Tag: Thomas Yassmin

Broncos complete practice squad: Here are the 17 players

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.

Broncos 17-player practice squad

  1. RB Tyler Badie
  2. WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey
  3. WR Michael Bandy
  4. WR David Sills
  5. TE Donald Parham
  6. TE Thomas Yassmin
  7. FB Michael Burton
  8. OL Will Sherman
  9. OL Nick Garguilo
  10. OL Calvin Throckmorton
  11. DT Jordan Miller
  12. DL Matt Henningsen
  13. OLB Dondrea Tillman
  14. LB Levelle Bailey
  15. CB Reese Taylor
  16. DB Quinton Newsome
  17. DB Tanner McCalister

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.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Broncos roster series: No. 86, TE Thomas Yassmin

An Australian-born ex-rugby player, TE Thomas Yassmin would not count against the 16-player limit if he makes the Broncos’ practice squad.

Broncos Wire’s 90-man offseason roster series continues today with a look at rookie tight end Thomas Yassmin, No. 86.

Before the Broncos: Yassmin (6-5, 251 pounds) was born and raised in Australia, where he grew up playing rugby. He committed to Utah in 2018 and had a redshirt season, his first experience with American football. Yassmin went on to play primarily on special teams in 2019 and 2020, with the latter season shortened by COVID-19.

Yassmin posted the first catch of his college career in 2021, then he followed that up with 13 receptions for 301 yards and six touchdowns in 2022. Thanks to his redshirt freshman year and an extra year of eligibility from COVID-19, Yassmin returned for a sixth year in 2023. He hauled in eight receptions for 89 yards and one score through five games before suffering a season-ending injury last fall.

Broncos tenure: Denver signed Yassmin as a college free agent this spring. He joined the team as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.

Chances to make the 53-man roster: Long shot. Yassmin is unlikely to make the active roster as a rookie, but each NFL team can carry an extra international player on the practice squad in 2024. That IPP rule makes Yassmin a very strong candidate for the practice squad.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Ex-rugby player Thomas Yassmin ‘fits right in’ with Broncos

Former rugby player Thomas Yassmin does not count against Broncos’ roster limit this summer as part of NFL’s International Player Pathway.

NFL teams are allowed to carry 90 players on their rosters during the offseason. If they have a player from the league’s International Player Pathway program, clubs are granted an extra 91st spot on the roster.

The Broncos are utilizing that extra spot this summer by rostering international tight end Thomas Yassmin. The Australian-born rookie played rugby growing up in Sydney before switching to American football in college. Yassmin (6-5, 251 pounds) spent five years at Utah as a tight end.

Denver coach Sean Payton was asked how Yassmin looked during spring practices last month.

“Not bad,” Payton said on June 12. “I have to get used to the Aussie accent. You are expecting a punter or kicker, and he’s a tight end. I think he did a pretty good job. He belongs.”

Yassmin’s best season with the Utes came in 2022 when he hauled in 13 receptions for 301 yards and six touchdowns. With 47 college games on his resume, the tight end joins the Broncos with more experience than a typical IPP player.

“These international players come to you in different ways,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said last month. “Some guys were rugby players, some guys just have traits. He has big-time college experience, so he’s a little further along maybe than your average international player. He fits right in.”

Yassmin will be a longshot to make Denver’s 53-man roster, but teams can carry an extra intentional player on the practice squad during the regular season. That will definitely help Yassmin’s chances of making the practice squad in 2024, and he’ll be an intriguing player to watch at training camp this summer.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Check out these highlights of new Broncos TE Thomas Yassmin

Australian tight end Thomas Yassmin will be an intriguing player to watch at Broncos training camp this summer.

The Denver Broncos made the move after the 2024 NFL draft to sign undrafted free agent tight end Thomas Yassmin.

Yassmin (6-5, 251 pounds) was a teammate of Denver’s seventh-round draft pick, wide receiver Devaughn Vele at the University of Utah.

Before playing with the Utes, Yassmin had no previous experience playing football; instead, Yassmin, an Australian native, played rugby in high school.

After switching to football, Yassmin saw his most productive action beginning in 2022, when he played in all 13 games, starting six times. Yassmin had 13 catches for 301 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 23.2 yards per catch.

In 2023, Yassmin played in five games before suffering a season-ending injury. Before his injury, he caught eight passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Check out his highlights below:

Although head coach Sean Payton’s system calls for big-bodied tight ends, Yassmin is in the middle of a very crowded tight end room that includes third-year man Greg Dulcich, Lucas Krull, Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins. Yassmin will have to make a big impression in training camp if he is going to make the roster.

As part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, Yassmin could make the team’s practice squad without counting against the 16-player limit. He’ll be a player to watch this summer.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Broncos might fill their international roster spot with an ex-rugby player

Australian-born ex-rugby player Thomas Yassmin could be a candidate to fill the Broncos’ international roster spot this summer.

As the Denver Broncos fill out their 90-man offseason roster by signing undrafted free agents, they’ll have the opportunity to add an extra player if they choose to do so.

As part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, teams can carry an international player who does not count against the offseason roster. Clubs will also have an extra spot on the practice squad for an international player in 2024.

One candidate to fill that spot for the Broncos is Utah tight end Thomas Yassmin, who is one of 13 undrafted free agents who have agreed to sign with Denver.

Yassmin (6-5, 251 pounds) was born in Sydney, Australia. He grew up playing rugby and played for The Scots College in New South Wales. He then went to Utah for college and began playing American football for the first time.

In his final two seasons with the Utes, Yassmin totaled 21 receptions for 390 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 18 games. The player’s agent, Ryan Hays, told the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson that he’s eligible for the IPP program.

Earlier this offseason, the Broncos worked out Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit, but he opted to instead sign with the Kansas City Chiefs. Last year, Denver was allocated defensive lineman Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi as part of the IPP program, but the Broncos did not re-sign him this spring.

Yassim might be a candidate to fill the international spot in 2024. We are tracking all of Denver’s UDFA signings on Broncos Wire.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Utah tight end Thomas Yassmin out for the season

An already-shorthanded Utah offense will be missing at least one player other than Cam Rising against USC.

The USC Trojans are preparing to face the Utah Utes in a massive showdown this weekend and a Pac-12 title game rematch. However, the status of Cam Rising remains up in the air. The Utah QB hasn’t played all season long.

On top of that, Utah also lost tight end Thomas Yassmin for the season due to season-ending surgery, via Porter Larsen of ESPN.

Yassmin had just eight catches for 89 yards and a touchdown this season, but he had his best game of the year against Oregon State, catching three passes for 59 yards and a score.

Last year, Yassmin had 12 catches for 300 yards and five touchdowns. The Utah offense in 2023 has taken a giant step back, partly because of Rising’s absence.

Utah won both meetings against USC last season, including the Pac-12 title game, but this time the Utes come to Los Angeles to face the Trojans, who themselves are coming off a brutal loss to Notre Dame in South Bend.

Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame after the Irish beat USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football after the loss to Washington.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.