Despite bouncing around the NFL over the past four years, Saubert has put together a solid career as a blocking tight end. In stints with the Falcons, Bears, and Jaguars, the 27-year-old has appeared in 40 games (five starts), hauling in 10 receptions for 85 yards. Cox joined the Broncos last offseason, and he ultimately appeared in seven games, although the majority of his playing time came on special teams.
That Steelers trio has combined for only four career appearances (all via Jones). Acy joined the 49ers as an undrafted free agent last year, but he ultimately spent most of the season with the Seahawks.
On the Broncos’ practice squad for nearly three weeks, Nigel Bradham will return to an NFL active roster. The veteran linebacker will rise from Denver’s taxi squad to its game-day roster.
This will be Bradham’s fourth NFL team, though the longtime Eagles and Bills starter was only with the Saints in training camp. Bradham has been an NFL starting linebacker 96 times since his 2012 rookie season. While the Broncos have Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell in place as their three-down ‘backers, Bradham should see time Sunday against the Chiefs.
Denver still has Mark Barron on its IR list. The longtime starter has dealt with multiple injuries since arriving in Colorado. Bradham, a three-down player with the Eagles for the past four seasons, will join Joe Jones as a backup Broncos inside ‘backer.
In addition to activatingA.J. Bouye and defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones off IR, the Broncos will have D-lineman DeMarcus Walker available Sunday. A fourth-year rotational cog, Walker saw a calf injury send him to IR after Week 2. He registered four sacks last season and did not play much from 2017-18, but Denver may need the former second-round pick more this season after letting Derek Wolfe walk in free agency and losing Jurrell Casey for the season. Although Casey and Von Miller are out, this is the healthiest the Broncos’ defense has been since Week 1.
With Drew Lock looking like he’ll return to the field this weekend, the Broncos have moved on from one of their other quarterbacks. Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post reports (via Twitter) that the team is releasing Blake Bortles. The team has signed practice squad defensive lineman Sylvester Williams to take his spot.
Following five trick-or-treat seasons with the Jaguars, the 2014 third-overall pick had to settle for a backup gig with the Rams last season. He saw time in three games behind Jared Goff, completing one of his two pass attempts. Bortles sat in free agency for the entire offseason, but he eventually got a contract from the Broncos following Lock’s injury in Week 2.
With the 23-year-old appearing to be recovered from his rotator cuff strain, the Broncos apparently so no use for the 28-year-old Bortles. The team will instead move forward with Brett Rypien or Jeff Driskel as the backup quarterbacks.
Williams, a first-round pick by the Broncos back in 2013, reunited with his old team earlier this month when he inked a practice squad deal. The 31-year-old appeared in five games for the Chargers last season, compiling five tackles.
The Broncos have made a few other moves to their roster. Mike Klis of 9News in Denver reports (via Twitter) that the team has promoted running back Jeremy Cox and linebacker Josh Watson to their active roster. Cox, a former standout at Old Dominion, will serve as the third running back with Melvin Gordonon the shelf. Watson joined the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State in 2019. He’s appeared in nine career games for Denver, collecting a pair of tackles.
The Broncos will feature one of the more traditional practice squads, at least to start the season. No big-name veterans appear on Denver’s initial practice squad. Instead, a host of developmental players populate the unit.
However, veteran cornerback De’Vante Bausby — who was one of Denver’s final cuts Saturday — will stick with the team as part of this 15-man practice squad. The Broncos acquired Bausby after his stint in the Alliance of American Football in 2019. He played in five Broncos games last season, after previously seeing spot work with the Bears and Eagles in 2016 and ’18, but wound up on IR for much of the slate.
Joining the four-year veteran will be ex-UDFA Brett Rypien, who resided on Denver’s practice squad last season. Here is the Broncos’ full list:
The Rypien cut will leave the Broncos with two active-roster QBs — Drew Lock and Jeff Driskel — while the Fumagalli and Fort decisions mean Jake Butt made Denver’s active roster. Viewed as a long shot to do so after the team made multiple tight end additions this offseason, Butt made it through camp healthy to start his contract year. The former Michigan standout has suffered three ACL tears in his career.
Denver drafting three wideouts made matters difficult for their lesser-known holdovers, but Winfree — a 2019 sixth-rounder — profiles as a practice squad candidate. The Broncos will carry rookie seventh-rounder Tyrie Cleveland onto their active roster.
Bausby has bounced around the league for several years now, and the former Division II standout joined Mike Purcell in vaulting from the Alliance of American Football to a Broncos role last year. But the team kept UDFA Essang Bassey over Bausby this year.
