A.T. Perry – Syndication Server

Broncos’ updated 17-player practice squad with new linebacker

After adding K.J. Cloyd, here’s a look at the Broncos’ updated 17-player practice squad.

After losing linebacker Kwon Alexander to the Detroit Lions, the Denver Broncos filled his former spot on the practice squad by signing K.J. Cloyd on Tuesday.

The NFL’s standard practice squad size limit is 16 players, but there’s an exception that allows an extra international player to not count against the limit. For Denver, Australian tight end Thomas Yassmin is an exception, giving the Broncos a 17-player practice squad.

So here’s the full list of 17 players on the squad after the recent moves.

Broncos 17-player practice squad

Two players can be elevated from the practice squad to the game-day roster each week.

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Broncos’ updated 17-player practice squad after roster moves

The Broncos made a change to their practice squad this week. Here’s a look at the updated 17-player squad.

The Denver Broncos made a change to the practice squad this week.

The roster shuffling started on Tuesday when the team waived offensive lineman Calvin Throckmorton from the 53-man roster. Throckmorton cleared waivers on Wednesday and re-signed on the practice squad.

To make room for Throckmorton, Denver promoted linebacker Zach Cunningham from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.

So here’s the full list of 17 players on the squad after the recent moves.

Broncos 17-player practice squad

Two players can be elevated from the practice squad to the game-day roster each week.

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Broncos’ updated 17-player practice squad after roster moves

Michael Burton up, Keidron Smith down. Here’s a look at the Broncos’ updated practice squad.

The Denver Broncos made a change to their practice squad this week.

The first domino fell on Tuesday when the Broncos waived safety Keidron Smith from the active roster. Denver then promoted fullback Michael Burton from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Wednesday.

After he cleared waivers, Smith re-joined the team on the practice squad on Thursday. Burton and Smith essentially swapped places this week.

So here’s the full list of 17 players on the squad after the recent moves.

Broncos 17-player practice squad

Two players can be elevated from the practice squad to the game-day roster each week.

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Saints’ latest roster move may mean good news for injured Pro Bowler

The New Orleans Saints announced they had waived Connor McGovern, which could mean good news is on the way for Erik McCoy:

The New Orleans Saints announced Monday they had waived Connor McGovern, which could mean good news is on the way for Erik McCoy. McGovern has been the go-to option replacing McCoy at center, and on Sunday he snapped the ball for all 53 of the Saints’ offensive plays. If he clears waivers he should be a safe bet to return on the Saints practice squad.

And McGovern, if you’ll remember, was the offensive lineman the Saints waived wide receiver A.T. Perry to make room for. He wound up logging 369 snaps across six games, five of them starts, and entirely at center.

But back to McCoy. The former Pro Bowler has been out of action with a groin injury that required surgery earlier this season, and the Saints didn’t win a game without him until Sunday’s upset of the Atlanta Falcons. When Klint Kubiak installed his offense McCoy was tasked with adjusting protection before the snap, and the team struggled badly without him.

So this move likely means he’ll be back in the middle this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. That gives McCoy an opportunity to get his feet back under him and take advantage of the bye week for extra rest afterwards. He hasn’t been officially activated yet after returning to practice last week, but that does seem to be the way the wind is blowing.

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Broncos’ updated 17-player practice squad after roster moves

Here’s a look at the Broncos’ updated 17-player practice squad following a flurry of roster moves last week.

The Denver Broncos made a flurry of roster moves last week, including multiple changes to the practice squad.

The Broncos cut defensive back Tanner McCalister and running back Blake Watson from the active roster and signed them to the practice squad. To make room for McCalister and Watson, Denver cut center Dieter Eiselen and receiver Kaden Davis from the practice squad.

Following those transactions, the practice squad is full.

So here’s the full list of 17 players on the squad after the recent moves.

Broncos 17-player practice squad

Two players can be elevated from the practice squad each week.

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Saints’ WR dilemma was made worse by a recent Broncos move

The Saints will be missing Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed on TNF and they can’t call up A.T. Perry because he was poached by the Broncos.

The New Orleans Saints have a bit of a wide receiver crisis going into their Thursday Night Football showdown with the Denver Broncos.

Saints wide receivers Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shaheed (knee) have both been ruled out for Week 7. That leaves Cedrick Wilson, Bub Means and Mason Tipton as their top remaining receivers going into TNF.

This is precisely the kind of scenario that prompts a team to call up help from their practice squad. New Orleans has four receivers on its practice squad to choose from, but there’s a notable omission.

Earlier this month, the Saints cut former sixth-round draft pick A.T. Perry, likely with the hope that he would return on the practice squad. After clearing waivers, though, Perry opted to instead join Denver’s practice squad.

“We weren’t going to claim him [off waivers], but we sure would like to recruit him to come to the practice squad,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said when asked about Perry last week. “He’s long with good hands. … [I] had a chance to meet him. Again [he’s] a young player we want to develop.”

Payton could really pour salt in New Orleans’ wound by elevating Perry from the practice squad to the game-day roster for TNF. On a night when they will be missing their top two receivers, the Saints might regret letting Perry get away.

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Sean Payton speaks on the decision to sign another ex-Saints wide receiver

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton spoke on the decision to sign another ex-Saints wide receiver. He views A.T. Perry as someone worth developing:

Sean Payton earned some more ire from New Orleans Saints fans last week when his Denver Broncos signed another ex-Saints player — former 2023 draft pick A.T. Perry, the wide receiver from Wake Forest. Perry showed up on game days but his poor day-to-day performance at practice didn’t help his case for a roster spot, and the team chose to waive him.

Now he’s on the Broncos practice squad. Payton spoke about the decision to add Perry, who he sees as a player with impressive physical gifts and plenty of skills to develop further.

“We had some exposure with him,” Payton said Friday. “I obviously wasn’t there, but Pete Carmichael (was). We noticed him in his rookie year last year on film… We weren’t going to claim him, but we sure would like to recruit him to come to the practice squad. He’s long with good hands.”

It should also be noted that former Saints assistant college scouting director Cody Rager was hired into Denver’s front office this offseason, and he was part of the decision to draft Perry a year ago.

Payton emphasized that they view Perry as a stash-and-develop signing, not someone likely to get thrown into a game right away. He’s a longshot to p lay against the Saints next Thursday night, but never say never. He learned Carmichael’s playbook as a rookie which is derived from Payton’s system. Perry may not need as much time to get up to speed as other players in his position.

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Saints offensive coordinator may have revealed why they cut former draft pick

Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak may have revealed why they cut former draft pick A.T. Perry: ‘I haven’t met a lot of gamers’

Why did the New Orleans Saints waive wide receiver A.T. Perry? LLast week, head coach Dennis Allen said it came down to a numbers game — injuries had piled up along the offensive line, and the team needed a roster spot, so they let Perry go to make room for Connor McGovern. That decision proved timely when McGovern got into their next game just days after arriving in New Orleans.

But why was Perry released as opposed to, say, another backup like running back Jordan Mims or tight end Dallin Holker? That may come down to their performances in practice every day, which is an area Perry had been found lacking.

Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak might have inadvertently shared some insight to that decision: “I haven’t met a lot of gamers. Usually, what people do in practice is what they do in games.”

He was speaking about Spencer Rattler’s consistency at practice giving the coaches enough confidence to start the rookie quarterback, but it’s easy to draw a connection between Kubiak’s comments and Perry’s play. The wideout caught just one pass out of the hundreds of throws Derek Carr made at training camp. Whether it’s due to lapses in concentration or struggling to pick up Kubiak’s playbook, Perry didn’t consistently perform from one day to the next. That kept him low on the depth chart beneath other players who were improving each week.

And now he’s in a new city learning a new system, or at least one more familiar to what he’s worked in before. It’s unlikely that Perry will be ready to play against the Saints next Thursday night when the Broncos come to town, but you never know. It would be just like Sean Payton to draw up a couple of plays for someone still smarting from being let go.

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Newly-signed Broncos practice squad WR reacts to being waived by Saints

Newly-signed Broncos practice squad wide receiver A.T. Perry reacts to being waived by Saints: ‘I was released just for them to bring another o-lineman in’

New Orleans Saints fans weren’t the only ones surprised to see A.T. Perry get waived last week. The wide receiver was blindsided, too. Perry signed with the Denver Broncos practice squad after clearing waivers, and the former sixth-round draft pick reacted with words of criticism upon being let go.

“It was kind of a shock that I was released just for them to bring another o-lineman in,” Perry told the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel.

That lineman the Saints brought in was Connor McGovern, who played 24 snaps at center on Monday night against the Kansas City Chiefs after Lucas Patrick suffered a collarbone injury. When Patrick returned to the lineup in the second half, he went to left guard while McGovern remained at the pivot.

And those 24 snaps McGovern played were more than Perry totaled through the first four games this season. Obviously this was a disappointing turn of events, but the writing was on the wall when rookies like Mason Tipton and Bub Means were getting on the field and Perry wasn’t.

“It was kind of confusing for me,” Perry continued, speaking with Gabriel. “Just wanting to play in that offense — (Derek Carr) was throwing the ball around and I wanted to be part of that. Unfortunately, I wasn’t. I was on the active roster but inactive (on game days) each week. They said it was my hand.”

Perry was listed with a hand injury on the injury report for the first two weeks, but minor ailments continued to trip him up after that. He was limited by an illness in Week 3 and a hamstring injury slowed him down in Week 4. Then he was let go.

So while injuries may have played a factor, the bigger issue was Perry’s poor performance at practice. He only caught one pass from Carr in team drills throughout all of training camp. When speaking about the decision to start Spencer Rattler this week while Carr is dealing with an injury, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak may have inadvertently shared some insight to Perry’s situation: “I haven’t met a lot of gamers. Usually, what people do in practice is what they do in games.”

Good luck to Perry in Denver, where he’s reunited with Pete Carmichael and some other familiar faces. If he can quickly learn their playbook he might get on the field next Thursday when Sean Payton makes his return to New Orleans. No one questions his physical gifts and athletic talents. It’s just a shame he couldn’t put them to use in an offense lacking someone with his skills at wide receiver. It’s why the Saints are working so hard to trade for Davante Adams.

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4 new Broncos players pick their jersey numbers

New Broncos players OL Dieter Eiselen (70), OT Cam Fleming (71), WR Kaden Davis (81) and WR A.T. Perry (87) picked their jersey numbers.

The Denver Broncos had a busy week making changes to the practice squad, bringing in four new players. Those new arrivals have now picked their jersey numbers.

Broncos center/guard Dieter Eiselen picked No. 70, which hasn’t been worn by a Denver player in a regular season game since former tackle Bobby Massie in 2021.

Returning tackle Cam Fleming picked No. 71, the number he wore with the New England Patriots to begin his career. He later switched to No. 75 with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants and then wore No. 73 with the Broncos from 2021-2023.

Returning wide receiver Kaden Davis picked No. 81, which was previously worn by receiver Tre’Quan Smith last fall and by Tim Patrick before that.

New receiver A.T. Perry picked No. 87, which was famously worn by former receiver Ed McCaffrey and most recently worn by receiver David Sills.

Broncos players pick jersey numbers

OL Dieter Eiselen: 70
OT Cam Fleming: 71
WR Kaden Davis: 81
WR A.T. Perry: 87

Denver’s 17-player practice squad is now full.

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