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.
Broncos cut candidate: Aaron Patrick
Aaron Patrick has always been a player with promise but he's never been able to fully put it together.
By many accounts, he had a fantastic summer with the team last year and ended up making the roster only to suffer a torn ACL on a freak play in Week 6.
Patrick was being positioned as one of the special teams leaders on the roster and if he is going to continue with his time in Denver, in addition to showing he has recovered from the injury, he will have to get back to that level of play on special teams as it is his best chance of making the team.
The Broncos have other players with a chance to fill in that role, however, such as undrafted free agent Seth Benson, who could make Patrick expendable.
Who knows what kind of season Patrick could have had last year and it's a shame he didn't get to showcase his talents for very long, but he will now face an uphill battle to make the team.
Broncos cut candidate: Kendall Hinton
Kendall Hinton will always be known as the player the Broncos had to turn to in November 2020 when all four of the team's quarterbacks were ruled ineligible due to COVID-19 infractions. Hinton, a wide receiver who played some quarterback in college, had to take over and it was... less than ideal.
But he has managed to hang on with the team for three seasons despite being undrafted. He continues to defy the odds and was even becoming a favorite of Russell Wilson last summer.
But Payton has brought over a couple of wide receivers from his time in New Orleans — Marquez Callaway and Lil'Jordan Humphrey — while also drafting Marvin Mims and signing another wide receiver as an undrafted free agent (Taylor Grimes).
Those moves cloud the depth chart and put Hinton on the outside looking in at the roster bubble. He will have his work cut out for him to stick around.
But the one thing that could work in his favor could be the fact that when he had to make that emergency start at quarterback, it just happened to be against Payton and the Saints. Payton loves a good gadget player and perhaps he sees one in Hinton.
Broncos cut candidate: Justin Strnad
Justin Strnad was selected in the fifth round of the 2020 draft and he brought with him some optimism that the team had found a solid under-the-radar guy to play inside linebacker. But a quick wrist injury shut down his entire rookie season and he's just never caught up.
The Broncos have Alex Singleton and Josey Jewell as the starters at inside linebacker. Rookie Drew Sanders is going to get his snaps and Jonas Griffith, who was on a fast rise before getting hurt early last season, is still on the roster.
Strnad is not going to be kept because of what he does at that position but rather, like Patrick, if he can be a positive contributor on special teams.
Broncos cut candidate: Albert Okwuegbunam
Albert Okwuegbunam has been nothing but a disappointment for the Broncos, sadly.
Last season he seemed to be in the doghouse of head coach Nathaniel Hackett following the thought that he would flourish with Wilson under center. Whether his growth has been stunted or he's just never acclimated well to the NFL is hard to determine at this point.
But the team trading for Saints tight end Adam Trautman during the draft was certainly not a vote of confidence for him.
The Broncos have Greg Dulcich coming off of a solid rookie season and Chris Manhertz, who they signed as a blocking tight end in free agency. It certainly seems that Okwuegbunam could be the odd man out with this team.
For his career, Okwuegbunam, a fourth-round pick in 2020, has 54 career catches for 546 yards and four touchdowns.