Broncos not bringing in kickers or punters ‘for now,’ hoping McManus, Martin return soon

Brandon McManus and Sam Martin are both on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, but the Broncos are hoping they will be cleared by Saturday.

The Denver Broncos’ COVID-19 list is growing.

Denver had 12 active roster players miss Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers with COVID-19, and two more players were added to the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday.

Broncos kicker Brandon McManus and punter/holder Sam Martin have been added to the COVID reserve list, but they have enough time to possibly be cleared for Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs if they test negative before then.

Denver is clearly counting on the possibility that at least one of its specialists will clear protocol, because the team is “not planning on bringing kickers and punters in for tryouts” at the moment, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

Of note, McManus has some experience punting and Martin has experience kicking, so one of them could fill both roles if needed.

To fill the two open spots on the active roster after placing McManus and Martin on reserve, the Broncos promoted defensive lineman Jonathan Harris and wide receiver Seth Williams from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Monday.

Denver also released defensive linemen Carlo Kemp and Deyon Sizer from the practice squad on Monday. Kemp and Deyon were signed over the weekend as emergency COVID-19 backups on the defensive line.

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