Tag: Ben Dinucci

Broncos sign 12 players to reserve/future contract

The Broncos signed 12 players to reserve/future contracts on Monday. They will officially join the 90-man offseason roster in March.

Following the conclusion of their 2023 season, the Denver Broncos have signed 12 players to reserve/future contracts.

Perhaps the most notable signing is that of quarterback Ben DiNucci, who spent all of the 2023 season on the practice squad and was elevated to Denver’s game-day roster three times.

With Russell Wilson expected to be released in March, DiNucci and Jarrett Stidham will be left as the Broncos’ two quarterbacks going into 2024. Denver will likely add at least one more QB, either through free agency or the draft (or both) this spring.

Players who were not on an active roster at the end of the season are eligible to sign reserve/future contracts (every player on the practice squad is eligible, for example). These players will officially join the 90-man offseason roster when the NFL’s new league year begins on March 13.

Here’s a look at the 12 players the Broncos have signed to future deals.

Broncos make first quarterback move of 2024 offseason

The Broncos made their first QB move of the 2024 offseason on Monday, signing Ben DiNucci to a reserve/future contract.

The Denver Broncos made their first quarterback move of the offseason on Monday, but it might not be the move fans expected.

Denver signed Ben DiNucci to a reserve/future contract, the third-string quarterback announced on his Twitter/X page on Monday. After spending the 2023 campaign on the Broncos’ practice squad, DiNucci was eligible to sign a reserve/future deal.

DiNucci is now set to officially join the 90-man offseason roster when the new league year begins in March.

Denver is expected to release quarterback Russell Wilson in March, a move that would leave Jarrett Stidham and DiNucci as the team’s only QBs under contract for the 2024 season.

In addition to DiNucci, the Broncos also gave reserve/future contracts to 11 other players on Monday. Practice squad wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith was not among those players and he is not expected to re-sign with Denver, according to the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson.

DiNucci, 27, spent time with the Dallas Cowboys (2020-2021) and in the XFL (2023) before joining the Broncos last May.

Broncos made several roster moves ahead of Lions game

The Broncos added Lucas Krull to 53-man roster, moved Ronnie Perkins to the practice squad and elevated Ben DiNucci and Tyler Lancaster.

The Denver Broncos made several roster moves ahead of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Lions.

First, the team waived outside linebacker Ronnie Perkins from the 53-man roster on Thursday. To fill Perkins’ former spot on the active roster, Denver promoted tight end Lucas Krull from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. The Broncos re-signed Perkins to the practice squad on Saturday.

Additionally, the team elevated quarterback Ben DiNucci and nose tackle Tyler Lancaster from the practice squad to the game-day roster on Saturday. DiNucci and Lancaster will revert back to the practice squad on Monday.

Krull previously used up his three practice squad elevations, so the Broncos had to fully promote him to the active roster so he can play in Detroit. Krull is now set to serve as the team’s third-string tight end behind Adam Trautman and Chris Manhertz.

The Broncos have not yet activated tight end Greg Dulcich, who is eligible to return from injured reserve. Dulcich recovered from his hamstring injury and practiced on Wednesday, only to then suffer a foot injury that ruled him out for Week 15.

Saturday’s game will be nationally televised on NFL Network.

Report: Saints tried, failed to poach Broncos practice squad quarterback

The Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson reports the Saints tried and failed to poach Broncos practice squad QB Ben DiNucci, who didn’t see a better situation in New Orleans:

The New Orleans Saints explored multiple options when Derek Carr went down with a shoulder injury back in Week 3, looking to reinforce the depth chart with a backup quarterback behind Jameis Winston. The Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson reports that the Saints tried and failed to poach quarterback Ben DiNucci from the Broncos practice squad in September.

But DiNucci didn’t see a better situation on the Saints’ 53-man roster than he already had in Denver. The Saints signed Jake Luton from the Carolina Panthers practice squad and rostered him for three weeks while Carr played through his injured throwing shoulder; when rookie quarterback Jake Haener returned from a six-week suspension to start the season, Luton was waived.

A former seventh-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2020 NFL draft, DiNucci played college football at Pittsburgh and James Madison before trying his hand with the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons in 2023, where he led the startup squad to a 7-3 record and playoff berth. The Broncos signed him after a success tryout at rookie minicamp in May.

DiNucci would have had the same fate without the promise of a spot on the Broncos practice squad once he was available again, so it’s easy to understand why he would rather stay in Denver than relocate to New Orleans. It doesn’t help that Sean Payton’s Broncos are surging towards a potential playoff berth (their 7-6 record has them in ninth place in the AFC playoff standings) while the Saints are the last-ranked 6-7 team in the NFC (in eleventh place). Even if DiNucci had hung around with the Saints, if nothing else the vibes in Denver seems to be in a much better place.

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This is why the Broncos elevated QB Ben DiNucci and made him inactive

The Broncos elevated QB Ben DiNucci from the practice squad and then made him inactive on game day. Sean Payton explained why.

The Denver Broncos made a curious roster decision on Saturday when they elevated third-string quarterback Ben DiNucci from the practice squad to the game-day roster for Week 13 despite starter Russell Wilson and backup Jarrett Stidham both being healthy.

The decision to elevate DiNucci became even more puzzling on Sunday when DiNucci was inactive against the Houston Texans. Denver added him to the active roster only to immediately demote him from the game-day roster, and DiNucci reverted back to the practice squad on Monday.

So, what was the reason for the roster juggling?

Broncos coach Sean Payton was doing a financial favor for the practice squad QB, rewarding him for the work he has done this season.

“It’s a way for us to help a player relative to games up and games on active roster,” Payton explained Monday. “Sometimes it gets competitive with another team trying to take a player from you. I know it’s a little confusing. I think as soon as you guys saw him come up, it’s like, ‘Oh, is something wrong with the other two?’

“It’s a way for us to help invest in someone that we want [and someone who] we see being here as a young, developmental player. That would be the easiest way to explain it.”

NFL players can earn a “credited season” by being on the game-day roster three times. Players can earn an “accrued season” for being on the game-day roster six times. As Henry Chisholm of DNVR Sports pointed out on Twitter/X, credited and accrued seasons are both beneficial for a player’s minimum salary requirements in free agency and retirement benefits.

So DiNucci now has one game under his belt in 2023, even though he was inactive. Two more would give him a credited season, which could increase his salary in 2024. Payton also noted that another team had shown interest in DiNucci, but not recently.

“Yeah, a long time ago, though,” Payton said. “All good.”

So the Broncos do not appear to be in danger of losing DiNucci to another team, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the backup quarterback on the game-day roster at least two more times this season.

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Broncos make 3 roster moves ahead of Texans game

The Broncos activated WR Brandon Johnson from injured reserve and elevated TE Lucas Krull and QB Ben DiNucci from the practice squad.

The Denver Broncos made three changes to the roster on Saturday ahead of their showdown with the Houston Texans.

First, the Broncos activated wide receiver Brandon Johnson (hamstring) from injured reserve to the 53-man roster. Denver had an open spot for Johnson on the active roster after losing safety Kareem Jackson to a four-game suspension.

Johnson becomes the fifth WR on the 53-man roster, joining Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Marvin Mims and Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

The Broncos also elevated tight end Lucas Krull and quarterback Ben DiNucci from the practice squad to the game-day roster. Both players will revert back to the practice squad on Monday.

DiNucci is an interesting elevation because Denver has not made any additions to the injury report, so starter Russell Wilson and backup Jarrett Stidham are both healthy going into Sunday’s game.

It will be interesting to see if DiNucci ends up just being an emergency third-string QB or if the Broncos have some kind of package for him in the playbook. We’ll find out Sunday.

Broncos backup QB teases switch to coaching college football

Broncos backup quarterback Ben DiNucci (jokingly) teased himself as a hypothetical candidate to replace Curt Cignetti at James Madison.

Denver Broncos backup quarterback Ben DiNucci has (jokingly) teased himself as a hypothetical candidate to become the next James Madison football coach after Curt Cignetti left the program to coach Indiana.

“Not saying I would. Not saying I wouldn’t. Just saying my phone is open @JMU,” DiNucci tweeted from his official Twitter/X page on Thursday.

DiNucci, 27, played at Pittsburgh from 2015-2017 before transferring to JMU in 2018. In two seasons with the Dukes, DiNucci went 479-of-687 passing for 5,716 yards with 45 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. He also rushed 229 times for 1,002 yards and 16 touchdowns.

The dual-threat quarterback was picked by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft and he ended up appearing in three games and earned one start as a rookie. After spending the 2021 season on Dallas’ practice squad, DiNucci played for the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons last spring, leading the league with 20 touchdown passes.

DiNucci signed with the Broncos in May after a successful tryout. He now serves as a third-string backup quarterback on the practice squad. His tweet was posted in jest, but DiNucci might have a future in coaching down the road. Denver’s current quarterbacks coach, Davis Webb, was a backup in the NFL last fall, and he’s just one year older than DiNucci.

Perhaps the backup QB will return to JMU someday in the future.

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8 Broncos players have changed their jersey numbers

If KJ Hamler returns to the Broncos later this year, he will need a new jersey number: CB Tremon Smith has switched to No. 1.

Several Denver Broncos changed their jersey numbers on Monday.

Punter Riley Dixon, who wore No. 19 in preseason, switched to No. 9. Broncos receiver Marvin Mims, who wore No. 83 in preseason, then switched to No. 19.

Cornerback Tremon Smith also switched to No. 1 after wearing No. 23 in preseason. Cornerback Fabian Moreau, who wore No. 36 this summer, then switched to No. 23 (running back Tyler Badie remains No. 36).

Cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian, who previously wore No. 35, now wears No. 29. Defensive back Devon Key, who wore No. 38 in preseason, now wears No. 26 (running back Jaleel McLaughlin still wears No. 38).

Quarterback Ben DiNucci, who wore No. 6 this summer, now wears No. 11 (safety P.J. Locke still wears No. 6).

No. 1: CB Tremon Smith (previously 23)
No. 9: P Riley Dixon (previously 19)
No. 11: QB Ben DiNucci (previously 6)
No. 12: WR Tim Patrick (previously 81) [injured reserve]
No. 19: WR Marvin Mims (previously 83)
No. 23: CB Fabian Moreau (previously 36)
No. 26: DB Devon Key (previously 38)
No. 29: CB Ja’Quan McMillian (previously 35)

New practice squad players also received their numbers: WR Phillip Dorsett (No. 13), ILB Ben Niemann (No. 57), TE Lucas Krull (No. 85) and WR David Sills (No. 87).

Additionally, defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster is wearing No. 96. That’s not a new change — Lancaster switched from No. 62 to No. 96 after defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike was suspended indefinitely for gambling.

During the offseason, players are allowed to share numbers if they play on different sides of the ball (such as McLaughlin and Key both wearing No. 38 in preseason). With the regular season now right around the corner, though, numbers 0-99 can only be worn once on the 53-man roster and 17-player practice squad.

The Broncos are considered 4-point favorites against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1. View the team’s full regular season schedule here.

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Sean Payton explains decision to only carry 2 QBs on active roster

For a third QB to not count against the game-day roster, he has to be on the 53-man roster. Sean Payton would like to see that rule changed.

The NFL announced a new rule this offseason that will allow teams to have a third-string quarterback not count against the 48-player game-day roster. There is a huge stipulation, though. In order to be eligible for that, the quarterback has to be on the 53-man roster (elevated practice squad QBs will still count against the game-day roster limit).

Many fans and pundits assumed that would lead to more teams carrying three quarterbacks on their active rosters this season. For at least the Denver Broncos, the new rule didn’t have any influence on their roster construction.

“I think there were a lot of people that felt like if the new rule said, ‘Hey, you could bring a third [quarterback] off your practice squad on game day,'” coach Sean Payton explained Thursday. “That would have possibly been a good solution. [Instead], the new rule basically says if you keep a third on your active, you can bring him up free.”

The San Francisco 49ers had a quarterback emergency in the playoffs against the Philadelphia Eagles last season and they eventually had Christian McCaffrey taking snaps in a Wildcat formation.

The Niners’ situation did not influence Payton’s decision. The veteran coach will carry Russell Wilson and Jarrett Stidham on the active roster and Ben DiNucci on the practice squad this fall.

“What you had in Philadelphia versus San Francisco was a once in every four-year occurrence,” Payton said Tuesday. “We like the two guys who are on the roster, and we think we are going to have a good practice squad quarterback. That’s the approach we are going to take.

“Now, there are some teams that will keep a third on their active. It’s really just your decision on how you want to handle your 53. The new rule still requires you to keep a third on your 53. I will be anxious to see — let’s call it a week from now — how many teams have three on their 53. I’m sure there will be a few, but we will have a third in the building.”

Perhaps the NFL will consider allowing teams to have a practice squad QB not count against the game-day roster sometime down the road. That’s something that Payton would utilize, but the coach won’t carry DiNucci on the 53-man roster just to have a game-day roster exception in 2023.

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10 surprises from Broncos’ initial 53-man roster

There were a few surprises when the Broncos set their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday.

After making 39 roster moves (including two trades) on Tuesday, the Denver Broncos finalized their initial 53-man roster for the 2023 season.

It’s important to note that this is an initial roster for the Broncos as several more roster moves will be on the way within the next 48 hours. While we wait for the finishing touches on the active roster, though, here are 10 surprises from Denver’s moves on roster cuts deadline day.