Lil’Jordan Humphrey

Broncos To Re-Sign Lil’Jordan Humphrey

Playing a bigger-than-expected role with the Broncos last season, Lil’Jordan Humphrey is part of the team’s changing 2024 receiver plan. Denver is bringing back the ex-Sean Payton New Orleans charge.

Humphrey will re-sign with the Broncos on a one-year deal, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. The Broncos traded Jerry Jeudy to the Browns over the weekend and owe Courtland Sutton a roster bonus this coming weekend. As changes come about in a Denver receiving corps that had stayed mostly the same since 2020, Humphrey will attempt to carve out a role once again.

Down Tim Patrick for a second full season, Denver opted to use Humphrey as an eight-game starter. While this run did not lead to impressive stats (13 catches, 162 yards), Patrick played all 17 games and caught three TD passes. In addition to a Week 1 score, the 6-foot-4 pass catcher reeled off an impressive catch-and-run TD during Jarrett Stidham‘s first start four months later.

In five seasons, Humphrey has crossed 100 receiving yards only twice. He did play for Payton for three years in New Orleans, bringing system familiarity on a team that could be making a significant transition. Perennial trade candidates, Jeudy and Sutton were teammates for four seasons. Although the Broncos are bringing Patrick back, Sutton is due a $2MM salary guarantee on Sunday. The six-year veteran is attached to a nonguaranteed $13MM base salary for 2024. With the Broncos in cost-cutting mode, it is not beyond the realm of possibility they separate from Jeudy and Sutton this offseason.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/25/23

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves from around the league:

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Seattle Seahawks

  • Designated to return from IR: RB Kenny McIntosh
  • Designated to return from PUP: NT Austin Faoliu

Tennessee Titans

After being waived yesterday by the team who submitted a waiver claim for him at the start of the season, Wallace finds himself on the third NFL team of his career. While the trade that sent star Titans’ defender Kevin Byard to Philadelphia returned another safety in Terrell Edmunds, Wallace will come in and attempt to compete for some key playing time with Edmunds and Amani Hooker.

Humphrey has been promoted as a standard gameday elevation three times already, the limit for a practice squad contract, so in order to see any further game action, he needed to be on the active roster. If he is released and re-signs to the team’s practice squad, he’ll be able to be elevated three more times under a new practice squad deal.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/21/23

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs

Humphrey was let go yesterday, but he will immediately find himself back in Denver’s lineup on Sunday. The team announced he has been elevated upon re-signing with the practice squad, meaning Week 7 will be his third and final gameday elevation. The Broncos will need to sign him to the active roster after that point to keep him in the fold for the rest of the season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/20/23

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/18/23

Minor transactions from around the league today:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

The Giants are dealing with an unprecedented epidemic at offensive tackle right now as their injury report starts to read like a phone book. Already missing starter Andrew Thomas and primary backup Matt Peart, New York went into Sunday night’s game with Evan Neal and Joshua Ezeudu bookending the line. Pugh had recently been brought in to help address the team’s depth at guard, but when Ezeudu exited the game with a toe injury, and was subsequently placed on injured reserve, Pugh kicked out and played the rest of the game at tackle with the first-team offense. Pugh will now serve as depth at tackle, as will Philips, who started his career in Baltimore as a guard before proving his versatility for the Ravens and Giants. He started five games for New York last year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/23

Today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Philadelphia Eagles

Peyton Hendershot will miss at least the next four games while he continues to recover from an ankle injury. The tight end already missed a pair of contests thanks to the injury, with the second-year player hauling in a single catch before that. Sean McKeon will be taking the open spot on the roster. The 25-year-old has spent the past three-plus seasons in Dallas, hauling in six catches in 38 games.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/11/23

Wednesday’s minor NFL transactions:

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Denver releases Humphrey with the intention of adding him back to the team’s practice squad, filling the spot vacated by wide receiver Michael Bandy yesterday. Plus, with young tight end Greg Dulcich expected to return from injured reserve soon, releasing Humphrey opens up a spot on the active roster.

The Colts’ offensive line has been dealing with a couple injuries, so bringing in Boettger will help improve the line’s depth a bit. Boettger, a former undrafted free agent, spent the first five years of his career in Buffalo. He spent much of that time as a backup but did start 17 games in a two-year stretch from 2020-2022. Veteran starting experience is usually an asset worth having on the bench.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/13/23

Wednesday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed (off Raiders’ practice squad): CB Sam Webb

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

Taylor was placed on IR by the Jaguars in July, guaranteeing that he would not see the field during the 2023 campaign. He has also been suspended for the first two games of next season, though, PHNX’s Howard Balzer notes. The 24-year-old has yet to see regular season NFL game action in his career.

Bennett has been dealing with a shoulder injury, but the NFI designation is used for injuries (or, in this case, illnesses) which arise separate from football-related activities. When asked for specifics about the fourth-round rookie’s circumstances, head coach Sean McVay said, via The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, “out of respect for him and the situation, I’m going to leave all of those specifics and particulars in-house” (subscription required). The Rams will move forward with Matthew Stafford as their starter under center, and Brett Rypien available as an option to be elevated from the practice squad.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/23

We have our first flood of pregame transactions of the season today as teams across the league with games tomorrow utilize their two permitted practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Promoted from practice squad: LB Brevin Allen

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: RB Myles Gaskin, OLB Benton Whitley

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Broncos Place Baron Browning On Reserve/PUP List, Trim Roster To 53

The Broncos will join other teams in using short-term IR to create roster spots for veterans they cut Tuesday. The team also needed to use its reserve/PUP list. Here is how Denver moved down to the 53-man limit:

Released:

Waived/injured:

  • OLB Chris Allen

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Browning suffered a meniscus injury this offseason and underwent surgery in June. This obviously deals a blow to Browning’s development, seeing as the converted off-ball linebacker has yet to play a full season at his second NFL position, and Denver’s edge depth. Randy Gregory and Frank Clark lead the way at the position; both are going into their age-30 seasons. The Broncos have seen Gregory, Von Miller and Bradley Chubb miss substantial time in recent years. They will hope Browning, who showed promise opposite Chubb at points last year, can return when eligible.

The Broncos did not place Jerry Jeudy on IR, keeping their No. 1 receiver available once his hamstring heals. This points to the team viewing Jeudy as likely to come back during the season’s first four weeks. Jeudy suffered a hamstring injury late last week; the malady is expected to sideline him for “several weeks.” The team is expected to re-sign Humphrey once it reorganizes its roster, 9News’ Mike Klis notes.

Although Purcell joined Humphrey as a cut, Klis adds the veteran nose tackle is set to come back. Ditto Moreau, as K’Waun Williams is set to head to IR — a designation that will cost the veteran slot cornerback at least four games — upon undergoing ankle surgery. The Broncos kept UDFAs Elijah Garcia, a defensive lineman, and Jaleel McLaughlin, a running back, after strong preseason outings. McLaughlin is the NCAA all-levels rushing kingpin, having amassed 8,161 yards while at Notre Dame College and Youngstown State — Division II and Division I-FCS programs, respectively, in Ohio. He will be the team’s third-string running back — behind Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine.