After all the roster cuts were made around the league, the Denver Broncos got to work building their practice squad. Denver has a 17-player practice squad thanks to the NFL International Player rule, as tight end Thomas Yassmin has an Australian nationality. Of the 17 players, 16 were with the Broncos during the offseason program and preseason. One player was signed from outside Denver and was a big addition to arguably the team's weakest area.
The Broncos reportedly signed veteran tight end Donald Parham Jr., who spent his first four seasons in the NFL with Denver's AFC West division rival Los Angeles Chargers, to the practice squad. Parham is a strong addition to the tight end room who can easily be on the active roster for Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks.
Tight end Donald Parham is signing with the #Broncos practice squad, per source.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 28, 2024
Showed vertical stretch ability with Chargers before this week’s release.
Including Parham, the Broncos' practice squad is at 16 players. There is one open spot as of the time this post is being written. The tight end room was the weakest within the team last season. With Dulcich healthy and the Parham signing, on paper, the position room is upgraded compared to 2023. An interesting stat shows how weak the tight-end room was before adding Donald.
- Donald Parham Jr. career touchdown receptions - 11
- Broncos combined tight end room career touchdowns - 10 (Dulcich 2, Trautman 7, Krull 1, and Adkins 0)
The sad part about this stat is that out of Adam Trautman's seven touchdowns, only three are with Denver (he has been only one season with the team). He has the longest NFL career among the four. Greg Dulcich is probably the most talented but he has been injured. Lucas Krull and Nate Adkins are entering their third and second years in the league respectively, and have not played in many games.
Last season, Dulcich suffered an injury in the opening game against the Raiders and missed almost the entire season, the Broncos signed Krull, but overall, the room was bad. Trautman led the room with 204 receiving yards. The new addition, Parham Jr., has 23 starts in 47 career games. He is a physical tight end who will easily help rookie quarterback Bo Nix, especially in the red zone.
New #Broncos TE Donald Parham (6-8, 237) is a red-zone monster:pic.twitter.com/ywHFo34Npj
— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) August 28, 2024
For me, Parham was a clear target for the Broncos heading into training camp, and now, after the roster cuts, they snagged him away from the Chargers.