There will be a lot of roster shuffling coming up for the Denver Broncos as they start to get several players back from injury, putting head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton in a position to deal with some roster gymnastics.
Denver Broncos release DB Keidron Smith, 53-man roster spot opens up
After the Denver Broncos traded away outside linebacker Baron Browning last week at the NFL Trade Deadline, it left them with a spot open on the 53-man roster. On Saturday, the Broncos officially brought back center Luke Wattenberg off of injured reserve, and he took that roster spot.
Now the Broncos have another spot on the 53-man roster open after the team waived defensive back Keidron Smith on Tuesday, the team announced.
What they do next in terms of filling that spot will be interesting because there are several moves they can or may pursue. Fullback Michael Burton was released two weeks and brought back onto the team’s practice squad, where he used his final two practice squad to gameday elevations. In order for Burton to play again this season, the team would have to bring him onto the 53-man roster.
That’s one move they could look to make this week, but there are several more decisions they’ll have to make this week. Safety Delarrin Turner-Yell’s 21-day window was activated two weeks ago, and this will be the last week he has to be placed on the active roster, or else he’ll revert to IR for the remainder of the season.
Outside linebacker Drew Sanders returned to practice last week, which started his 21-day window, so there’s still some time and flexibility remaining with him.
Wide receiver Josh Reynolds and running back Tyler Badie are still on injured reserve but are both eligible to return. They’ve been on the team’s side field for the past two weeks and are making progress toward a potential return.
If that’s the case, the Broncos will have to find a way to open up four spots on their 53-man roster if all of the aforementioned players are brought forward, which makes the roster gymnastics for Sean Payton and George Paton a little more challenging.
Now that the trade deadline has passed, any player that’s released from the roster, whether they are a younger player or vested veteran, will be subject to waivers. Some potential moves the team could make to free up some of these roster spots could likely include Levelle Bailey, Matt Peart, Calvin Throckmorton, Frank Crum, or a potential surprise move like Greg Dulcich or Javonte Williams, with the recent emergence of Audric Estime at running back.
Williams or Dulcich would be surprise moves to make at this point, but if Denver has bigger plans for Sanders, Reynolds, Badie, Kwon Alexander, and Turner-Yell, it could force them to make some interesting decisions.
Denver will bring forth one of these players on the 53-man roster as early as Wednesday, and we could see more roster shuffling take place as the week goes on.