Broncos To Cut QB Kevin Hogan
The Broncos will go with a young contingent behind Joe Flacco. Incumbent quarterback Kevin Hogan will not make their 53-man roster, with Mike Klis of 9News reporting (via Twitter) the fourth-year veteran will be cut.
Hogan served as Case Keenum‘s backup for most of last season, catching on with the Broncos via waiver claim. He ascended to the QB2 spot after Chad Kelly‘s release. This year, the Broncos drafted Drew Lock and added Brett Rypien as a UDFA.
Lock is set to miss several weeks due to an injury to his throwing hand, and it looks like Rypien will either become Flacco’s backup or the Broncos will look elsewhere for their top signal-caller reserve. Brian Hoyer did not make the Patriots’ roster. He spent time in new Denver OC Rich Scangarello‘s system in 2017, beginning that season as the 49ers’ starter. The Patriots released Hoyer earlier today.
Hogan is not yet a vested veteran and will head to waivers. He last attempted a regular-season pass for the 2017 Browns.
Extra Points: CBA, Clowney, Julio, Butt
As expected based on the past several weeks of talks, there will be no new collective bargaining agreement before Week 1. The parties’ latest round of discussions ended this week without much movement, and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes no more meetings are currently scheduled. The owners continue to push for an 18-game season, while the players want a greater revenue share than their 47% figure without adding any additional regular-season contests. But the sides have made progress on issues like increased league-minimum salaries and health and safety components, Pelissero adds. With NFL-NFLPA meetings more difficult to arrange during the season, due to players’ focuses shifting to game preparation, there is now an increased possibility we will get to 2020 without a new CBA in place. That would mean final-year-of-a-CBA rules going into place. This CBA expires after the 2020 season.
Here is the latest from around the league, as rosters continue to take shape leading up to Saturday’s cutdown:
- It continues to look less and less likely Jadeveon Clowney will wear a Texans uniform again. A bevy of teams are interested, even if a Clowney-to-Miami proposition has hit snags on multiple fronts. Bill O’Brien, who was reported to be against a Clowney extension before this year’s franchise tag deadline, said he will reconvene with Clowney if he signs his tag tender, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Clowney has now threatened to miss regular-season time.
- We are now less than nine days away from the Falcons‘ opener, and it could put Julio Jones to a decision. The All-Pro wideout did not skip training camp but he would soon be set to play in games on the league’s 13th-highest-AAV receiver deal. Thomas Dimitroff said (via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com) the team believes this process is “very close” to being completed. Jones’ current deal runs through the 2020 season.
- Jake Butt has endured another setback. The Broncos tight end who has undergone three reconstructive ACL surgeries will have another knee procedure soon, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets. This will be a minor surgery on Butt’s left knee, that was operated on last year. At this point, it should be considered a safe bet Butt will land on the Broncos’ IR list. The Broncos have the former All-American under contract through 2020 and could give him another medical redshirt year of sorts by placing him on IR before finalizing their roster. Butt missed most of Denver’s preseason work.
- The Texans may have their backup quarterback back soon. A.J. McCarron has resumed throwing, per Wilson, pointing to the longtime Bengals QB2 being available in Week 1. McCarron has been dealing with a thumb injury for most of August. Houston signed McCarron to a one-year, $3MM deal to be Deshaun Watson‘s backup.
Broncos To Release Su’a Cravens
The Broncos have released safety Su’a Cravens, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). With a strong secondary, Cravens has been facing an uphill battle to make Denver’s 53-man cut. 
While Denver’s previous regime saw Cravens as a dime linebacker, new head coach Vic Fangio told Cravens that he would have to make the roster as a pure safety. That proved to be a huge hurdle for Cravens, who has struggled in coverage.
Cravens was traded to the Broncos last year after spending his first two years in the league with the Redskins. A second-round pick in 2016, he quickly had a falling out with the organization. After injuries, retirement, and un-retirement, he was hoping to take his coat off and stay a while with the Broncos.
Things didn’t pan out that way, and he’s now seeking new employment with days to go before kickoff.
Patriots Trade CB Duke Dawson To Broncos
The Patriots have traded cornerback Duke Dawson to the Broncos, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The two sides will exchange late-round picks in the deal, with the Patriots receiving a sixth-rounder and the Broncos getting a 2020 seventh-rounder.
The Patriots were forced to Dawson on IR last season due to a hamstring injury. He was later designated for return, but never made it back on to the field.
Prior to all of that, Dawson was in the mix to become New England’s slot cornerback early in camp in 2018. This year, he seemed to have a shot at a steady role, but things did not pan out. Instead, the Broncos will acquire the 2018 second-round selection for pennies on the dollar.
Colts, Texans, Browns Lead NFL In Cap Space
On Tuesday morning, the NFL released a report of every team’s cap space. The total number accounts for the top-51 cap numbers on every team’s roster. Therefore, these numbers will naturally change before next week as teams set their 53-man rosters (although the 52nd- and 53rd-ranked cap numbers (and beyond) for each team will hardly change anything).
It’s also worth noting that there have been a handful of extensions, trades, signings, and cuts since this report was released. However, there weren’t any significant moves that would drastically alter these rankings.
Why are these numbers important at this time of year? Well, rosters will be trimmed on Saturday, meaning an influx of players will hit the open market. While we can’t imagine any roster casualties earning a lucrative contract from a new team, these numbers can help illustrate the monetary advantage one organization has over another. These numbers are also useful in regards to any potential trades or extensions.
With help from TheMMQB.com’s Albert Breer on Twitter, we’ve listed the league’s cap space totals (as of Tuesday morning) below:
- Indianapolis Colts: $56.6MM
- Houston Texans: $37.0MM
- Cleveland Browns: $34.6MM
- Dallas Cowboys: $26.1MM
- Tennessee Titans: $26.0MM
- San Francisco 49ers: $25.5MM
- Buffalo Bills: $23.3MM
- Miami Dolphins: $22.1MM
- Chicago Bears: $22.1MM
- Washington Redskins: $21.7MM
- Detroit Lions: $21.5MM
- Kansas City Chiefs: $21MM
- Cincinnati Bengals: $19.7MM
- Seattle Seahawks: $19.5MM
- Philadelphia Eagles: $18.6MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $18.2MM
- Oakland Raiders: $17.3MM
- Los Angeles Chargers: $16.4MM
- Green Bay Packers: $15.2MM
- New York Jets: $14.9MM
- New England Patriots: $14.1MM
- Baltimore Ravens: $13.4MM
- New Orleans Saints $7.5MM
- Carolina Panthers $5.9MM
- Los Angeles Rams $5.6MM
- New York Giants $5.5MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers $4.9MM
- Minnesota Vikings $4.7MM
- Arizona Cardinals $4.7MM
- Denver Broncos $4.4MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers $4.3MM
- Atlanta Falcons $3.4MM
Broncos Ownership Lawsuit Dismissed
Bill Bowlen‘s lawsuit attempting to remove Broncos CEO Joe Ellis and his fellow trustees from the Pat Bowlen trust has been dismissed in its entirety, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This resolution paves the way for Pat Bowlen’s ownership succession plans to go into effect.
As those who have been following this situation know by now, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, who passed away in June, ceded control of the club to three trustees during his battle with Alzheimer’s, and the trustees were vested with the power to transfer the team to one of Pat Bowlen’s seven children — when the time is right, and assuming at least one child satisfies his requirements for ownership — or to sell the team if the trustees believe doing so is in the club’s best interest.
For some time now, it has appeared that 29-year-old Brittany Bowlen is the favorite to ultimately take the reins. But not long after her status as the frontrunner became clear, Beth Bowlen Wallace went public with her desire to own the Broncos, though Ellis said the trust believed Bowlen Wallace was not qualified for ownership.
Bill Bowlen, Pat Bowlen’s brother, then filed his suit to remove the trustees, and as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, the Broncos believe that Bill Bowlen was acting on behalf of Bowlen Wallace and another sister, Amie Klemmer.
Florio, in confirming Schefter’s report, also says the battle is not quite over. After Bill Bowlen filed the suit, the Broncos initiated an arbitration proceeding under the theory that the matter falls within the NFL’s purview. Bill Bowlen had resisted arbitration since filing suit, but now it is his last hope.
The Broncos, though, believe that they will prevail in arbitration, and Florio says they’re probably right. So for right now, it seems as if Brittany Bowlen will, sooner or later, become the team’s controlling owner.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
Jake Butt Headed To IR Again?
Broncos TE Jake Butt just can’t seem to catch a break. The Michigan product, who looked destined to be a first- or second-round draft pick in 2017 before a torn ACL suffered in his final collegiate game caused him to fall to the fifth round, is trying to battle back from another torn ACL, which came during a walkthrough practice last September.
He looked to be making progress in that regard, as he made it back to 11-on-11 drills earlier this month and played in the Broncos’ preseason game against the Rams on Saturday. Butt even indicated that he had “turned the corner.”
But head coach Vic Fangio said today that Butt has been shut down again and will not play in Thursday’s preseason finale due to renewed problems in his knee (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). Fangio said Butt could miss some time, and it seems that the 24-year-old may be IR-bound once again.
If Denver wants to put Butt on IR but retain the option of bringing him back at some point this season, he will need to be on the team’s initial 53-man roster before being placed on IR. We will know soon if the Broncos want to go that route.
Denver invested a first-round pick in raw but talented tight end Noah Fant this year, and Butt’s time with the Broncos may be running out. He played in three games (all starts) last year, posting eight receptions for 85 yards. That represents his only regular season action to date.
Broncos To Release WR Nick Williams
The Broncos are releasing wide receiver Nick Williams, as Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post tweets. With that, the Broncos’ roster is now at 87, three shy of the present 90-man max.
The Broncos have spent Monday doing some cleanup in advance of Saturday’s 53-man deadline. There’s still tons of work to go, but the Broncos have already released linebacker Dekoda Watson, defensive lineman Zach Kerr, and Williams, giving all three players a head start on their job hunt. The releases of Kerr and Watson freed up significant cap room, but Williams’ release will have little impact on the club’s finances.
Williams appeared in two games for the Titans early on last year, but was let go after dropping a would-be go-ahead touchdown pass against the Bills. The 28-year-old then hooked on with the Rams where he caught two passes for 17 yards in two games. The Broncos signed Willams in late July, but his Denver run is up after just one month.
Broncos Cut Dekoda Watson
The Broncos have released veteran outside linebacker and special teamer Dekoda Watson, sources tell Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter). The Broncos traded for Watson just four months ago, but there ultimately wasn’t a place for him on the 53-man roster.
In April, the Broncos shipped the No. 148 overall pick to the 49ers in exchange for Watson and the No. 212 choice. The deal, for at least a brief time, reunited the Watson and the Broncos, as the linebacker played in Denver during the 2016 season.
Watson will have to move on to a new employer, but this is nothing new for the former seventh-rounder. Throughout his nine-year career, Watson has played for a number of teams, mostly as a special teamer.
Broncos To Release Zach Kerr
The Broncos have released defensive lineman Zach Kerr, as Mike Klis of 9News tweets. It’s yet another indication that the Broncos are expecting big things from DeMarcus Walker in 2019.
Following three seasons with the Colts, Kerr joined Denver on a two-year deal prior to the 2017 season. The defensive lineman appeared in 27 games for the Broncos over the past two seasons, including a 16-game campaign in 2018.
Despite not starting a single game last season, the 334-pound lineman still finished with 33 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and one pass defended. While Pro Football Focus gave him a solid score, he still only ranked 73rd among 112 eligible interior defenders.
The release is not ideal for Kerr, but on the plus side, it’s preferable to get cut earlier in the week rather than later. He’ll keep the $600K signing bonus he secured in March, though the rest of his two-year, $5MM deal contained no guarantees.