Tag: Dwayne Washington

2 ex-Broncos find new teams; 5 free agents are still unsigned

Former Broncos CB Fabian Moreau joined the Vikings earlier this week and DB Kareem Jackson signed with the Bills.

Story update: The New England Patriots signed Mike Purcell on Thursday. See our original post below. 

As training camps roll on across the league, two former Denver Broncos defensive backs have found new homes.

The Buffalo Bills signed veteran safety Kareem Jackson on Tuesday. The 36-year-old defensive back was cut by the Broncos last December after he returned from his second suspension of the 2023 season. Jackson now gets an opportunity to continue his NFL career in Buffalo.

Elsewhere on the free agency front, the Minnesota Vikings signed veteran cornerback Fabian Moreau on Wednesday. Moreau started 11 games in Denver last season after the team’s young cornerbacks struggled early in the year.

There are now five former Broncos players still available, with the most notable being safety Justin Simmons. The accomplished safety has said he is waiting for the right opportunity. Simmons is one of three former Denver defenders still seeking a new home ahead of the 2024 season.

Broncos unsigned free agents

DB Justin Simmons (30)

DL Mike Purcell (33) [Update: Signed with Patriots]

CB K’Waun Williams (32)

OT Cam Fleming (31)

RB Dwayne Washington (30)

NFL preseason kicks off tonight. We’ll see if these players find new teams before the regular season begins in September.

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Broncos’ updated practice squad going into Week 5

The Broncos added WR Tre’Quan Smith to the practice squad this week and promoted RB Dwayne Washington to the active roster.

After making a few roster moves this week, the Denver Broncos have an updated 17-player* practice squad going into their showdown with the New York Jets on Sunday.

The Broncos added wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith to the practice squad earlier this week and promoted running back Dwayne Washington from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.

Following those moves, here’s an updated look at the squad for Week 5.

Broncos 2023 Practice Squad

Position Player
QB Ben DiNucci
RB Tyler Badie
WR Tre’Quan Smith
WR Michael Bandy
WR Phillip Dorsett
WR David Sills
TE Lucas Krull
OL Demontrey Jacobs
OL Will Sherman
DL Jordan Jackson
DL P.J. Mustipher
DL Tyler Lancaster
DL Haggai Ndubuisi*
ILB Ben Niemann
OLB Marcus Haynes
CB Art Green
DB Devon Key

*As part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway, defensive lineman Haggai Ndubuisi does not count against the 16-player practice squad limit, giving the team a 17th player on the practice squad.

Related: 10 notable players not signed to the practice squad

Players who spent time on last year’s practice squad who are now on the 53-man roster include offensive lineman Quinn Bailey, defensive lineman Jonathan Harris and cornerback JaQuan McMillian.

Sunday’s game against New York will kick off at 2:25 p.m. MT (TV map).

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Broncos made several roster moves this week

The Broncos will make several moves this week: Tre’Quan Smith and Dwayne Washington are in. Randy Gregory and Essang Bassey are out.

Story update: Before the Randy Gregory release became official, the team instead traded him to the 49ers for a late-round draft pick. See our original post below. 

The Denver Broncos have had a busy week of transactions.

The moves started Tuesday when the team signed wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith to the practice squad and released receiver Michael Bandy to make room for him. Denver also waived cornerback Essang Bassey on Tuesday.

After that, the Broncos promoted running back Dwayne Washington from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, then they re-signed Bandy to the practice squad on Wednesday.

Denver also plans to release outside linebacker Randy Gregory, but that move is not official at the time of publication.

Additionally, Denver designated pass rusher Baron Browning safety P.J. Locke to return to practice, opening a 21-day window for both players to return to the active roster.

More roster moves might be on the way later this week as offensive tackle Alex Palczewski (hand) and cornerback K’Waun Williams (ankle) are also eligible to return from injured reserve.

If any players are activated from IR or the PUP list to the 53-man roster, the Broncos will have to make corresponding moves to make room for them. In the meantime, here’s a quick look at the roster moves the club made between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Broncos elevate 2 players from practice squad for Bears game

The Broncos elevated RB Dwayne Washington and ILB Ben Niemann from the practice squad to the game-day roster for Week 4.

The Denver Broncos have elevated two players from their 17-player practice squad to the game-day roster for Sunday’s showdown with the Chicago Bears.

The Broncos called up running back Dwayne Washington and inside linebacker Ben Niemann, adding them to the active roster for Week 4.

Each player on the practice squad can be elevated to the game-day roster three times during the season without having to clear waivers in order to revert back to the practice squad after the game.

This marks the third of a possible three elevations for Washington in 2023. So if he’s called up to the active roster again, Washington will be subject to the waiver wire before returning to the practice squad. Last week, the veteran running back played 21 snaps on special teams.

This marks Niemann’s first elevation of the season. He was called up to provide more depth at ILB with Josey Jewell (hip) ruled out.

Sunday’s game against the Bears will begin at 11:00 a.m. MT. Denver is considered a betting favorite at home (view the TV map here).

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Broncos made 2 roster moves on Saturday

Broncos tight end Greg Dulcich (hamstring) will be eligible to return from injured reserve after four games.

The Denver Broncos made a pair of roster moves on Saturday ahead of their Week 2 showdown with the Washington Commanders.

First, the Broncos placed tight end Greg Dulcich (hamstring) on injured reserve. Dulcich will now have to sit out at least four games before being eligible to return in Week 6 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

With Dulcich now sidelined, the team’s remaining healthy tight ends are Adam Trautman, Chris Manhertz and rookie Nate Adkins. Denver also has tight end Lucas Krull on the practice squad.

In addition to placing Dulcich on IR, the Broncos also elevated running back Dwayne Washington from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday’s game against the Commanders.

Washington, 29, played under coach Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints from 2018-2021. In five years with the Saints, Washington rushed 168 times for 592 yards and one touchdown and played 1,184 snaps on special teams.

Sunday’s game against the Commanders will begin at 2:25 p.m. MT.

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8 ex-Saints reunited with Sean Payton on Broncos’ roster

Broncos coach Sean Payton has brought in eight former Saints who played for him in New Orleans. Here’s the full list.

Since becoming the Denver Broncos’ head coach in February, Sean Payton has signed several former New Orleans Saints. The veteran coach also traded for a former Saints during the draft, acquiring tight end Adam Trautman in April.

The ex-Saints coach has also signed seven former New Orleans players as free agents. In addition to Trautman, Payton also brought in fellow tight end Chris Manhertz, who is known for his blocking ability.

Denver has also signed former Saints wide receivers Marquez Callaway and Lil’Jordan Humphrey, plus running backs Tony Jones and Dwayne Washington. To block for those running backs, fullback Michael Burton was also signed.

On special teams, Payton signed kicker Brett Maher, who kicked for the Saints in 2021.

Additionally, the Broncos have a ninth former Saint, defensive lineman Jordan Jackson, but he played in New Orleans last fall when Payton was taking a break from coaching.

Here’s a look at each former Saint who reunited with Broncos coach Sean Payton in Denver.

3 running backs tried out for Broncos on Wednesday

The Broncos brought in RBs Ronald Awatt, Larry Rountree and Dwayne Washington for tryouts earlier this week. Washington got a one-year deal.

The Denver Broncos brought in three running backs for tryouts this week.

Ronald Awatt, Larry Rountree and Dwayne Washington tried out for the team on Wednesday, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.

The Broncos ended up signing Washington (6-1, 223 pounds), an eighth-year veteran who played under Sean Payton with the Saints from 2018-2021. In addition to providing depth at running back, Washington also has experience as a returner.

Awatt (6-0, 205 pounds) is an undrafted rookie out of UTEP who spent time with the San Francisco 49ers this offseason. He also worked out for the Ravens earlier this week before his visit to Denver.

Roundtree (5-10, 210 pounds) was picked by the Los Angeles Chargers in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft out of Arkansas. He played in 16 games over the last two seasons, rushing 49 times for 106 yards and one touchdown.

Meanwhile, kicker Elliott Fry, who was waived/injured earlier this week, cleared waivers on Wednesday and reverted to the team’s injured reserve list. Unless the Broncos reach an injury settlement with Fry and release him, the kicker will spend the entire 2023 season on the team’s IR list.

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Sean Payton’s Broncos bring in their ninth former Saints player

Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos signed their ninth former New Orleans Saints player, adding veteran running back Dwayne Washington:

Sheesh. If Sean Payton liked the players he had in New Orleans so much, he could have just stayed in town as the team’s head coach. Instead, his Denver Broncos have signed their ninth former Saints player — running back Dwayne Washington, as first reported by ESPN’s Field Yates.

Washington joins wide receivers Marquez Callaway and Lil’Jordan Humphrey, kicker Brett Maher, fullback Michael Burton, running back Tony Jones Jr., tight ends Adam Trautman and Chris Manhertz and defensive tackle Jordan Jackson on Denver’s roster. Offensive lineman Yasir Durant also signed with the Broncos this summer but was waived early in training camp due to an injury.

Good for Washington. He never had much of a role on offense in New Orleans, but he was consistently one of the Saints’ top players on special teams. A serious case of cluster migraines ended his 2022 season and the Saints chose to let him walk in free agency earlier this year. It’s good to see him getting an opportunity to continue his NFL career, and it helps that he’ll be doing so in a familiar system with a coach who knows him well.

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Broncos made 2 roster moves on Wednesday

The Broncos signed running back/returner Dwayne Washington and waived/injured defensive lineman Forrest Merrill on Wednesday.

The Denver Broncos made a pair of roster moves on Wednesday.

First, the team signed running back/returner Dwayne Washington to a one-year deal. Washington (6-1, 223 pounds) is an eighth-year veteran who entered the league as a seventh-round pick out of Washington with the Detroit Lions in 2016.

Washington spent the first two years of his career in Detroit, rushing 110 times for 309 yards and one touchdown. He also returned four kickoffs for 77 yards with the Lions.

Washington then joined the New Orleans Saints, playing under coach Sean Payton from 2018-2021. Washington remained in New Orleans last year while Payton took a break from coaching. The 29-year-old running back rushed 58 times for 283 yards in 66 games with the Saints and returned 10 kickoffs for 168 yards.

Now reunited with Payton, Washington will add more depth to Denver’s backfield and give the team another kick returner for the final two preseason games.

The team’s second move was waiving defensive tackle Forrest Merrill with an injury designation. Merrill was waived to make room for Washington on the roster. The 90-man offseason roster is now full.

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Broncos sign Latavius Murray off of the Saints practice squad

Broncos sign Latavius Murray off of the Saints practice squad, reopening a hole in New Orleans’ depth chart:

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Exit Javonte Williams, enter Latavius Murray. The Denver Broncos are signing Murray off of the New Orleans Saints practice squad just a day after Murray scored a touchdown run with the team in London against the Minnesota Vikings, ironically the same team he once played for when Broncos general manager George Paton worked in their front office.

It’s hard not to look at this as a mistake — Murray brought more life to the Saints running game than we’ve seen all season, and he graded out as the best player on offense for New Orleans in Week 4. He had 11 carries for 57 yards against his old team, catching his only target to gain another 8 yards.

But the decision is easy to understand from Murray’s perspective. Once Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram II are fully healthy, he’ll be third at best on the depth chart. In Denver he shouldn’t need much time to assert himself with a backfield missing its leading rusher for the rest of the season. There will be greater opportunities for him to get on the field and make more money with the Broncos than with the Saints.

Still, it’s a tough break for New Orleans. They’ve been without Kamara for two of their first four games while he’s dealing with a rib injury and Ingram has struggled with ball security while running in Kamara’s place. Dwayne Washington has been limited to special teams and Tony Jones Jr. has been a healthy scratch on gamedays. Look for the Saints to scour the free agent market yet again searching for Murray’s replacement.

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