Predicting Denver Broncos' First Wave of Roster Cuts
The Denver Broncos have kicked off training camp at Dove Valley—now named the UCHealth Training Center.
The first few days of camp have been slow compared to other seasons. There has been a lot of teaching under new head coach Gary Kubiak. The Broncos have assembled the talent, and when the pads come on Monday we’ll see the battles heat up.
There has already been one player cut from the roster that began training camp. It was announced Sunday that the Broncos had designated tackle Connor Rains as waived/injured. To replace him, they signed tackle Charles Sweeton, an undrafted rookie from University of Tennessee-Martin.
That was the first cut, and there will be more to come in the near future. In this article, we predict the first wave of roster cuts.
C Dillon Day
1 of 5
The Broncos have collected offensive linemen this offseason as they look to find the best combination for the final roster and practice squad. In the middle of the line, the team is looking for the best starting center, and perhaps a backup at the position. With Gino Gradkowski penciled in as the starter and Matt Paradis impressing in camp as a reserve, rookie Dillon Day could find himself on the outside looking in.
A four-year starter in the SEC, Day has a lot of positive traits. He’s a strong and intelligent player who does a good job of anticipating line stunts and twists. Day is tough, hard-nosed and known as a hard worker.
However, he gets by on tenacity and technique rather than athleticism. Day can struggle to get to the defender first after the snap.
We haven’t seen much from Day so far during training camp. He’s working primarily with the third-team offense. The Broncos are unlikely to keep three centers on the roster, so Day could be among the first players cut from the roster.
QB Zac Dysert
2 of 5
The quarterback of the future is unknown at this time. Brock Osweiler is entering the final year of his contract, and he may get an extension with the team if he performs well in training camp and the preseason. Once thought of as a player who would push Osweiler as the heir apparent to Peyton Manning, Zac Dysert enters training camp on the roster bubble.
A seventh-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft, Dysert made the 53-man roster during his rookie season. Last year, he showed little progress (or consistency) as a passer during camp and was cut only to be signed to the practice squad ASAP.
Dysert spent the 2014 season on the practice squad, and so far this season he looks like the same player he was coming out of college. He’s an athletic quarterback and has a rocket arm. However, he’s not accurate or consistent. He’ll make a throw that looks amazing only to follow that with passes so far off the mark you’re unsure where he was going with the ball.
Earlier this year, the Broncos added Trevor Siemian out of Northwestern with a seventh-round pick in the 2015 NFL draft. A knee injury cut his final college season short, but Siemian is out there with a knee brace competing for a roster spot. While Dysert has looked inconsistent, Siemian looks better in a limited role.
If Siemian continues to look like he’s worth keeping around as a developmental prospect, then Dysert could be shown the door.
WR Nathan Palmer
3 of 5
The Broncos have a ton of talent at the wide receiver position. It’s going to be difficult to make an impression with so much talent, and that’s why Nathan Palmer is on this list.
An undrafted free agent out of Northern Illinois in 2012, Palmer began his pro career with the San Francisco 49ers. Later that year as a member of the 49ers practice squad, Palmer was snatched away to be on the active roster for the Indianapolis Colts. An injury settlement the next year with the Colts led to Palmer getting picked up by the Miami Dolphins, where he resided on their practice squad.
Palmer spent last year on the Broncos practice squad, and he was signed to a futures contract after the 2014 season.
There have been several impressive receivers in training camp this year. Players like Bennie Fowler, Jordan Norwood and Jordan Taylor have made more than a few notable plays as they try to earn a spot with the team. Palmer has dropped a few passes, and he’s generally been unimpressive on the practice field. His time with Denver may be drawing to a close as other players are looking better.
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TE Marcel Jensen
4 of 5
Sometimes, tough decisions need to be made when trimming the roster. The Broncos need tight end depth due to the nature of the Kubiak offense. That’s why they picked up Marcel Jensen as a free agent earlier this year.
An undrafted free agent out of Fresno State last year, Jensen began his pro career with the Jacksonville Jaguars. As a rookie, he bounced on and off their active roster. The team liked him enough to sign him to a futures contract after the season, but Jensen was waived earlier this year.
The Broncos picked him up, and for good reason.
Jensen is a talented player who can make plays after the catch. He’s strong and fearless running routes over the middle, and his size makes him tough to bring down. Jensen can play in the NFL, but he has to stay healthy and impress if he wants to make it with the Broncos.
So far in training camp, Jensen has not done either one. Kubiak talked about Jensen’s absence in Sunday’s practice due to a minor injury.
“We thought he could go. He got stepped on yesterday and came in this morning really sore, so we sat him out. It might be a rest day for our D tomorrow so we tried to hang on to him today, bring him back tomorrow and give our D a break.” Kubiak concluded, “He's OK though. He should be back tomorrow.”
Jensen is an interesting developmental prospect, but he can’t afford to be missing out on practice time or else his roster spot could be in jeopardy.
CB Taurean Nixon
5 of 5
The secondary is jam-packed with talent, and there will be players cut who might be able to stick around with other teams in the league. The Broncos added one Tulane cornerback when they selected Lorenzo Doss in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. They added one of his teammates when they picked up Taurean Nixon as a seventh-round pick in the draft.
Originally starting his college career at Memphis, Nixon found a mentor in 15-year NFL veteran (and Tulane defensive coach) Lionel Washington when he transferred to Tulane.
“When I got there, I was a transfer from Memphis, so I went through a couple of coaches before I went to him. He’s one of the coaches that looked to me and gave me a lot of feedback along with [Secondary] Coach [Jason] Rollins because I moved to the nickel last year.” Nixon concluded, “Together with Coach Rollins and Coach Lionel Washington, I learned a lot that I didn’t know before I got to Tulane.”
Nixon is a speedy rookie who does not let receivers get by him on deep routes. He does get caught staring at a quarterback’s eyes from time to time, and will get out of position because of this bad habit. Nixon is a raw corner, but his speed makes him an interesting option on special teams as a return man.
Wwe’ve seen wide receiver Jordan Norwood show well as a return man so far at training camp. Fellow wide receiver Isaiah Burse has also had quite a few kicks sent in his direction. We haven’t seen Nixon be able to showcase his talent as a returner yet.
The Broncos could end up keeping Nixon on the team with a spot on the practice squad, but number crunches at other positions could cause them to cut the rookie speedster.
All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos' media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats via ESPN's employees-only database.
Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.
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