4:06pm: No trade was worked out for Sterns, Klis notes. As a result, he will hit the waiver wire. If no team submits a claim in the next 24 hours, he will be a free agent.

10:02am: Caden Sterns was set to play out the 2024 season as a pending free agent for the Broncos. The fourth-year safety will instead need to find a new home in the coming weeks.

Sterns has been informed by the Broncos of their intention of waiving him, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. The 24-year-old will hit the wire once that move officially takes place. If he goes unclaimed, Sterns will be free to sign with an interested team. A trade will first be sought out, per Mike Klis of 9News. If a partner on that front cannot be found, Sterns will be let go.

The former fifth-rounder has shown potential when on the field, particularly during his rookie season. Sterns totaled a pair of interceptions and five pass deflections in 2021. He nearly matched both of those figures the following year, but he did so in only five games played. Availability has been an issue for Sterns, and he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 of the 2023 campaign.

The Texas alum began training camp on the active/PUP list, but he was cleared to return to practice in late July. Today’s news is not an encouraging sign with respect to Stern’s health at the moment. As a result, he may find himself on the market for a stretch as teams consider adding him prior to roster cutdowns. If he does land with a new squad in the relatively near future, however, the Broncos’ turnover at the safety position this offseason will continue.

Denver moved on from Justin Simmons in the spring, and the NFL’s interceptions leader since 2016 has still yet to sign with a new team. The Broncos also released Kareem Jackson late in the 2023 campaign after his second suspension of the season. Jackson recently signed with the Bills in an attempt to continue his career. Now that Sterns will not be in the fold, a number of new faces will be counted on for the 2024 season.

The Broncos added Brandon Jones in free agency, and the team re-signed P.J. Locke. Those two are set operate as starters this season, but the absence of Sterns will lead to questions about depth behind them. Barring an addition, Denver will rely on the likes of J.L. Skinner and Delarrin Turner-Yell as special teams contributors counted on to take on defensive snaps in the event of injury to Jones and/or Locke. The Broncos have roughly $7.7MM in cap space, so a modest safety investment to replace Sterns would be feasible.

SE[TEMBER 13: Payton confirmed on Wednesday (via Denver7’s Troy Renck) that Sterns, who has been placed on IR, is not expected to return this season. The news marks another injury blow to the Broncos on the injury front, and will leave the team’s secondary without a promising young playmaker.

SEPTEMBER 11: The Broncos’ secondary suffered a blow when safety Caden Sterns exited their Week 1 contest. It was initially feared that the third-year safety had encountered a serious injury, and further testing has confirmed that is indeed the case.

Sterns is dealing with a torn patellar tendon and is expected to miss the remainder of the season as a result, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The news marks a notable loss for Denver’s defense and an interruption to what appeared to be another season of signficant playing time for the former fifth-rounder. Sterns logged an 84% snap share last season, and he was poised to operate as a starter alongside Justin Simmons at the safety spot this year.

Those plans were halted when the 23-year-old was carted off the field during the Broncos’ loss to the Raiders. That signalled a major injury to his knee, though 9News’ Mike Klis reported after the game that the team believed Sterns’ ACL was intact. Even with that being the case, an indefinite absence will commence.

Sterns flashed potential as a rookie in 2021 with a pair of interceptions and five pass breakups. The Texas alum played well when inserted into the starting lineup in place of an injured Kareem Jackson last year, but a hip injury limited his campaign to just five games. Expectations were high heading into his return to the field, but Sterns now faces another lengthy recovery process.

In his absence, Denver will move forward with Simmons and Jackson (who re-signed in May on a low-cost deal) as first-teamers at the safety position. As the Broncos continue the beginning of the Sean Payton era on offense, the team’s defense will remain a unit counted on heavily to deliver success. Their ability to do so has been impacted by Sterns’ injury, though the Simmons-Jackson tandem has considerable experience, having played alongside each other since the 2019 season.