Tag: reserve/future contract

Broncos offseason moves so far: 14 future signings, 1 ERFA deal

So far this offseason, Broncos have signed 14 players to reserve/future contracts and one player (Jonas Griffith) to a one-year ERFA tender.

It’s been a relatively quiet offseason for the Denver Broncos so far, but that will change in the coming weeks.

The Broncos have made two additions to the coaching staff and the team has signed or re-signed 15 players, but 14 of those deals won’t become official until March 13.

After the 2023 season wrapped up, Denver signed 14 players to reserve/future contracts. Those players were eligible to sign future deals because they were not on an active roster when the season ended. They will officially join the 90-man offseason roster when the new league year begins on March 13.

The Broncos also made one in-house free agent signing, giving a one-year deal to exclusive rights free agent linebacker Jonas Griffith. As an ERFA, Griffith had no leverage in negotiations, so his deal was somewhat of a formality.

The action will start to heat up next month when teams are allowed begin negotiating with pending free agents from other clubs on March 11. Once the NFL’s new league begins on March 13, free agents can sign with any team.

Here’s a quick recap of the 15 moves Denver has made ahead of full free agency.

Tre’Quan Smith finds new NFL home after disappointing stint with Broncos

After a disappointing tenure with the Broncos, WR Tre’Quan Smith will hope better days are ahead with the Lions.

The Tre’Quan Smith era has come to an end in Denver.

Nobody will blame you if you didn’t even notice it.

Smith, 28, played under Sean Payton with the Saints from 2018-2021. After New Orleans cut him in late September, the Broncos signed Smith to their practice squad in early October.

We expected Smith to be activated to the 53-man roster quickly, but he was only elevated to the game-day roster once last season. Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette reported last November that Denver wasn’t “enthralled with his play in practice as he [returned] from an injury.”

Smith played 10 snaps in the one game he played last year and did not draw any targets. Because he ended the season on the practice squad he was eligible to sign a reserve/future contract at the end of the year, but the Broncos opted to not re-sign him.

Denver has since singed 14 players, including two receivers.

As for Smith, he has signed a reserve/future deal with the Lions. Presumably healthy now, Smith will hope to have a better tenure in Detroit than he had with the Broncos. The veteran receiver has 131 receptions for 1,764 yards and 10 touchdowns on his career resume (67 games in six seasons).

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Broncos beef up defensive line with 14th reserve/future signing

The Broncos added some depth to their defensive line by signing Rashard Lawrence (308 pounds) to a reserve/future contract.

The Denver Broncos added some depth to their defensive line on Wednesday by signing Rashard Lawrence to a reserve/future contract. Lawrence was eligible to sign a future deal because he was not on an active roster at the end of his 2023 season.

Lawrence (6-2, 308 pounds) will officially join Denver’s 90-man offseason roster when the NFL’s new league year begins in March. He entered the league as a fourth-round pick out of LSU with the Arizona Cardinals in 2020.

Lawrence played under Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph in Arizona from 2020-2022, totaling 30 tackles (four behind the line) and one forced fumble in 25 games (13 starts). He spent time with the Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans in 2023.

Denver’s list of upcoming in-house free agents includes defensive linemen Mike Purcell and Jonathan Harris. Meanwhile, D.J. Jones is set to have a salary cap hit just shy of $13 million in 2024 and the Broncos could save almost $10 million if they part ways with Jones this spring.

Denver needed more depth on the defensive line, and Lawrence is a good start. The team previously signed 13 other players to reserve/future deals. View all of the offseason additions below.

Broncos sign 13th player to reserve/future contract for 2024

After adding safety Tanner McCalister, the Broncos have now signed 13 players to reserve/future contracts for 2024.

The Denver Broncos added some depth to the secondary by signing safety Tanner McCalister earlier this week, the team announced.

McCalister (5-11, 191 pounds) was eligible to sign a reserve/future deal because he was not on an active roster at the conclusion of his 2023 season. He will officially join Denver’s 90-man offseason roster when the NFL’s new league year begins in March.

McCalister entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State with the Cleveland Browns in April. He spent his rookie season on the practice squad and was elevated to the game-day roster three times. McCalister will now give the Broncos more depth at the position.

Justin Simmons was named a second-team All-Pro this season, but Denver has a lot of uncertainty at safety behind him on the depth chart.

The Broncos parted ways with Kareem Jackson in December, and P.J. Locke is among the team’s players scheduled to become free agents in March.

Meanwhile, Caden Sterns (torn patella tendon) and Delarrin Turner-Yell (torn ACL) will be returning from serious knee injuries in 2024. JL Skinner will be entering Year 2 after being inactive for all but two games as a rookie in 2023.

McCalister becomes Denver’s 13th reserve/future contract addition this offseason. View all of the team’s reserve/future signees below.

Broncos sign 12 players to reserve/future contract

The Broncos signed 12 players to reserve/future contracts on Monday. They will officially join the 90-man offseason roster in March.

Following the conclusion of their 2023 season, the Denver Broncos have signed 12 players to reserve/future contracts.

Perhaps the most notable signing is that of quarterback Ben DiNucci, who spent all of the 2023 season on the practice squad and was elevated to Denver’s game-day roster three times.

With Russell Wilson expected to be released in March, DiNucci and Jarrett Stidham will be left as the Broncos’ two quarterbacks going into 2024. Denver will likely add at least one more QB, either through free agency or the draft (or both) this spring.

Players who were not on an active roster at the end of the season are eligible to sign reserve/future contracts (every player on the practice squad is eligible, for example). These players will officially join the 90-man offseason roster when the NFL’s new league year begins on March 13.

Here’s a look at the 12 players the Broncos have signed to future deals.

Broncos make first quarterback move of 2024 offseason

The Broncos made their first QB move of the 2024 offseason on Monday, signing Ben DiNucci to a reserve/future contract.

The Denver Broncos made their first quarterback move of the offseason on Monday, but it might not be the move fans expected.

Denver signed Ben DiNucci to a reserve/future contract, the third-string quarterback announced on his Twitter/X page on Monday. After spending the 2023 campaign on the Broncos’ practice squad, DiNucci was eligible to sign a reserve/future deal.

DiNucci is now set to officially join the 90-man offseason roster when the new league year begins in March.

Denver is expected to release quarterback Russell Wilson in March, a move that would leave Jarrett Stidham and DiNucci as the team’s only QBs under contract for the 2024 season.

In addition to DiNucci, the Broncos also gave reserve/future contracts to 11 other players on Monday. Practice squad wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith was not among those players and he is not expected to re-sign with Denver, according to the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson.

DiNucci, 27, spent time with the Dallas Cowboys (2020-2021) and in the XFL (2023) before joining the Broncos last May.

Broncos sign OT Isaiah Prince to reserve/future contract

The Broncos signed OT Isaiah Prince to a reserve/future contract. He started for the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

The Denver Broncos signed offensive tackle Isaiah Prince to a reserve/future contract on Wednesday, according to the NFL’s transaction wire. Price will officially join the team’s 90-man offseason roster when the new league year begins in March.

Prince (6-7, 300 pounds) entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick out of Ohio State with the Miami Dolphins in 2019. He was active for four games and earned two starts before being waived in December of his rookie season.

The Cincinnati Bengals claimed Prince off waivers late in the 2019 season. The offensive lineman later opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19. Prince returned in 2021 and started in four regular-season games and then started in the playoffs. Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow was sacked seven times in a 23-20 loss to the L.A. Rams in Super Bowl LVI that year.

Prince began the 2022 season on injured reserve with an elbow injury and was demoted to the practice squad after returning from IR in November. Prince was elevated to the active roster in the playoffs, but the Bengals opted not to sign him to a reserve/future deal at the end of their season.

Prince now becomes the 11th player Denver has signed to a reserve/future contract this offseason, joining DL Jordan Jackson, WR Victor Bolden, G Parker Ferguson, CB Faion Hicks, CB Delonte Hood, DB Devon Key, RB Tyreik McAllister, OLB Wyatt Ray, OL Hunter Thedford and LB Ray Wilborn.

The Broncos did not sign five members of their practice squad.

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Eagles sign ex-Broncos wide receiver during playoffs

Two ex-Broncos who did not receive reserve/future deals from Denver signed with Eagles (Tyrie Cleveland) and Patriots (Olakunle Fatukasi).

The Philadelphia Eagles have added some depth to their wide receiver room ahead of their playoff showdown with the New York Giants.

The Eagles signed former Denver Broncos wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland to their practice squad earlier this week, via Glenn Erby of Eagles Wire. Philly will have the option to elevate Cleveland to the game-day roster for Saturday’s game against the Giants.

Cleveland spent most of the 2022 season on Denver’s practice squad. At the end of their season, the Broncos signed nine of their practice squad players to reserve/future contracts. Cleveland was one of five players who did not receive a reserve/future deal from Denver, making him a free agent.

After being let go by the Broncos, Cleveland quickly found a home with the Eagles. Three of the four other players — WR Kaden Davis, TE Dalton Keene and OL George Moore — remain free agents. The fourth, ILB Olakunle Fatukasi, signed with the New England Patriots.

Story update: The Philadelphia Eagles have signed TE Dalton Keene to a reserve/future contract. 

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CFL QB Nathan Rourke, who tried out for Broncos in December, signs with Jaguars

CFL QB Nathan Rourke, who tried out for the Broncos and 11 other teams this winter, plans to sign with the Jaguars.

Nathan Rourke is jumping from the CFL to the NFL, but not with the Denver Broncos.

Rourke (6-1, 210 pounds) tried out for the Broncos last month, but he has chosen to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars instead, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. After an impressive season in Canada last spring, Rourke tried out for a dozen NFL teams during the 2022 season.

Rourke scored 32 touchdowns (25 passing and seven rushing) in ten games with the BC Lions in 2022.

Rourke is one of three quarterbacks who tried out for Denver last month, joining Jarrett Guarantano (who signed to the practice squad) and veteran Joshua Dobbs. Guarantano was promoted to the active roster late in the season and he is scheduled to become an exclusive rights free agent in March.

If the Broncos place an ERFA tender on Guarantano, he will become the team’s second QB under contract for 2023, joining Russell Wilson. Denver’s backup, Brett Rypien, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this spring. Backup QB will be a position of need for the Broncos this offseason.

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Broncos did not re-sign 5 members of their practice squad

The Broncos did not give WR Tyrie Cleveland a reserve/future contract.

The Denver Broncos signed nine members of their 2022 practice squad to reserve/future contracts on Monday. Those nine players will officially join the team’s 90-man offseason roster when the new league year begins in March.

Denver had five other players on the practice squad at the end of the season and the team chose to not sign them to reserve/future deals. These five players were not signed:

  • WR Tyrie Cleveland
  • WR Kaden Davis
  • ILB Olakunle Fatukasi
  • TE Dalton Keene
  • OL George Moore

Cleveland (6-2, 205 pounds) is the most notable player on the list. He was selected by former Broncos general manager John Elway in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft out of Florida.

Cleveland played primarily on special teams in his first two seasons and he initially made the team’s 53-man roster for the 2022 season but was waived six games into the year. Denver then re-signed Cleveland to the practice squad, where he remained for the rest of the season.

Cleveland caught eight passes for 91 yards in 23 games.

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