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A fourth touchdown pass for Broncos quarterback Bo Nix against the Falcons!
Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Here’s video of the play, courtesy of the team’s official Twitter/X page:
.@LJ_Humphrey23 breaks free for the 41-yard TD!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/E3Y6P4obUo
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 17, 2024
At the time of publication, Denver leads Atlanta 38-6.
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The Broncos have seven players who could be returning to the 53-man roster soon. Here’s how they could make room for them.
The Denver Broncos could be getting a flurry of reinforcements in the coming weeks.
Broncos wide receiver Josh Reynolds (hand) and center Luke Wattenberg (ankle) are now eligible to return from injured reserve, safety Delarrin Turner-Yell (ACL) returned to practice last week and linebacker Drew Sanders (Achilles) is “close to returning.” His timeline is uncertain, but running back Tyler Badie (back) is also eligible to return from IR.
Meanwhile, linebacker Kwon Alexander is out of practice squad elevations and coach Sean Payton hinted last week that Alexander will eventually end up on the 53-man roster. Denver also bumped fullback Michael Burton down to the practice squad last week. Burton can be elevated one more time. After that, he will likely be a candidate to return to the active roster as well.
Reynolds, Alexander and Wattenberg are presumably candidates to all return to the 53-man roster this week. Sanders, Burton, Turner-Yell and Badie might also return at some point in the future.
The Broncos don’t have to make room for all of them right away — new injuries could open spots in the coming weeks — but the team will have to make some roster decisions, soon.
Denver opened up one spot by trading outside linebacker Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday. The Broncos could open another spot by bumping offensive lineman Calvin Throckmorton down to the practice squad.
Denver could open three more spots if they traded tight end Greg Dulcich, cornerback Damarri Mathis and quarterback Zach Wilson ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. If they aren’t traded, Dulcich and Mathis might be candidates to attempt to get down to the practice squad. And given Payton’s recent frustrations with the team’s receivers, even Lil’Jordan Humphrey could be in danger of losing his spot on the active roster.
So with as many as seven players potentially returning to the active roster in the second half of the season, here are predictions on how the Broncos could make room for them. Keep in mind that these are projections — this is not a report of what the team will do. Rather, it’s a projection of what the team could do.
Denver seems likely to make at least a few moves this week. Stay tuned.
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The Broncos lost to the Ravens on the road in Week 9. Here are five takeaways from the defeat.
The Denver Broncos (5-4) lost to the Baltimore Ravens (6-3) 41-10 in Week 9 of the 2024 NFL season on Sunday afternoon. Here are five quick takeaways from the defeat.
1. P.J. Locke has been missed: Locke has missed the team’s last two games with a thumb injury and there’s been a noticeable dropoff to Devon Key. Locke himself could be a candidate to lose his starting job in 2025, but he’s certainly better than the depth options behind him. The Broncos will undoubtedly hope the safety is ready to return next week.
2. Courtland Sutton can’t do it all at WR: Sutton hauled in seven receptions for 122 yards on Sunday. No other wide receiver posted more than two catches and quarterback Bo Nix was Denver’s only player to catch a touchdwon pass on Sunday. The Broncos lack playmakers at the position and the WRs behind Sutton (ahem, Lil’Jordah Humphrey) are hurting more than they’re helping. Josh Reynolds (finger) is eligible to return from injured reserve next week and the offense could really use him.
3. Bo Nix is still trending up: It certainly wasn’t a great game from Nix, but the blame for his interception falls on Humphrey. Nix finished the day 19-of-33 passing for 223 yards with one turnover and one touchdown catch. He’s getting little help on offense, but the rookie QB continues to show fight. Nix still has some rookie growing pains to get through, but he has the right makeup to have success in the NFL.
4. The Broncos aren’t true playoff contenders yet: Denver’s 5-3 record going into Week 9 might have been a bit of fool’s gold. Mathematically, the Broncos could obviously still squeak into the playoffs this season as a Wild Card seed, but Sunday’s game demonstrated where Denver stacks up against true contenders in the AFC. The Broncos have a young, inexperienced team that’s lacking in depth due in part to the team’s limited salary cap space. All things considered, a 5-4 record is a respectable mark at this point in the season. But Denver’s more pretender than contender at the moment.
5. Expect a quiet NFL trade deadline: It wouldn’t make sense for the Broncos to trade away future draft capital with a splash move at the deadline. Denver’s not one player away from making a run, anyway. It also wouldn’t make sense to part with a player like Sutton — their best WR — when Nix is developing. The Broncos might stand pat at Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Up next for Denver is a road game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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“You have to know when the ride’s over,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of wide receivers losing fumbles.
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton was clearly upset after wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Lil’Jordan Humphrey both lost fumbles against the Carolina Panthers last week. In a radio interview, Payton went as far as suggesting the team could “find some other receivers” who won’t fumble.
After a few days to cool down, Payton was a little more cordial on Wednesday.
“L.J.’s [fumble], there’s a point at which the ride is over,” Payton said. “You have to know that. In other words, that extra two yards that you’re fighting for, I’m looking at 30 plays that I’ve got ready to call. So you have to know when the ride’s over.
“Courtland’s was a little different, catching it real close to the [goal line]. So each one can be different, but it’s just that understanding. These guys have forced fumbles at a high rate, and so that’s an important statistic as it relates to a game like this.”
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix defended both receivers this week.
“I thought both L.J. and Court, they were tough football plays,” Nix said. “They weren’t necessarily careless with the ball, those guys (on defense) made good plays. I’m not worried about those two. They’re veterans. They handled it really well this week.
“We know it’s important. We have to eliminate them and continue to win the turnover margin. When we do that, we’re successful. We just have to find ways to continue to do it. It has to be most important.”
Going up against a 5-3 Baltimore Ravens team this week, Denver’s offense can’t afford to put the ball on the ground.
“[Y]ou try to deal with it before you have that crisis moment,” Payton said of the fumbles. “Then we coach it, ‘How are you handling the ball in traffic? Not in traffic?’ Eventually, it has to become a habit. I think it’s coaching, it’s practice and it’s technique. It’s all of those things.”
The Broncos have 12 takeaways this season (tied for ninth-most) and 12 giveaways (five interceptions and seven fumbles, a league-high). The defense’s takeaways have been canceled out by the offense’s blunders, which will come back to hurt Denver against better teams.
After a point of emphasis on protecting the ball this week, Broncos receivers will undoubtedly have two hands on the ball in traffic on Sunday.
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Are the Broncos about to shake things up at wide receiver?
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton was not happy following the team’s 28-14 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Broncos wide receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Courtland Sutton both lost fumbles in the win, and those two turnovers led to the Panthers’ only two scores of the game. In his post-game interview on KOA Radio, Payton said: “It just can’t be ‘My bad’ anymore, or else we’ll find some other receivers.”
Payton didn’t go that far in his post-game podium press conference, but the coach reiterated that the fumbles were not acceptable.
“Here’s the thing, we can’t turn the ball over the way we did offensively,” Payton said. “We can’t fumble on the first drive, [and] we can’t fumble later in the game. I put up some numbers for these guys just to see where we’re at relative to the season and relative to history. It’s not the perfect game we’re searching for, but it’s the game that we know when played with bigger stakes against a better team, it’ll cost you.”
KKTV 11 cameras caught Payton yelling at Sutton on the sideline after the receiver’s fourth-quarter fumble:
Sean Payton was not happy with the way the Broncos closed the game Sunday, yelling at Courtland Sutton after fumbling the football up 28-7. Sean's wanted his team to keep the foot on the gas. Then postgame Jaycee Horn barked at Payton for trying to run up the score. @KKTV11Sports pic.twitter.com/J3YLBIpLEq
— Corey Rholdon (@Corey_RholdonTV) October 28, 2024
Sutton is Denver’s best wide receiver, so he seems extremely unlikely to get benched, but Humphrey’s role will be worth monitoring this week. LJH posted this on his Twitter/X page on Monday:
😂😂😂
— Lil’Jordan Humphrey (@LJ_Humphrey23) October 28, 2024
In addition to the two fumbles, Broncos receivers also dropped multiple passes on Sunday. With the NFL trade deadline approaching, one has to wonder if Denver might consider bringing in a new wide receiver.
Sutton, Humphrey, Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims are the five WRs currently on the active roster. The Broncos also have A.T. Perry,
David Sills and Michael Bandy available on the practice squad. We’ll see if Denver adds anyone to the mix before the Nov. 5 trade deadline.
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The Broncos placed Baron Browning on IR, promoted Lil’Jordan Humphrey to 53-man roster and elevated RB Tyler Badie and DB Tanner McCalister.
The Denver Broncos made several roster moves on Saturday ahead of their Week 3 showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The moves started when the Broncos placed outside linebacker Baron Browning (foot) on injured reserve, ruling him out for at least the next four games. The earliest Browning would be eligible to return would be a Week 7 road game against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football on Oct. 17.
To fill Browning’s former spot on the 53-man roster, Denver promoted wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the practice squad to the active roster.
The Broncos also elevated running back Tyler Badie and defensive back Tanner McCalister from the practice squad to the game-day roster. Badie and McCalister will revert to the practice squad on Monday.
1. OLB Browning Browning (foot) placed on IR
2. WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey promoted to 53-man roster
3. RB Tyler Badie elevated to game-day roster
4. DB Tanner McCalister elevated to game-day roster
Denver’s game against the Buccaneers will be regionally televised on Fox. The Broncos are considered underdogs on the road in Week 3.
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The Broncos promoted WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.
The Denver Broncos have promoted wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, the team announced Saturday.
Humphrey (6-4, 225 pounds) is a sixth-year wide receiver who played with the New Orleans Saints under Sean Payton from 2019-2021. He joined the Broncos last year and has hauled in 17 receptions for 212 yards and three touchdowns in 19 games (nine starts).
Denver had a spot open on the active roster for Humphrey after placing outside linebacker Baron Browning (foot) on injured reserve. Browning will now miss at least the next four games.
Elsewhere on the roster front, the Broncos also elevated running back Tyler Badie and defensive back Tanner McCalister from the practice squad to the game-day roster. Badie and McCalister will revert to the practice squad on Monday. Humphrey was fully promoted, so he’s staying on the active roster.
Denver will now have an open spot on the 17-player practice squad. The Broncos will likely fill that spot early next week.
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The Broncos elevated FB Michael Burton and WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the practice squad to the game-day roster for Week 1.
The Denver Broncos have elevated two players from the practice squad to the game-day roster for their Week 1 showdown with the Seattle Seahawks.
The Broncos called up fullback Michael Burton and wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey on Saturday afternoon. Burton and Humphrey will revert back to the practice squad on Monday.
Players can be elevated up to three times during the season without having to clear waivers to return to the practice squad.
Burton and Humphrey are the team’s only practice players listed on the depth chart, so it’s no surprise that they’ve been elevated. It would not be surprising to see Denver maximize their three elevations and eventually fully promote both players to the 53-man roster later this season.
“I would definitely say they’ll both be playing this season,” coach Sean Payton said Friday, but he wasn’t willing to divulge more than that.
Sunday’s game between the Broncos and Seahawks will be regionally televised on CBS and available to stream on fuboTV (try it free). Denver is considered a 5.5-point underdog on the road.
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Nik Bonitto (15), Devaughn Vele (17), Kristian Welch (57) and Lil’Jordan Humphrey (84) have picked new jersey numbers with the Broncos.
The number changes continue for Denver Broncos players leading up to Sunday’s season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.
Three Broncos players changed their numbers this week and a fourth player — new linebacker Kristian Welch — picked his number.
Denver wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey switched from No. 17 to No. 84 and fellow receiver Devaughn Vele then switched from No. 81 to No. 17. Additionally, Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto switched from No. 42 to No. 15. Welch picked No. 57.
These changes arrive after four other players previously changed their numbers last week. View the team’s new numbers below.
Humphrey previously wore No. 84 with the New Orleans Saints and Welch wore No. 57 for three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.
The 53-man roster and 17-player practice squad are both set for Week 1.
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The Broncos have completed their 17-player practice squad for the 2024 NFL season. Here’s the list of players.
After adding undrafted rookie linebacker Levelle Bailey on Friday, the Denver Broncos have now officially filled their 17-player practice squad ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
The league’s practice squad size limit is 16 players, but there’s an exception that allows an extra international player to be carried and not count against the limit. For the Broncos, Australian tight end Thomas Yassmin does not count against the 16-player limit, giving Denver a 17-player practice squad.
So here’s the full list of 17 players on the squad for the 2024 season.
With the 53-man roster and practice squad set, attention now turns to Denver’s Week 1 showdown with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Sept. 8.
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