Tag: Diontae Spencer

Diontae Spencer: Broncos are ‘crazy’ if they trade Jerry Jeudy

Diontae Spencer, Jerry Jeudy’s teammate from 2020-2021, says the Broncos would be crazy to trade Jeudy.

Diontae Spencer hasn’t played for the Denver Broncos since 2021, but he’s still clearly paying attention to the team’s wide receiver room.

Amid reports that Jerry Jeudy seems to be on the trade block, Spencer, a former teammate, took to Twitter on Wednesday to share his opinion.

“Broncos crazy if they trade Jerry,” the receiver tweeted.

Spencer played in Denver from 2019-2021, catching 10 passes for 54 yards. He was used primarily as a returner with the Broncos, but Spencer worked with the team’s wide receivers every day in practice.

It seems that Spencer, like many fans in Denver, believes it would be foolish to part ways with a 23-year-old receiver coming off the best season of his career. The Broncos currently only have five picks to use in the 2023 NFL draft, though, and a Jeudy trade might be able to get them back into the first round.

Denver is believed to be seeking at least a first-round pick for Jeudy, and the team has held firm in negotiations. Broncos general manager George Paton won’t make a trade just for the sake of making a trade, so unless a team makes a big offer, Denver might end up keeping Jeudy in 2023.

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7 Broncos free agents are still unsigned

The list of Broncos free agents still unsigned includes Alexander Johnson, Bobby Massie, Diontae Spencer and Shamar Stephen.

The Denver Broncos re-signed 11 of their in-house free agents this offseason, including running back Melvin Gordon, outside linebacker Malik Reed and defensive lineman DeShawn Williams.

The Broncos didn’t re-sign all of their in-house free agents, though — 10 signed with other teams and seven remain unsigned. Here’s a quick look at the team’s unsigned free agents who remain available.

 

 

Broncos tender 3 players, let 2 players hit free agency

Brett Rypien returns, Diontae Spencer walks. The Broncos’ free agency moves have begun.

The Denver Broncos have placed one-year tenders on quarterback Brett Rypien, inside linebacker Jonas Griffith and safety P.J. Locke, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

The Broncos did not, however, tender wide receiver/returner Diontae Spencer or backup offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann. Spencer and Schlottmann are now set to become unrestricted free agents.

Linebacker Natrez Patrick running back Adrian Killins also seem unlikely to receive tenders from Denver. Meanwhile, the Broncos will presumably try to tender or re-sign linebacker Micah Kiser, defensive lineman DeShawn Williams and edge defender Malik Reed.

Rypien is the team’s backup QB at the moment behind new starter Russell Wilson. Denver will likely add at least one more QB this offseason.

Griffith and Locke are poised to serve as key special teams players for the Broncos this season while providing depth on defense.

The deadline to place tenders on restricted and exclusive rights free agents is Wednesday afternoon. Any RFA and ERFA players who are not tendered before Wednesday’s deadline will become unrestricted free agents.

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5 pending free agents Broncos should let walk

Would you have any complaints if the Broncos let these players leave during NFL free agency?

The NFL’s free agency negotiating window is one week away and the Denver Broncos have more than a dozen players scheduled to become free agents.

Broncos Wire has already published a list of seven pending free agents the team should re-sign. Today, we’re taking a quick look at five players Denver should let walk once free begins next week.

Broncos receiver/returner Diontae Spencer ‘day-to-day’ with chest injury

Broncos receiver/returner Diontae Spencer is ‘day-to-day’ with a chest injury.

Denver Broncos wide receiver/returner Diontae Spencer will be “day-to-day” after suffering a chest injury in Week 4, coach Vic Fangio said Monday.

Spencer (5-8, 170 pounds) suffered the injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s 23-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and did not return. Before leaving the game, Spencer had one target on offense and four returns.

After Spencer left, fellow receiver Kendall Hinton stepped up as a fill-in returner, gaining nine yards on his lone punt return.

Elsewhere on the injury front, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has entered the NFL’s concussion protocol and cornerback Pat Surtain is also day-to-day with a chest injury.

Fangio also said guard Dalton Risner (ankle) should be on track to return in Week 5. Broncos running back Mike Boone (quad) and cornerback Ronald Darby (hamstring) are also eligible to return from injured reserve to the 53-man roster this week, but it remains to be seen if they will be cleared to play in time for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Broncos WR Diontae Spencer injured vs. Ravens

Broncos WR Diontae Spencer (chest) is questionable to return.

Story update: The Broncos announced in the second half that Spencer will not return to the game. See our original post below.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Diontae Spencer suffered a chest injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Broncos quickly announced that Spencer is questionable to return. Denver was already thin at receiver going into the game with Jerry Jeudy (ankle) and KJ Hamler (knee) both on injured reserve.

Spencer is also the team’s primary returner, so the Broncos will need to replace Spencer at two positions if he is not able to return.

Denver is now down to Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Kendall Hinton and David Moore at receiver. Going into Sunday’s game, Hinton had one career catch on his resume. Moore just joined the team last week.

Broncos currently trail the Ravens 17-7 at halftime.

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Broncos WR Diontae Spencer nominated for CFL’s All-Decade Team

Broncos returner Diontae Spencer has been nominated for the CFL’s All-Decade Team.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Diontae Spencer has been nominated for the Canadian Football League’s All-Decade Team as a kick returner. Fans can vote for Spencer on the CFL’s website.

Spencer (5-8, 163 pounds) signed with the Toronto Argonauts in 2014 after short offseason stints with the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears. He then spent four seasons in Canada, splitting time with the Argonauts and Ottawa Redblacks.

Spencer earned East All-Star nods in 2017 and 2018 and was named a CFL All-Star in 2018. He set the CFL single-game record for all-purpose yards (496) in 2017 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Last summer, Spencer went to training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers but failed to make their 53-man roster. He was then claimed off waivers by the Broncos and was quickly named Denver’s starting returner.

Spencer earned Pro Bowl alternate honors after his first season with the Broncos. He totaled 644 return yards in 2019, averaging 29.1 yards per return on kickoffs.

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‘The sky’s the limit’ for Broncos returner Diontae Spencer

The Broncos are excited about returner Diontae Spencer entering his second season in Denver.

After spending four years in the Canadian Football League, Diontae Spencer went to training camp with the Steelers last season but failed to make their 53-man roster. He was then picked up by the Broncos.

Spencer initially struggled to transition from the CFL to the NFL but it didn’t take long for him to become a dangerous returner in Denver.

“The one thing he did is he used to really study the punter and the kicker,” special teams coordinator Tom McMahon said during a Zoom conference call on June 11. “He knew where that ball was going to be kicked the last seven, eight games much better than he did the first six. That gives you a head start with your back underneath the ball. You have time now to just think about the catch and think about the return versus when he first started out, the NFL punt game is much different and so is the kickoff game. It was hard for him [initially] to get under those balls before the ball was ever punted.”

Spencer adjusted and learned to study and prepare himself for NFL kicks. After averaging 29.1 yards per kickoff return and totaling 208 yards on punt returns, Spencer earned Pro Bowl alternate honors as a returner last year. Entering his second season with the Broncos, Spencer is now even more familiar with the NFL game.

“Number one, I think he can win pre-snap now,” McMahon said. “Where he’s headed, to me the sky’s the limit. He can run. He’s got courage. He’s a rare small guy that can return kickoffs up the middle.

“We have a lot of schemes that we asked him last year to return up the middle and he hit it up the middle. I think the biggest thing that he’s got to do now, he’s just got to work on breaking those tackles. If he can break through and run through — he’s gotten stronger here in the offseason so we look forward to seeing what he can do.”

Spencer is still the favorite to return kicks for Denver this season even after the team added KJ Hamler in the second round of the draft. If Hamler is as good of a receiver as the Broncos hope he is, Spencer will be asked to handle most of the return duties so Hamler can focus on contributing on offense.

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If he’s as good as Broncos hope he is, KJ Hamler might not return many kicks

Diontae Spencer, not KJ Hamler, is the favorite to return kicks for the Broncos this season.

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KJ Hamler’s speed and elusiveness made him an explosive kick returner at Penn State. He averaged 23.5 yards per kickoff return with the Nittany Lions, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s automatically set to return kicks for the Broncos.

Denver was pleased with Diontae Spencer’s production last year (29.1 yards per kickoff return) and he was named a third alternate for the Pro Bowl.

And if Hamler is as good of a receiver as the Broncos hope he is, they won’t want to risk him being injured on a special teams play.

“I haven’t seen many players over the years once they develop into a really good player and a primary starter do it on a full-time basis around the league,” coach Vic Fangio said on April 24. “We’ll see how that goes.

“If he develops into where he’s getting a lot of playing time on offense then maybe it won’t happen, but if he’s not getting a lot of playing time on offense early on then maybe he can be a returner.”

Denver knows that Hamler is an explosive returner — GM John Elway called him a “great returner” — but as Fangio noted, he might become an important part of the offense. There could be certain situations where Hamler is a returner, but he probably won’t be the main returner.

“We like Spence as our returner too,” Fangio said. “It will take a lot for us to not still have Spence to do that too. We feel good about our return game with both KJ and Spence.”

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Broncos returner Diontae Spencer signs 1-year tender

Broncos wide receiver/returner Diontae Spencer has signed his one-year tender.

Denver Broncos wide receiver/returner Diontae Spencer has signed his one-year tender, according to the player’s agency, DEC Management.

Because he only has one year of experience in the NFL, Spencer became an exclusive rights free agent when his contract expired. As an ERFA, Spencer was not allowed to negotiate with other teams.

After receiving a one-year, league-minimum offer from Denver, Spencer’s options were to sign it or sit out the season. Given that he had no leverage, signing the tender was just a formality for the returner.

The minimum salary for a second-year player is $675,000.

Spencer had a long road to the NFL that included four years in the Canadian Football League. He went to camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers last summer but failed to make their 53-man roster.

After being cut by the Steelers, Spencer was picked up by the Broncos and quickly claimed kickoff and punt return duties. After averaging 29.1 yards per kickoff return and eight yards per punt return, Spencer was named a Pro Bowl alternate following his first season in the NFL.

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