Tag: Fabian Moreau

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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Vikings add to defensive back group, sign Fabian Moreau

The Minnesota Vikings signed veteran cornerback Fabian Moreau on Tuesday night following injuries to several defensive backs on the roster. 

The Minnesota Vikings signed veteran cornerback Fabian Moreau on Tuesday night following injuries to several defensive backs on the roster.

Following injuries to both Mekhi Blackmon, who suffered a torn ACL, and Shaq Griffin, who suffered a hamstring injury. The other cornerbacks on the roster include Byron Murphy Jr., Andrew Booth Jr., Akayleb Evans, Duke Shelley, A.J. Green III, and Dwight McGolthern.

Moreau has been in the NFL since being drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders. Moreau has also played for the Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, Houston Texans, and most recently, the Denver Broncos in 2023.

On 729 snaps last year for the Broncos, PFF graded Moreau out with an overall grade of 62.4. His highest graded area was tackling, with a 64.6.

In recent weeks, the Vikings have been stocking up on cornerbacks by signing Duke Shelley and Bobby McClain in hopes of boosting the room. Despite the moves, the secondary remains a concern and could prove to be a weak spot for the defense in 2024.

Available free agent cornerbacks for the Broncos in 2024

The Broncos need to add a starting-caliber cornerback to pair with Pat Surtain in 2024.

The Denver Broncos have one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL in Pat Surtain, but they need to find a quality CB2 to pair with him.

The Broncos initially planned to start Damarri Mathis across from Surtain in 2023, but he struggled and was benched. Denver replaced Mathis in the starting lineup with veteran Fabian Moreau, who is now set to become a free agent.

Either through free agency or the draft, the Broncos need to add a starting-caliber cornerback this offseason. So we’ve put together a quick list of 13 cornerbacks that Denver should consider during free agency next week.

5 in-house free agents Broncos should let walk

With limited salary cap space, the Broncos should let these in-house free agents walk this offseason.

The NFL’s free agency negotiating window will open on March 11. Two days later, the new league year (and the official start of free agency) will begin on March 13.

The Denver Broncos have several key players scheduled to become free agents this year, but the team won’t be able to re-sign all of them. The Broncos are currently about $14 million over the salary cap, so Denver will have to make some cap-saving moves to create more cap space.

We previously identified six in-house free agents the Broncos should re-sign once the team has some cap space to work with. Today, we’re taking a quick look at five players the team should let walk in free agency — not necessarily based solely on performance, but also with the salary cap in mind.

The biggest name on the list is center Lloyd Cushenberry, who is coming off a career year and is expected to draw interest from multiple teams.

Broncos and Lions bring diverging defensive trends to a key Saturday night matchup

When the Broncos and Lions face off on Saturday night, it will be a story of two defenses that have changed dramatically.

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When the Denver Broncos and the Detroit Lions face off Saturday night at Ford Feld in Detroit, it’ll be one team fighting to maintain their division lead (the 9-4 Lions), and another trying to make a dent in the postseason picture after a horrible start (the 7-6 Broncos).

And in this case, we’re talking about two defenses that have gone in decidedly different directions in the second half of the season. That’s a good thing in Denver’s case. The Broncos ranked dead last in Defensive DVOA in through Week 9, and they rank sixth since. It’s even better for Vance Joseph’s defense against the pass — a team that ranked 32nd in Pass Defense DVOA through Week 9 now ranks third.

In the Lions’ case, it’s no bueno. Detroit started the season ranked eighth in Defensive DVOA through the first nine weeks, and they rank 28th since. The Lions ranked eighth in Pass Defense DVOA in the first half of the season, and they’re stuck at 28th since.

How can two NFL defenses go so strongly in different directions so quickly? Let’s go under the hood.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 13’s biggest NFL matchups

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys go deep on Week 13’s biggest NFL matchup with tape and metrics.

It’s time for Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season, including three Thanksgiving games, and the league’s first Black Friday contest ever. Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important matchups:

Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys: Can Seattle fix its passing game, and deal with a version of Dak Prescott that might be the best we’ve seen?

Denver Broncos at Houston Texans: The underrated players who are at the heart of Denver’s drastic defensive improvement over the last five games.

San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles: How both of these teams set up future plays with current plays, and a throw from Brock Purdy you have to see to believe. Also, Jason Kelce might be playing the best football of his Hall of Fame career.

Kansas City Chiefs at Green Bay Packers: This Super Bowl I “rematch” comes at a time when Packers quarterback Jordan Love is coming into his own as a franchise quarterback.

Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars: We have not talked enough about the 9-3 Jaguars on both sides of the ball. We would like to apologize, and go deep on Jacksonville’s pressure packages, and how they get their receivers open with scheme.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Studs and duds from Broncos’ 24-22 win over Bills

This prime-time nailbiter marked the sixth game-winning field goal of Week 10. Here are the Broncos’ studs and duds from the win.

Two weeks removed from a win against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Denver Broncos gave a great battle to another AFC heavyweight in the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 10. Here are the studs and duds from Denver’s dramatic 24-22 victory.

WATCH: Fabian Moreau intercepts Josh Allen pass on ‘Monday Night Football’

A third takeaway for the Broncos’ defense! Fabian Moreau intercepts a Josh Allen pass, Denver’s second interception of the game.

Another takeaway for the Denver Broncos’ defense!

Broncos cornerback Fabian Moreau intercepted a Josh Allen pass late in the second quarter of a Monday Night Football showdown with the Buffalo Bills. That marked Denver’s third takeaway in the first half.

Here’s video of the play, courtesy of the team’s official Twitter/X page:

After the turnover, the Broncos later kicked a field goal just before time expired to take a 15-8 lead into halftime. Denver will get the ball to begin the third quarter.

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5 changes that turned the Broncos’ defense around

How did Vance Joseph fix the Broncos’ defense? These five changes were crucial.

Four games into the 2023 season, the Denver Broncos had a historically bad defense, leading many fans and pundits to call for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to be fired.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton stuck with Joseph, though, giving him time to turn things around. Payton’s patience in Joseph has seemingly paid off as Denver’s defense has turned a corner in recent weeks.

After being blasted by the Miami Dolphins 70-20 in Week 3, Denver’s defense had another poor showing against the Chicago Bears in Week 4, but the Broncos did manage to win that game 31-28. The Broncos allowed 31 points again the following week in a 31-21 loss to the New York Jets.

Since that Jets game, Denver’s defense has allowed 19, 17 and 9 points over the last three weeks, and two of those games were against the Kansas City Chiefs. So what changed on defense? How did the Broncos go from allowing 70 points in Miami to allowing just 9 points to Kansas City?

We don’t know the ins and outs of Denver’s scheme, but it’s easy to track personnel changes. Here’s a quick look at five big changes that have turned the Broncos’ defense around.