Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Philadelphia #Eagles worked out five players including 3 punters ahead of season opener
Philadelphia is looking to fill out the 53-man roster with even more talent and worked out five players on Thursday.
#Eagles worked out Blake Gilliki, Pat O'Donnell, Bradley Robinson, Kyle Soelle and Colby Wadman
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) August 31, 2023
Philadelphia brought back Arryn Siposs on the practice squad, and they’ll likely sign a punter and hold another competition between now and the September, 10 season opener.
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With Tress Way battling some back tightness, the Commanders are signing punter Colby Wadman
With punter Tress Way battling some back tightness at the moment, the Washington Commanders are making a move at the position. According to Nicki Jhablava of the Washington Post, the Commanders are signing punter Colby Wadman.
Wadman first got a crack at the NFL in 2018 when he signed with the Raiders in the offseason but he spent the season with the Broncos, playing 12 games and punting it 65 times for 2,905 yards. He remained with Denver in 2019 but has not played a regular-season game since then.
Last season, he was with the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL, winning the league championship with the team. He played his college ball at UC Davis from 2013-2016.
The Commanders are signing P Colby Wadman, per source.
He worked out for the team yesterday because Tress Way is dealing with tightness in his lower back, according to Ron Rivera.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 8, 2023
There are 11 former Broncos playing in the USFL this spring.
Who’s ready for more spring football?
In addition to the ongoing 2023 XFL season, the USFL is also set to kick off its spring schedule this weekend with eight teams. The XFL’s season started earlier and they got a head start on landing talent, signing 24 former Denver Broncos players this spring.
While the XFL is entering Week 9 of its regular season, the USFL will begin Week 1 on Saturday. There are 11 former Broncos in the USFL this year, most of whom had brief stints on Denver’s offseason roster.
There were 20 former Broncos in the USFL last spring, including quarterbacks Kyle Sloter and Paxton Lynch, who now play in the XFL.
Denver signed wide receiver Darrius Shepherd last August after he competed in the USFL last spring. Last November, the Broncos signed fellow USFL wide receiver Victor Bolden to their practice squad. Denver will undoubtedly consider talent from the XFL and USFL again this year after those leagues wrap up their respective seasons.
Here’s a quick look at the 11 former Broncos playing in the USFL in 2023.
The Broncos parted ways with two players on the day of the NFL Draft.
Congratulations, Sam Martin, you’ve won the Denver Broncos’ punting job by default!
The Broncos released Colby Wadman and Trevor Daniel on Wednesday, according to KOA Radio’s Brandon Krisztal. That leaves Martin as the only punter remaining on Denver’s roster.
Wadman served as the Broncos’ punter for 12 games in 2018 and all 16 games in 2019, averaging 44.4 yards per punt with a net average of 39.4 yards per boot.
Martin signed a three-year, $7.05 million deal with Denver during free agency. Earning an average of $2.35 million per season made Martin the clear favorite to win the punting job.
In eight seasons with the Detroit Lions, Martin averaged 46 yards per punt with a net average of 41 yards per punt. Martin also handled kickoff duties in Detroit but Brandon McManus is expected to continue kicking off for the Broncos.
Denver has 10 picks to use in the draft and the team will also want to sign 7-9 college free agents after the draft so cutting Wadman and Daniel to create more room on the roster was a logical decision.
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Here’s a look at how the Denver Broncos’ kicking game fared in 2019.
Specialists are up now in the 2019 positional review series and that means the guys that kick the ball for a living.
The Broncos have a kicker with one of the strongest legs in the league in Brandon McManus and a punter that is well known for being a pizza delivery driver before coming to the Broncos in Colby Wadman.
There’s not much more to talk about with these two guys so let’s jump into a review of their 2019 seasons. No, Casey Kreiter, the team’s long snapper, will not be a part of this report card.
Stats
Field goals: 29-of-34
Extra points: 25-of-26
Points: 112
McManus just completed his sixth season with the Broncos and for those interested, he is also the team’s player rep and will represent the team’s votes on the collective bargaining agreement set to be voted on this coming week.
McManus only missed five field goals on the season but three of those came from 50 yards or more, where he was just 4-of-7 kicking from that range. McManus is known for his strong leg and missing those leads to great field position for the opposition.
He only missed one extra point, which by today’s standards, is pretty good because there are kickers that seem to miss one almost every game.
Perhaps the most memorable moment from 2019 involving McManus was the game in which he clearly lost his cool when Vic Fangio decided to pull him off the field after initially sending him out for what would have been a 65-yard field goal just before halftime.
McManus never got to attempt what would have been a new NFL record.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad season for McManus, but it wasn’t the best by his standards and the misses from long range bring his grade down a bit.
Grade: B-
Stats
Punts: 78
Average: 44.4
Inside 20-yard line: 29
Touchbacks: 4
Net average: 39.4
Perhaps Wadman shouldn’t have to go back to delivering pizzas, but punting the ball in the NFL might not be his thing either.
Despite kicking the ball in the thin air of Denver, Wadman seems to have a pretty average leg as his average of 44.4 yards per kick is pretty weak.
But the most important number for a punter is their net average. That is the overall yardage that the team gains on a punt in terms of giving the other team the ball back. It’s how teams win the battle of field position.
Wadman’s net average of 39.4 yards per punt was poor. Out of 36 punters that qualified for that stat last season, Wadman ranked 30th. That doesn’t work.
The Broncos should seriously consider replacing Wadman in 2020 or at the very least bringing someone in to push him in camp and force him to be better. In all likelihood though, the Broncos can find a better punter just about anywhere.
Grade: D
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Former Raiders and Broncos punter Marquette King plans to play in the XFL in 2020.
Former Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos punter Marquette King was selected by the St. Louis BattleHawks in the supplemental round of the XFL draft last week. King will begin playing in the new league in February.
After spending the first six years of his career with the Raiders, King signed a three-year, $7 million contract with the Broncos last April. His time in Denver was shortlived due in part to a thigh injury.
Before being placed on injured reserve (and later being released), King averaged 44.1 yards per punt in four games last year with a net average of 39.7 yards per punt. He was replaced by Colby Wadman.
Wadman hasn’t exactly been a fan favorite since taking over punting duties. The second-year punter is averaging 43.8 yards per punt this season with a net average of 38.4 yards per punt. Both of those averages are below King’s totals from 2018.
Last week, King tweeted a message of support for the punter that replaced him.
Honestly Wadman is a good punter and he is just doin what he’s told. Similar to my situation there. It’s hard to be consistent when you’re asked to change a technique that has created success for you and it mentally takes a toll. Keep supporting Wadman #BroncoCountry #Kicksquad https://t.co/kMRoymdAlL
— Marquette King (@MarquetteKing) November 17, 2019
King implied that the Broncos’ coaching staff had him change his punting technique last year which hurt his consistency. King seems to believe that the same thing is happening to Wadman this year.
Tom McMahon has been Denver’s special teams coordinator since 2018.
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