NFL teams are allowed to carry 90 players on their rosters during the offseason. If they have a player from the league’s International Player Pathway program, clubs are granted an extra 91st spot on the roster.
The Broncos are utilizing that extra spot this summer by rostering international tight end Thomas Yassmin. The Australian-born rookie played rugby growing up in Sydney before switching to American football in college. Yassmin (6-5, 251 pounds) spent five years at Utah as a tight end.
Denver coach Sean Payton was asked how Yassmin looked during spring practices last month.
“Not bad,” Payton said on June 12. “I have to get used to the Aussie accent. You are expecting a punter or kicker, and he’s a tight end. I think he did a pretty good job. He belongs.”
Yassmin’s best season with the Utes came in 2022 when he hauled in 13 receptions for 301 yards and six touchdowns. With 47 college games on his resume, the tight end joins the Broncos with more experience than a typical IPP player.
“These international players come to you in different ways,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said last month. “Some guys were rugby players, some guys just have traits. He has big-time college experience, so he’s a little further along maybe than your average international player. He fits right in.”
Yassmin will be a longshot to make Denver’s 53-man roster, but teams can carry an extra intentional player on the practice squad during the regular season. That will definitely help Yassmin’s chances of making the practice squad in 2024, and he’ll be an intriguing player to watch at training camp this summer.
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