Nine ex-Broncos players will be involved in the NFL’s conference championship games this weekend.
The NFL’s conference title games this weekend will feature nine former Denver Broncos players.
First up is the NFC Championship game at 1:00 p.m. MT on Sunday, Jan. 26. That matchup features the Washington Commanders taking on the Philadelphia Eagles. The Commanders have backup quarterback Jeff Driskel and international defensive lineman Haggai Ndubuisi (on reserve).
After that, the AFC Championship game is set for 4:30 p.m. MT on Sunday, Jan. 26. That game will feature the Buffalo Bills facing the Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City’s offense features running back Samaje Perine and receiver/returner Montrell Washington (on the practice squad).
The Bills have quite a collection of former Broncos, headlined by pass rusher Von Miller. Buffalo also employs punter Sam Martin, receiver KJ Hamler (practice squad), safety Kareem Jackson (practice squad) and receiver Jalen Virgil (practice squad).
No matter which two teams advance on Sunday, at least two ex-Broncos will suit up for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans in Feb. 9.
Von Miller is one of four former Broncos who now play for the Bills.
When the Denver Broncos face the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs, they will play against Von Miller, who helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.
Miller is the most notable ex-Denver player on Buffalo’s roster, but he’s not alone. The Bills also have three other ex-Broncos on their practice squad.
Buffalo safety Kareem Jackson has appeared in two games this season, recording four tackles. He spent 2019-2023 in Denver.
Bills wide receiver KJ Hamler is yet to appear in a regular season game with Buffalo, but he played in 23 games with the Broncos from 2020-2022.
Fellow receiver Jalen Virgil has dressed for seven games with the Bills in 2024, but he is yet to record a reception. He has played 83 snaps on special teams this season, returning one kickoff for 21 yards. Virgil played in Denver from 2022-2023.
With the team’s success, specifically on offense led by quarterback Josh Allen and offensive coordinator Joe Brady, they are now in a position to make more history:
Most players with a receiving TD in a season
Oct 20, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) runs after making a catch with wide receiver Mack Hollins (13) running alongside in the second quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
With Tyrell Shavers’ long catch and run for a touchdown in Week 17, the Bills tied the NFL record for most players with a receiving touchdown in a season.
The following players caught a touchdown in 2024: Khalil Shakir; Amari Cooper; Keon Coleman; Mack Hollins; Curtis Samuel; Tyrell Shavers; James Cook; Ty Johnson; Ray Davis; Dalton Kincaid; Dawson Knox; Quintin Morris; Josh Allen.
With the Bills slated to play their backups for much of the Week 18 game, they have a good chance of breaking this record. Some players who haven’t had much of an opportunity this year will have the chance to be an NFL record-breaker.
Some potential practice squad guys who could find the endzone in Week 18 are TE Zach Davidson, RB Frank Gore Jr., WR KJ Hamler, and WR Jalen Virgil. If FB Reggie Gilliam scores his first TD of the year that would break the record as well. And, there’s always the chance an offensive linemen could catch one. Josh Allen caught a touchdown this year so nothing can be ruled out.
First team to pass and rush for 30 TDs in a season
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On the season, the Bills have compiled 33 rushing touchdowns and 29 passing touchdowns. No team in NFL history has had 30 of each in a season. The Bills can be the first to do so by throwing one more touchdown pass, and it could set this record as well as break the record above in one play.
Mack Hollins leads the team with five receiving touchdowns while James Cook leads the team with 15 rushing touchdowns.
Most wins in a regular season in franchise history
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The Bills have never had 14 wins in a regular season in team history. A win over the Patriots in Week 18 would cement this squad in its team history.
The Bills have now had five years in team history with 13 regular season wins: 1990; 1991; 2020; 2022; 2024.
Backups will likely see the majority of snaps in the game, but they could still etch their spot in team and NFL history with a strong performance.
A group of former Broncos including Kareem Jackson, KJ Hamler, Caden Sterns and Tim Patrick have landed on NFL practice squads this week.
After the dust settled following NFL roster cuts, clubs have started filling their practice squads. So far, 20 former Denver Broncos players have signed with practice squads this week, including ex-players from past years.
So far, only two players cut by Denver this week — offensive tackle Demontrey Jacobs (New England Patriots) and running back Samaje Perine (Kansas City Chiefs) — have landed on an active roster.
Some of the players listed above could return to the team that cut them on the practice squad. Later today, we will track Denver’s own practice squad signings after waiver claims are processed on Broncos Wire.
A number of Penn State players were cut by NFL teams as rosters began reducing to 53-man rosters.
Tuesday brought on a tough day for so many football players around the NFL. That is the day when NFL teams began trimming their rosters down to the 53-man minimum, and a number of former Penn State players were among the players being cut into the free agent waters of the pros.
Two notable names being cut by their respective NFL franchises were former Penn State quarterbacks [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] and [autotag]Trace McSorley[/autotag]. McSorely was a late addition to the Washington Commanders roster this summer, so his early exit was not particularly shocking to see. Clifford was a fifth-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers last season. Unfortunately, Clifford’s performance this preseason didn’t help convince the Packers he was the best option to be the backup to franchise quarterback Jordan Love.
The Packers also cut former defensive back [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag], who was a seventh-round draft pick of Green Bay in the 2023 NFL draft.
In addition to cutting McSorley, the Commanders also cut former Penn State wide receiver [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag]. It was just days ago the Commanders also traded former Nittany Lion Jahan Dotson to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Commanders also parted ways with former defensive back [autotag]Tariq Castro-Fields[/autotag].
Four other former Penn State receivers were also shown the door; [autotag]KJ Hamler[/autotag] and [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] with the Buffalo Bills, [autotag]Allen Robinson[/autotag] with the New York Giants, and Dan Chisena with the Arizona Cardinals.
Linebacker [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] was cut by the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. And former running back [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag] was released by the Cincinnati Bengals.
You can see the full list of former Penn State players who have been cut by NFL teams in the social media posts from Sam Fremin, via X, below.
DL PJ Mustipher, Eagles LB Brandon Smith, Eagles DB Kalen King, Packers DB Daequan Hardy, Bills DB Tariq Castro-Fields, Commanders DB Amani Oruwariye, Jaguars DB Adrian Amos, Jaguars DB Jonathan Sutherland, Giants DB Keaton Ellis, Titans DB Zech McPhearson, Eagles
Hamler, 25, lined up at running back for the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter of their preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday night. Hamler rushed three times for 21 yards and a touchdown. He also had three catches for 11 yards in a 31-26 loss.
The decision to play Hamler at running back might have been more out of necessity than a precursor to a full-time position change. Buffalo was not playing starters and there were no other RBs left to play late in Saturday’s game. If it was experimental, Hamler seemingly made a good impression.
Hamler (5-9, 178 pounds) also got reps as a kickoff and punt returner earlier in preseason, so Buffalo is clearly giving him a shot to carve out a role.
Hamler was picked by the Broncos in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft out of Penn State. He struggled to stay on the field in Denver and was waived last summer with a non-football illness designation after being diagnosed with pericarditis.
Hamler spent last season on the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad and he’s now competing for a roster spot with the Bills. The fifth-year receiver totaled 42 receptions for 620 yards and three touchdowns in 23 games with the Broncos from 2020-2023.
The Buffalo Bills wide receiver unit has a lot of uncertainty in it heading into the 2024 season. The goals KJ Hamler has set for himself are anything but that.
Hamler was once a speedy and promising prospect with the Denver Broncos. Injury and health concerns then knocked everything off course. He was diagnosed with pericarditis—or inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart.
Now in improved standing, the Bills saw something in him. The team signed him to a futures contract earlier this offseason. Regardless of that type of deal, the 24-year-old said to the Buffalo News he has huge hopes with the Bills.
“I want to be a playmaker. I want to be the guy they come to on third down and also in the return game. I’m here to do whatever I can to be a spark for the team,” Hamler said.
With the lack of experience in the Bills offense among all of Buffalo’s wide receivers, Hamler might have a chance to make his dream a reality. Of all of the Bills’ wideouts, only Khalil Shakir has caught a regular season pass from quarterback Josh Allen.
While everyone in that grouping will have their own unique and different skill sets, even general manager Brandon Beane had to note Hamler’s speed earlier this offseason. It was appealing.
“KJ Hamler is here competing,” Beane said. “He had the injury bug there a little bit, trying to see, we’ve really worked on him seeing if we can armor his body a little bit, show the durability. You see the speed, you do watching these guys run out here run on air in phase two. It’ll just be, is he able to keep himself healthy?”
#Bills’ La’el Collins on comeback: ‘I’m ready to go dominate’
La’el Collins was on a powerful trajectory as one of the top young talents in the NFL at his position when he signed a multi-year pact with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022 coming off his ascension in the league as a Dallas Cowboy.
Then a season-ending ACL and MCL injury struck the offensive tackle, and a lengthy recovery period followed.
In joining Buffalo, Collins will have the opportunity to do just that both individually should he return to form and crack the offensive line rotation, and also as a team.
The Bills themselves were dominant against the Cowboys last season, the club Collins’ spent the first years of his career with and with whom he is very familiar. 266 yards gained on the ground en route to a 31-10 victory stood out to the O-lineman.
“When you’re able to line up in the same formation and run the same play over and over again and they know you’re running it against their will and they can’t stop it, that’s an offensive lineman’s dream,” he said. “That’s when you know you’re imposing your will. Just watching that and seeing what this group is about, seeing what this team is about… just that little piece that hit home with me.”
Collins’ injury in which all three of the ligaments in his left knee tore was sustained in a game against New England, and he hasn’t appeared in a game since December 2022 but had worked his way to a workout with Buffalo in December 2023.
“That’s a tough picture to put yourself in,” the OL added. “To deal with an injury that’s as traumatic as tearing your knee, it’s something you can’t really explain. I felt like last year, I maybe could’ve put myself in a position to play some football, but I knew mentally that the tank was empty.
That was tough days, that was days where you have 70,000 thoughts in your head running crazy, telling you you might not be good enough. You might not come back.”
But in the end, the lineman overcame the mental obstacles to reclaim the opportunity to play.
“At the end of the day, the best way to combat that noise is by combatting that with work, and discipline and building that confidence,” he noted.
He’s embraced his new home this season in Buffalo’s line rotation as well.
“I love it,” he added. “I think that’s a benefit to me, being able to play anywhere. Every chance I get to take a rep, it doesn’t matter if it’s with the ones, twos, or threes, take advantage of that opportunity that you get.
I’m so far from where I want to be right now, and I know I’ve got a lot of work to do, so I still feel like the process is still on going.”
To his credit, Collins remains dialed in and focused on the assignment at hand and finding his way back to success on the field in the process.
“They brought me here to play football and I came here to dominate and I’m going to let everything else take care of itself. I’m going to show up every day and go to work. Help the young guys, and do whatever they ask me.
I’m super grateful and I just look forward to giving Bills Mafia everything left in me. I’m ready to go ball. I’m ready to go dominate.”
(@NFLonCBS) 
