Denver Broncos Veterans Who Have Been Put on Notice This Offseason

The Denver Broncos are building a roster for what they hope is a Super Bowl run in 2015. The team has put together a 90-man roster and has to trim that down to the best 53 players before the start of the regular season.

Younger additions will outplay some veterans. Others will get banged up and passed on the depth chart by someone behind them. A few players will just fail to show their value to the team.

Here are five Broncos veterans who have been put on notice this offseason.

RT Chris Clark

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The offensive line has been a work in progress this offseason. The team needed to improve its play up front after shuffling through several different combinations (with varying degrees of success) last year.

This offseason, the Broncos have added talent at the guard, center and right tackle position. They did this through free agency, trades and the 2015 NFL draft.

At this time, only two spots on the offensive line can be considered “set” for the Broncos. Ryan Clady will once again man left tackle. The right guard will be Louis Vasquez—an All-Pro at the position.

We’ll see Gino Gradkowski, Matt Paradis and Max Garcia compete for the starting center position, while Shelley Smith should be able to hold off Ben Garland for the starting left guard spot.

Right tackle is going to be one of the most heated battles in training camp.

Chris Clark is on notice because of the team drafting both Michael Schofield (third round, 2014) and Ty Sambrailo (second round, 2015). These three will battle in training camp for the starting right tackle position, and Clark may be the odd man out.

With his cap number of about $1.6 million—and only $225,000 in dead money—the Broncos could easily show Clark the door if he doesn’t look better than at least one of the two who are competing with him.

Last year, Clark began the season as the starter at right tackle. The Broncos ended up shuffling around that spot more than one time, and Vasquez eventually turned out to be their best option there. Clark has to prove his value to this team in camp if he wants to stay with the Broncos.

P Britton Colquitt

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The Broncos need to get the best out of every position on the roster—especially the high-priced players.

When looking at the top average annual salaries for punters in the league, Britton Colquitt sits at the top at over $3.8 million. Denver is not getting the proper return on investment given his play last season.

In 2014, Colquitt’s net punt yardage of 3,048 (24th), long punt of 65 yards (21st), number of punt touchbacks (22nd) and yards per punt of 44.17 (26th) all ranked near the bottom of the league. Simply put, these numbers are too low for a player with such a high price tag.

Earlier this year, the Broncos added free-agent punter Karl Schmitz. He hasn’t kicked in a game since he played at Jacksonville University seven years ago. However, that fact didn’t stop him from impressing the Broncos at the veteran combine earlier this year.

He has a great highlight reel on YouTube where he hits 70-yard field goals and boots punts with incredible hang time.

We could see Schmitz push more than Colquitt off the roster. Kickoff specialist Brandon McManus might also be asked to turn in his playbook because Schmitz can do his job as well.

RB Ronnie Hillman

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The Broncos have a jam-packed and talented running back corps. The new offense under head coach Gary Kubiak will feature a balanced offense and a strong rushing attack. The zone-blocking system will be in place up front on the offensive line, and backs need to be patient and decisive in order to be successful.

Patient and decisive aren’t the two best words to describe Ronnie Hillman’s running style.

He is entering his fourth year as a pro, and finding a role with the team might be difficult. The 2012 third-round pick of the Broncos flashed for a little bit last season as the starter. His speed and quickness were on full display as he rushed for more than 100 yards as the lead back in five starts.

However, in his fifth start of the year (Week 10) Hillman was injured and didn’t return until Week 17 against the Oakland Raiders. While he has the ability to eat up huge chunks of yards in a single carry, Hillman’s lack of size (5'10", 195 lbs) prevents him from being a bell-cow running back.

This year, Hillman will have to prove that he can be a valuable change-of-pace back behind starter C.J. Anderson. At this time, you could even put Hillman third or fourth on the depth chart depending on where you rank guys like Montee Ball and Juwan Thompson.

The player who could push Hillman off the roster is Kapri Bibbs or Joe Don Duncan—depending on how many backs the Broncos want to keep.

Bibbs looked great last year in training camp, and the team liked him enough to keep him around on the practice squad in 2014. Duncan was brought in to be the fullback, and that extra spot for his position (a position needed in this offense) might take away one slot on the roster at running back.

DT Marvin Austin

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The Broncos defense is going to be much more aggressive in 2015 with new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips leading the way. The 3-4 defense will require the defensive line to play strong against the run so the outside linebackers can focus more on rushing the passer. The nose tackle position in particular is one where the Broncos must have strength at the point of the play.

A player on notice who some might find it a bit surprising is defensive tackle Marvin Austin.

He has incredible natural talent, and that’s why the New York Giants made him a second-round pick in the 2011 NFL draft even though Austin did not play in his final season (suspension) at North Carolina. He flamed out with the Giants quickly and bounced around to the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins before finding a landing spot in Denver last year.

The Broncos were savvy to pick up a player with Austin’s natural talent—and his price tag is low for a player with his upside. He has the ability to be a starter in this league, and he might be able to win a starting job for Denver—so long as he stays healthy and motivated.

Those two factors have been a problem for Austin during his pro career, though. If he rests on his laurels because he finally found a home with the Broncos, then Sylvester Williams could outplay him for the starting job.

If Austin is banged up, lacks focus or doesn’t pick up the new scheme, then we could see rookie Darius Kilgo pass Austin on the depth chart. Kilgo, the Broncos' sixth-round pick in the 2015 NFL draft, has the size (6'3", 319 lbs) to naturally take up a lot of space. He won’t get much push against the quarterback, but Kilgo can be a nearly immovable object as a run-stuffing nose tackle.

The Broncos can also move veteran defensive end Antonio Smith inside to defensive tackle on certain passing downs. Austin is a nice talent to have on the roster with an inexpensive price. He needs to avoid complacency and prove that he’s worth keeping around for another season in 2015.

WR Andre Caldwell

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There are a lot of talented reserve wide receivers in Denver. The young receivers on the depth chart might push a veteran like Andre Caldwell off the roster.

The Broncos are likely to use second-year pro Cody Latimer a lot more than they did last year when he was a rookie. Latimer has the ability to be a starter in the pros, and Denver will use him in certain packages as the third receiver behind star wideouts Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.

Last year, Latimer was behind Caldwell in the pecking order. This year, it looks like that will change.

Caldwell has good speed (in a straight line), but he fails to change direction with needed explosion. He also lacks creativity with the rock in his hand and rarely makes an impact as a return man. Last year, it looked like veteran Jordan Norwood was going to make the team as a receiver and return man until a knee injury cut his training camp short. This year, Norwood is working his way back to full strength and could be a serious challenge for a roster spot.

Even a second-year pro like Bennie Fowler could end up pushing Caldwell off the roster. Fowler is a big target (6'1", 212 lbs) and has a large wingspan to make plays at the back of the end zone or near the sideline. He had a great training camp in 2014 as a rookie and impressed the team enough to stay on the practice squad. This season, Fowler’s game may prove to be more valuable than Caldwell's.

Finally, there’s the salary for Caldwell. He’s not making a ton of money for a veteran wide receiver, but his cap number of over $1.5 million (with only $200,000 in dead money) is something the team will take into consideration if there’s a younger, cheaper player who is his equal in camp.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos' media department unless otherwise noted.

Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions. Draft grades provided by NFLDraftScout.com.