Now that the preseason has officially come to an end, we can focus on the regular season and exactly what the team’s initial 53-man roster will look like.
The team will begin making cuts at any time now as final rosters are due by 2:00 pm MT on Saturday. Based on what we’ve seen this offseason, here is the latest projection for the team’s final roster by position.
Quarterback (3)
Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, *Kevin Hogan
Cut: Brett Rypien
Flacco is obviously the starter and Lock will be around, though he is a candidate to beginning the year on injured reserve. The team will cut Rypien and try to put him on the practice squad unless he doesn’t clear waivers.
Hogan has an asterisk next to his name because he will likely make the roster initially as the backup but the team may cut him in favor of a quarterback that comes available after other teams make their cuts. Perhaps that QB will be one of the guys on this list.
This happened last year when the Broncos initially kept Paxton Lynch but cut him the next day when they coincidentally signed Hogan.
Running back (4)
Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman, Theo Riddick, Khalfani Muhammad
Cuts: Devontae Booker, David Williams, Devontae Jackson
Riddick won’t be available to begin the season but he will hopefully be able to join the team before too many games are played.
The Booker experiment should be over and maybe a trade can be found before cuts are due. But Muhammad has elite speed that and is one of the quickest running backs in all of football. He had a great preseason (much better than Booker) and the team should find a way to keep him around.
Fullback (1)
Andy Janovich
Cut: George Aston
Janovich will miss some time to begin the season as well so the Broncos will likely use one of their tight ends in this role. Aston had a great chance to win the job but the signing of Orson Charles was a bad sign for him.
He’ll likely be a practice squad guy with a chance to come back next year and be the team’s fullback.
Wide receiver (6)
Courtland Sutton, Emmanuel Sanders, DaeSean Hamilton, Tim Patrick, Juwann Winfree, River Cracraft
Cuts: Fred Brown, Kelvin McKnight, Trinity Benson, Brendan Langley, Steven Dunbar
The first five on the list are pretty easy to pick, all of those guys should contribute this season. Cracraft makes the team as a punt returner and truthfully, he just needs to reliably field punts and not make any mistakes.
Tight end (4)
Noah Fant, Jeff Heuerman, Troy Fumagalli, Orson Charles
Cuts: Jake Butt, Moral Stephens
Charles should make the team and be part of it at least until Janovich is healthy and ready to return.
The last spot here will go to either Butt or Fumagalli but with Butt needing to have another knee operation, although minor this time, the Broncos may move in another direction.
Offensive line (8)
Garet Bolles, Dalton Risner, Connor McGovern, Ronald Leary, Ja’Wuan James, Elijah Wilkinson, Don Barclay, John Leglue
Cuts: Sam Jones, Jake Brendel, Jake Rodgers, Chaz Green, Austin Schlottmann, Ryan Crozier, Quinn Bailey, Tyler Jones
Bolles, Risner, McGovern, Leary, James and Wilkinson seem to pretty much be locks to make the roster. It’s anyone’s guess after that.
Rodgers was a guy in the mix to make the team and I actually had him on the roster until Thursday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals where he was used and abused. Instead, the veteran Barclay gets a spot and Leglue, or maybe Schlottmann, gets the last slot.
Defensive line (6)
Derek Wolfe, Shelby Harris, Adam Gotsis, Dre’Mont Jones, Mike Purcell, DeMarcus Walker
Cuts: DeShawn Williams, Deyon Sizer
Wolfe, Harris, Gotsis and Jones are safe. Purcell has been terrific since signing the team and the Colorado native should make the team. The last spot goes to Walker who edges out Williams. The former second-round pick had to earn his keep this summer and it seems he was able to do that.
Outside linebacker (4)
Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, Justin Hollins, Malik Reed
Cuts: Ahmad Gooden, Dadi Nicolas
No real tough decisions here. The Broncos are solid with Miller and Chubb and there is almost no doubt that undrafted free agent Reed has made this team.
Gooden will likely wind up on the practice squad.
Inside linebacker (5)
Josey Jewell, Todd Davis, Alexander Johnson, Joe Jones, Jamal Carter
Cuts: Josh Watson, Keishawn Bierria, Joe Dineen
This is the hardest position on the team to predict and arguably the thinnest. Injuries will dictate what the team does here and they could easily keep six players here.
The last spot goes to Carter who gets in over Watson and Bierria due to his ability to drop back and play safety if the team needs him. Carter is a solid player and the team needs to find room for him.
Cornerback (5)
Chris Harris, Bryce Callahan, DeVante Bausby, Isaac Yiadom, Linden Stephens
Cuts: Alijah Holder, Trey Johnson, Rashard Causey
There won’t be many surprises here as the Broncos attempt to build a new ‘No Fly Zone.’ Undrafted free agent Holder and Stephens were battling for the No. 5 spot and it’s pretty much a toss up, but the Broncos opt to go with Stephens here and send Holder to the practice squad.
Safety (4)
Kareem Jackson, Justin Simmons, Will Parks, Su’a Cravens
Cuts: Shamarko Thomas, Trey Marshall, Dymonte Thomas
There are some difficult decisions here and you could make a case for pretty much all of these guys. Cravens ends up making the team and because Carter can double down as a safety, the Broncos only keep four guys at this position as opposed to five.
Specialists (3)
Brandon McManus, Colby Wadman, Casey Kreiter
Since there is no competition at placekicker, punter or long-snapper, these will obviously be the three guys that make the roster. However, much like at the backup quarterback position, the Broncos could take to the waiver wire to find an upgrade over Wadman.
