On Tuesday, the Broncos announced their last two roster moves in their effort to shrink the roster down from 90 players to 80 just in time for training camp.
The first shoe to drop today was the announcement that defensive tackle Kyle Peko was choosing to opt out of the 2020 season. Players who choose to opt-out will receive either a $150 thousand stipend that will be deducted from their 2021 salary or in the case that they’re at a higher risk medically, they’ll receive $350 thousand which won’t be deducted from their salary next season.
Which bucket Peko falls into is yet to be determined, but his decision to opt-out shouldn’t affect Denver’s final roster too much. The Broncos’ depth at the position already made it unlikely Peko would be among the final 55, with Jurrell Casey, Shelby Harris, Mike Purcell, Dre’Mont Jones and McTelvin Agim all locks to make the team, as DeMarcus Walker is still in competition for a roster spot.
The next member of the Broncos’ 90 man roster who didn’t survive the cut down to 80 was undrafted free agent wide receiver Zimari Manning.
Manning didn’t earn much draft buzz coming out of FCS school Tarleton state, but his flashy highlights were enough for him to get signed by the Broncos and pick up a fair amount of buzz from Broncos Country in the process.
The cut doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, considering the Broncos had 12 receivers on the roster prior to his release, after waiving Kelvin McKnight yesterday. This also means fellow undrafted wide receiver Kendall Hinton’s NFL dreams stay alive for now.
