5 surprise cut candidates for Broncos ahead of 2023 season

As with every team in the NFL, the Denver Broncos must reduce their roster from 90 to 53 players on August the 29th, 2023, which is nine days before the NFL Kickoff game between the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs on September 7. The league modified the roster cuts rules to only one date (August 29) instead of three throughout the preseason.

Last year, and the years before, every team had to trim their rosters from 90 to 85 before preseason Week 2, from 85 to 80 before preseason Week 3, and from 80 to 53 after the final week of preseason. Now, as I previously mentioned, NFL teams will have only one deadline day to reduce their rosters from 90 to 53. Each team must cut/waive 37 players, meaning a total of 1,184 players will be cut and/or waived after preseason Week 3.

Something important to mention is that every team must have a 16-player practice squad, so from the 1,184 released players before the deadline, 512 will have the opportunity to land in a practice squad. Yes, it is tough for these guys, but as with every sport, football is also a business, and teams cannot be paying 90 players when only 22 start a game for their respective team (11 on offense, 11 on defense).

Like every year, there are always players that technically had a guaranteed roster spot secured, but in the end, they get cut/waived. With that being said, let's dive into five Denver Broncos players who are definitely in the roster bubble and can be surprise cuts before the 53-man roster deadline ...

1. Mike Purcell, Defensive Lineman

Purcell started training camp on the Non-Football injury list, and he is still there at the time of this writing, as he is still recovering from a knee injury suffered last season. He played in all 17 games in the 2022-23 season but had a career-low in starts (since he joined the Broncos). He started in only four games.

Over his four seasons with the Denver Broncos, Purcell has started per season: seven games, six games, 10 games, and four games. Once again, 2022-23 was his career-low in starts with the Broncos. Statistically, he was not that bad, as he had 45 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery.

Moving on from Purcell would save the Broncos $3.5 million, but DL depth is something that Denver needs. He can easily be a cut candidate and instead, add a younger guy.