The NFL preseason is quickly coming to an end. Teams have until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to get their rosters down to 75 players. Whether it happens during this upcoming cut or the next one, four recognizable Denver Broncos should be looking for work relatively soon.
Ronnie Hillman has had a decent run in Denver. However, the Broncos backfield is just too talented to justify keeping Hillman and his cheap salary in 2016. CJ Anderson will get the bulk of the carries this season with Devontae Booker serving as the No. 2 running back. Denver will most likely keep both Andy Janovich and Juwan Thompson. Also, this should be the season Kapri Bibbs finally earns a roster spot.
Britton Colquitt has given the Broncos a solid punting game during his tenure here. However, many things are working against Colquitt as he tries to land a roster with Denver this season. It seemed Colquitt began to show decline during stretches last season. It also does not help that Denver drafted Riley Dixon and Colquitt is scheduled to count $4 million against the salary cap this season. Colquitt simply has not done enough in preseason to show the Broncos he is the choice instead of the rookie.
Denver is very thin at offensive line outside of its starters. However, Michael Schofield just does not seem to get it at the NFL level. Schofield has been blown up a few times during the preseason and fans do not forget about his struggles in pass protection last season. If the Broncos do end up going with a quarterback duo that has one snap of NFL experience, it is simply too much of a risk to throw Schofield out there knowing his history.
Finally, it is hard to imagine Mark Sanchez on the roster if Trevor Siemian does not do anything to relinquish the starting quarterback job. NFL teams do not normally dress three quarterbacks for a regular season game. Also, Paxton Lynch is going to be the quarterback when ready and it just makes sense for Denver to have him ready as the back-up. Cutting Sanchez would also save the Broncos about $5 million in cap space and get the conditional draft pick Denver sent to the Philadelphia Eagles as compensation for Sanchez back.
Over the next few weeks the Broncos will make many roster moves. It is hard to imagine Denver keeping any of these four players if things continue down the same road as the preseason wraps up. If these cuts do in fact happen, expect Hillman and Colquitt to find other work. Finding a new place in the NFL will probably be more difficult to come by for Schofield and Sanchez.
Catch Weekend Drive with Sean Walsh every Saturday and Sunday from 2p-4p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.