Michael Bandy – Syndication Server

Michael Bandy has had a bumpy ride with the Broncos, cut and re-signed 11 times

Michael Bandy was cut and re-signed by the Broncos 11 times in 2023 before getting a promotion to the 53-man roster last week. Quite a ride!

The Denver Broncos have had a busy 2023 season full of transactions, and perhaps no player has had a bumpier ride than wide receiver Michael Bandy.

The 26-year-old receiver has been cut and re-signed 11 times by the Broncos since July as he has bounced on and off the practice squad. Bandy has been the very definition of a bottom-of-the-roster player as Denver has released him every time a spot has been needed on the practice squad.

The Broncos kept bringing him back every time a practice squad spot opened up, though, and Bandy’s bumpy ride in 2023 did have a happy ending.

After placing running back Dwayne Washington (illness) on the reserve/non-football illness list last week, Denver promoted Bandy to the 53-man roster, a deserved reward for the work he’s put in at practice this season.

With Marvin Mims (hamstring) sidelined last week, Bandy got an opportunity as a returner, although touchbacks and a fair catch prevented him from making any returns.

Here’s a quick look back at Bandy’s 2023 season. (We unfortunately do not have the rights to many photos of him in a Broncos uniform.)

Broncos buzz: Injuries, fines and elevations before Week 17

The Broncos placed RB Dwayne Washington on the reserve/NFI list and called up WR Michael Bandy, WR Phillip Dorsett and OLB Ronnie Perkins.

The Denver Broncos made several roster moves on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

First, the Broncos placed running back Dwayne Washington (illness) on the reserve/non-football illness list. To fill Washington’s former spot on the 53-man roster, Denver promoted receiver/returner Michael Bandy from the practice squad to the active roster.

With Courtland Sutton (concussion) ruled out and Jerry Jeudy (illness) and Marvin Mims (hamstring) both questionable, Bandy can provide more depth on offense and special teams against the Chargers.

In addition to the Bandy-for-Washington swap, the Broncos also elevated wide receiver Phillip Dorsett and outside linebacker Ronnie Perkins from the practice squad to the game-day roster for Week 17. Dorsett and Perkins will revert back to the practice squad on Monday.

Fine update: Denver guard Quinn Meinerz was fined $7,251 by NFL for unnecessary roughness against the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve. Meinerz was penalized for jumping on Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley in the second quarter.

Broncos notes: Roster moves and injury updates

The Broncos promoted WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey to the active roster on Wednesday and re-signed WR Michael Bandy to the practice squad.

The Denver Broncos made a pair of roster moves on Wednesday that will look familiar to fans in Broncos Country.

First, Denver re-signed wide receiver Michael Bandy to the practice squad. It’s a familiar transaction as Bandy has bounced on and off the practice squad since September.

Second, the Broncos promoted wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Humphrey has also bounced between the practice squad and the active roster in recent weeks.

Denver had an open spot for Humphrey on the 53-man roster after losing safety Kareem Jackson a two-game suspension.

On the injury front, the Broncos look pretty healthy ahead of Sunday’s showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver running back Dwayne Washington was the only player held out of Wednesday’s practice.

The Broncos’ complete injury report can be seen below.

Player	Wed	Thur	Fri	Game Status
RB Dwyane Washington (knee)	DNP
DB Justin Simmons (hip)	Limited
OLB Baron Browning (wrist)	Full

Denver will practice again on Thursday and Friday before releasing with a final injury report with game statuses for Sunday’s showdown with KC.

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Broncos making roster moves ahead of Packers game

The Broncos made two roster moves earlier this week and two more moves could be on deck.

The Denver Broncos will have made several changes to the 53-man roster by the time Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers arrives.

The Broncos already made two roster moves earlier this week when wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and fellow receiver Michael Bandy was re-signed to the practice squad on Wednesday.

Bandy was cut from the practice squad last week to make room for Humphrey, who was cut from the active roster to make room for tight end Greg Dulcich to come off injured reserve.

After the team cut pass rusher Frank Clark, Humphrey is now back on the active roster and Bandy is back on the practice squad. Looking ahead, the Broncos likely have two more roster moves on deck ahead of Sunday’s game against the Packers.

Denver is expected to elevate pass rusher Baron Browning (knee) from the reserve/physically unable to perform list to the 53-man roster. To do so, the Broncos will need to create a spot on the roster for Browning.

One potential way Denver could open up a spot would be to place Dulcich back on injured reserve after he suffered another hamstring injury in Week 6. Dulcich going on IR and Browning returning to the active roster are two potential moves to watch for this weekend.

Two other players to keep an eye on are running back Hassan Hall and tight end John Samuel Shenker, who tired out for the team on Tuesday. Neither player has been signed at the time of publication, but they might be considered for the practice squad or reserve/future contracts later this season.

Broncos made several roster moves before ‘Thursday Night Football’

The Broncos activated TE Greg Dulcich (hamstring) from injured reserve in time for Thursday’s game against the Chiefs.

The Denver Broncos made several roster moves this week ahead of a Thursday Night Football showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs.

First, the Broncos released wide receiver Michael Bandy from the practice squad on Tuesday. After that, Denver released wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the 53-man roster on Wednesday,

The Broncos then activated tight end Greg Dulcich from injured reserve to the 53-man roster on Thursday. Dulcich sat out the last four games on IR after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 1.

Humphrey was re-signed to the practice squad on Thursday, taking the spot formerly held by Bandy. Humphrey and defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster were elevated to the game-day roster on Thursday afternoon. They will revert back to the practice squad after the game.

Meanwhile, Broncos outside linebacker Baron Browning (knee) remains on injured reserve and he has been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Browning might be a candidate to return to the active roster ahead of a Week 7 showdown with the Green Bay Packers.

See a quick recap of Denver’s roster moves this week below.

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’ updated practice squad going into Week 2

After promoting Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, the Broncos added WR Michael Bandy to the practice squad.

The Denver Broncos made a change to their practice squad this week after safety Caden Sterns went down with a season-ending knee injury.

After placing Sterns on injured reserve, the Broncos had an open spot on the 53-man roster. To fill that spot on the active roster, Denver called up wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the practice squad.

To fill Humphrey’s former spot on the practice squad, the Broncos brought back wide receiver Michael Bandy, who spent time with the club this summer.

Following those moves, here’s an updated look at Denver’s 17-player* practice squad going into a showdown with the Washington Commanders in Week 2.

Broncos 2023 Practice Squad

Position	Player
QB	Ben DiNucci
RB	Tyler Badie
RB	Dwayne Washington
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.

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 cornerbacks JaQuan McMillian and Essang Bassey.

Sunday’s game against Washington will kick off at 2:25 p.m. MT.

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Broncos made a change to practice squad on Friday

The Broncos signed LB Ben Niemann to the practice squad and cut WR Michael Bandy to make room on Friday.

The Denver Broncos swapped players on the practice squad Friday.

The Broncos signed inside linebacker Ben Niemann, who had a free agent visit with the team on Thursday. To make room for Niemann on the 17-player practice squad, Denver cut wide receiver Michael Bandy.

The Broncos still only have four receivers on the 53-man roster and the team now has just three WRs remaining on the practice squad in Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Phillip Dorsett and David Sills.

Before adding Niemann, Denver was also thin at inside linebacker with just four on the active roster and none on the practice squad. Niemann will be eligible to be elevated from the practice squad three times during the season, so it’s possible that he might even be viewed as the fourth-string ILB above special teams contributor Justin Strnad.

The Broncos’ starting ILBs are Josey Jewell and Alex Singleton, and the just used a third-round draft pick in April to add Drew Sanders.

Niemann, who played under Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph in 2022, now gives the team more depth at ILB. He has recorded 237 tackles in 79 career games (21 starts), including 17 games in Arizona last year.

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Broncos cut several players immediately after Tuesday’s practice

The NFL can be a brutal business.

NFL teams were required to reduce their rosters from 90 players down to 53 players by 2 p.m. MT on Tuesday. The Denver Broncos scheduled a practice for noon and post-practice press conferences for coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton for right after practice just before the cutdown deadline.

So, players who attended Tuesday’s practice might have reasonably assumed if they made it to practice, they made it to the 53-man roster.

That wasn’t the case.

Immediately after practice, Denver cut defensive lineman Tomasi Laulile and wide receiver Michael Bandy, according to the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson. Both players were on the field just minutes before being cut.

Such is life in the NFL.

Fortunately for Bandy and Laulile, both players will likely be candidates to return on the practice squad if they clear waivers on Wednesday.

We are tracking all of the Broncos’ roster cuts on this page.

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Broncos made 3 roster moves on Friday

For the second time this offseason, WR Nick Williams has been cut by the Broncos within a week of being signed.

Nick Williams just can’t catch a break.

The wide receiver grew up in Aurora and played high school football at Cherry Creek High School before starting his college career at CSU-Pueblo. He later transferred to UNLV. After graduating, he tried out for the Denver Broncos during rookie minicamp in May.

The Broncos later signed Williams in June. One week later, he was cut to make room for outside linebacker Frank Clark. Denver then re-signed Williams on July 25.

You can probably guess where this is going — three days after being signed, Williams has been cut yet again, this time to make room for new wide receiver Michael Bandy, who worked out for the team earlier this week.

Bandy played in the XFL this spring. Before that, he spent two years with the Los Angeles Chargers. He totaled 10 receptions for 89 yards in 10 games with the Chargers last season.

The Broncos also made a third roster move on Friday, activating wide receiver Kendall Hinton (knee) from the physically unable to perform list. Hinton is now eligible to practice. Outside linebacker Baron Browning (knee) remains on the PUP list to begin training camp.

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