Tag: outside linebacker

Broncos activate LB Drew Sanders to 53-man roster

The Broncos have activated LB Drew Sanders from the PUP list to the 53-man roster. He’s back.

The Denver Broncos have activated linebacker Drew Sanders from the physically unable perform list to the 53-man roster, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

Sanders (6-4, 233 pounds) was picked by the Broncos in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft out of Arkansas. He started four games at inside linebacker out of necessity as a rookie before being moved to outside linebacker.

Sanders tore his Achilles this spring but has since recovered and he returned to practice three weeks ago. Denver had room for him on the active roster after waiving tight end Greg Dulcich on Tuesday (Dulcich was picked up by the New York Giants).

Now the Broncos will have to decide which position Sanders will play following his return.

“It’s a work in progress,” Denver general manager George Paton said when asked about Sanders’ position on Feb. 27. “We thought he finished well on the edge. We’re going sit down with Drew and the coaches, and we’ve had those meetings. I think he’ll probably end up on the edge, but he has the flexibility. He’s so talented. It’s hard. It’s kind of like Baron Browning. We interviewed a kid last night from Notre Dame who’s played inside and outside. It’s a blessing and sometimes it’s a curse because he can’t get settled in at one position. Once we left Drew at outside, he finished strong and so we feel good about Drew moving forward.”

Broncos inside linebackers Kwon Alexander and Zach Cunningham are both out of practice squad elevations and the team has strong depth at outside linebacker, so Sanders could help the team the most at inside linebacker.

If they believe his best fit is as an edge defender, though, it wouldn’t make sense to play Sanders out of position. We’ll see how Denver handles his position in the coming days. Sanders could make his 2024 debut as soon as Monday when the Broncos host the Cleveland Browns in Week 13.

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Broncos haven’t had a pass rusher as productive as Nik Bonitto in 6 years

Nik Bonitto (10.0) is the first Bronco to record double-digit sacks since Von Miller (14.5) and Bradley Chubb (12.0) did so in 2018.

Nik Bonitto’s historic pace continues.

The Denver Broncos‘ pass rusher recorded one sack in a 29-19 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, bringing his season-long total to 10 sacks. Bonitto became the team’s first player to record double-digit sacks in a single season since Von Miller (14.5) and Bradley Chubb (12.0) did so in 2018.

Amazingly, Bonitto said after the game that he’s never had a double-digit sack season since high school. He posted 0-, 3.5-, 8- and 7-sack seasons in four seasons at Oklahoma before being drafted by Denver in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Pressure from Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper helped force a game-changing interception against the Raiders:

As a team, the Broncos have recorded 44 sacks this year, which ties for the second-most through 12 games in franchise history. The team’s all-time record was 47 sacks through the first 12 games of the 1986 season.

Bonitto and Co. will look to keep the momentum going when Denver hosts the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football in Week 13.

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Jonathon Cooper treated Broncos OLBs to expensive dinners after signing extension

Broncos pass rusher Jonathon Cooper took the team’s outside linebackers out to a pair of dinners after he signed a big contract extension.

The Denver Broncos gave outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper a four-year, $54 million contract extension earlier this month that included a $6,025,168 signing bonus.

After signing that big extension, Cooper treated the team’s other pass rushers — including Nik Bonitto, Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman and Andrew Farmer — to a pair of dinners, one at Del Frisco’s and one Ruth’s Chris, according to the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson. The two meals cost about $1,400.

“As I become more of a vet and taking the young guys out for dinner and everything, kind of building a bond is what you’re supposed to do,” Cooper told Tomasson.

This is the latest example of Cooper’s leadership.

“‘Coop’ has been a joy to coach the last two years,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said in October. “He’s the same person every day. His energy, his toughness and his focus in always on point. He’s a guy that allows you to change the culture because [of] how he works every day on and off the field.

“It’s contagious, and guys have to match his intensity. He’s been that way for two years that I’ve been here. It doesn’t change on game day. He is a fully engaged, full speed, physical player.”

Cooper has totaled 6.5 sacks through 10 games this fall, putting him on pace for the first double-digit sack season of his career in 2024. Cooper’s four-year extension was well-deserved and it’s already paying off for the Broncos both on and off the field.

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Ex-Broncos OLB Baron Browning gets fresh start with Cardinals

“I was just ready for it to be done just to kinda get this fresh start and show what I can do,” Baron Browning said of his trade to AZ.

Former Denver Broncos outside linebacker Baron Browning recently got traded to the Arizona Cardinals, and according to Browning, he isn’t complaining. Browning only started two games for the Broncos, and after the Nov. 4th trade to the Cardinals, Browning is grateful for a fresh start.

He also noted that although he didn’t want to distract his linebacker unit, he’s eager to start anew in Arizona. 

“I didn’t want to be a distraction to my teammates, be a distraction to my unit back in Denver,” Browning said, via Howard Balzer of Cards Wire. “I was just ready for it to be done just to kinda get this fresh start and show what I can do. I know I’m a starter in this league and I know I can play at a high level so I’m just excited about this opportunity to do that here.”

Although things didn’t pan out for Browning and the Broncos long term, hopefully, a fresh start will benefit the fourth-year pass rusher.

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Jonathon Cooper’s contract is even better than initially reported

Jonathon Cooper’s contract is worth an average of $13.5 million per season, even better than the initially-reported $15M per year.

When news broke earlier this week that pass rusher Jonathon Cooper signed a contract extension with the Denver Broncos, it was reported as a four-year, $60 million deal. That would average out to about $15 million per season, a very reasonable price for a productive edge defender.

It turns out that the deal was even better than initially reported (agents have a tendency to leak the “max value” of their clients’ deals). Cooper’s four-year extension is worth $54 million, giving him an average yearly salary of $13.5 million. He could earn an additional $6 million through incentives.

Cooper probably could have waited until the spring and earned more in free agency, but he wanted to stay in Denver.

“The process was pretty quick, easy and simple,” Cooper said of negotiating his second contract in the NFL. “I have really good agents and the people across the team, they like them. The process went really smooth, and I felt like I didn’t need to take it any further than what it was because I love this program. I love this team. I love the organization, and I just felt like I didn’t need to go any further and signing it there in the hotel, it just worked out as well as it could.”

Cooper received a $6,025,168 signing bonus that will be prorated as $1,225,168 cap hits in each of the next five seasons, according to OverTheCap.com. He also has a $4 million roster bonus due next spring and $510,000 game-day bonuses in each of the next four seasons.

Here’s a look at Cooper’s base salaries and cap hits from 2025-2028, courtesy of OTC:

2025: $5,635,000 / $11,345,000
2026: $11,490,000 / $13,200,000
2027: $12,990,000 / $14,700,000
2028: $12,990,000 / $14,700,000

Cooper gets a well-deserved raise with more than $16.7 million guaranteed and the Broncos got a team-friendly deal by getting the extension done before free agency. It worked out well for both sides.

“I’m very proud of ‘Coop’” cornerback Pat Surtain said this week. “When you talk about a guy who came in with the right approach, right work ethic and everything along the lines of becoming a great player, that’s him. Him being a seventh-round pick and going through the roster this and that — for him to be able to secure that contract is huge to him. I’m very proud of him.”

Cooper, 26, is tied with Nik Bonitto for the team lead in sacks over the last two seasons (14). After leading the club with 8.5 sacks last fall, Cooper is now on pace for the first double-digit sack season of his career in 2024. He deserves of penny of the new deal.

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Jonathon Cooper thankful, humble after getting new deal from Broncos

Jonathon Cooper fell to the seventh round of the 2021 draft before landing with the Broncos. “It all worked out the way it was supposed to.”

Jonathon Cooper had his NFL draft stock fall in 2021 after a pre-draft EKG revealed a heart irregularity. Cooper had known since high school that he had a Wolff-Parkinson-White heart condition, and that likely explained — at least in part — why he fell all the way to the seventh round in the NFL draft four years ago.

After being picked by the Broncos — who were aware of the condition — Cooper underwent surgery to help correct the irregularity. Fifty-six games in the NFL later, Cooper now has 38 quarterback hits and 18.5 sacks on his resume.

Denver rewarded Cooper’s production with a four-year, $60 million contract extension over the weekend. The humble pass rusher addressed the media for the first time after the news of his new deal broke earlier this week.

“I just want to start off by saying thank you to God,” Cooper said at his press conference on Wednesday. “Thank you to this organization, to Greg [Penner] and Carrie [Walton Penner], George [Paton], all of my coaches, head coach Sean Payton, everybody here that contributed [and] to the Broncos for believing in me. [I] just wanted to state that first and foremost, how thankful I am.”

Cooper’s heart condition likely cost him a few rounds during the 2021 draft, but he believes it all worked out the way it was supposed to.

“It was a tough process with the draft process and everything like that,” Cooper said. “I’m sure without that medical flag, I probably would have went a little bit higher. Honestly, it all worked out the way it was supposed to.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity than to come here and to get that call from George [Paton]. It was just awesome. Even looking back at that, it all worked out the way it was supposed to, so [I’m] really not upset or mad about it. Just know that it’s time to get back to work.”

Payton was pleased to see the pass rusher get a new deal that will keep him with the team through the 2028 season.

“I’m excited for him,” Payton said. “He’s tough, he’s competitive. I think he’s a really good teammate. We have a lot of these guys that are. You know exactly the physicality you’re getting with a player. Well, you guys know him, so he certainly deserved it.”

Up next for Cooper and Co. is a tough road game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Cooper has 2.5 sacks in six career games against the Chiefs, but just one win against them. He’ll aim to build on both of those totals this weekend.

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Steelers fans react to OLB Preston Smith trade

Former Packers’ OLB Preston Smith’s unexpected trade to the Steelers adds valuable depth to the defense, and was surprising to fans alike.

One of the most underrated acquisitions at the 2024 NFL trade deadline was OLB Preston Smith being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It had been reported in recent days that while wide receiver was a major area of concern for the Steel City, the team could prioritize trading for edge rusher depth.

Much to the surprise of absolutely no one, the team did, in fact, acquire a wide receiver at the deadline, Mike Williams from the New York Jets, but also acquired defensive depth from the Green Bay Packers in the 31-year-old Smith, who should plug in nicely behind outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.

While fans of the Black and Gold have been clamoring for their team to make a WR trade for months, Smith was a welcomed surprise. Here are some of the best reactions to Pittsburgh trading a 2025 seventh-round draft pick for the Green Bay Packers’ OLB Preston Smith.

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Broncos could get more depth at OLB soon

Broncos OLB Drew Sanders is “close to returning” from his Achilles injury, according to 9News.

Even after trading outside linebacker Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals, the Denver Broncos still have a deep pass rush depth chart.

And it might get even deeper.

Broncos outside linebacker Drew Sanders (Achilles) is “close to returning” from the physically unable to perform list, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. Sanders tore his Achilles in April and coach Sean Payton said this spring that the team was hopeful he would return in the fall.

“Fortunately, it was an early enough timeline — we’ll bring him back,” Payton said in May. “I don’t want to say October, but the good news is the surgery was done, it was clean. There wasn’t anything complex about the injury.”

Once he returns, Sanders will join an outside linebacker room that features Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto. Denver also has Jonah Ellis and Dondrea Tillman providing rotational depth at the position.

Sanders, 23, was picked by the Broncos in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft out of Arkansas. He started four games as a rookie.

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Broncos’ updated OLB depth chart after Baron Browning trade

The Broncos still have plenty of depth at outside linebacker even after trading Baron Browning.

After agreeing to trade pass rusher Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, the Denver Broncos still have impressive depth at outside linebacker.

The team’s top pass rusher remains Jonathon Cooper, who just signed a four-year, $60 million contract extension. Next up is former second-round draft pick Nik Bonitto, who leads the team with six sacks this season. Cooper (5.5 sacks) and Bonitto will remain Denver’s top edge defenders.

Providing rotational depth behind Cooper and Bonitto are Jonah Ellis, a third-round pick in April, and Dondrea Tillman, a gem from the UFL.

The depth doesn’t stop there. The Broncos also have Andrew Farmer on the practice squad and the team is hopeful that Drew Sanders (Achilles) will be able to return from the physically unable to perform list this season.

Broncos OLB depth chart

OLB1: Jonathon Cooper
OLB2: Nik Bonitto
OLB3: Jonah Ellis
OLB4: Dondrea Tillman 
OLB5: Andrew Farmer
PUP: Drew Sanders

Denver’s still in good shape at the position after parting ways with Browning. The NFL’s trade deadline is 2:00 p.m. MT on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

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Twitter reacts to Broncos giving Jonathon Cooper an extension

Here’s how Twitter/X reacted when the Broncos gave Jonathon Cooper a four-year contract extension.

The Denver Broncos were busy over the last 72 hours.

The Broncos quietly gave pass rusher Jonathon Cooper a four-year, $60 million contract extension on Saturday. Two days later, Denver traded fellow edge defender Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals for a sixth-round draft pick.

Following the news of the Browning extension, here’s a sampling of how fans and pundits reacted to the deal on Twitter/X.

The NFL’s trade deadline is 2 p.m. MT on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

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