Eyioma Uwazurike and Matt Henningsen, two draft picks from last year, potentially ahead of him in the current pecking order.

The Broncos don't have exceptional depth along the defensive line and Purcell could easily slide onto this roster. But he's also 32 years old and can lean on only his ability as a run-stuffer to stick around. If Payton wants younger, more versatile players here, then he could easily be shown the door.