Waiver wire claims can be an important part of building an NFL roster — it’s how Sean Payton landed Taysom Hill with the Saints in 2017.
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Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has emphasized this offseason that the transactions never stop. Players are always competing not only against their teammates for a roster spot, but also against players on other teams who might become available.
“You guys know this better than anyone — the transactions continue here from now until training camp,” Payton said on May 25. “There may be a player of two that we are still looking to sign.”
Since those comments, the Broncos have signed kicker Elliott Fry, tight end Tommy Hudson and pass rusher Frank Clark (wide receiver Nick Williams was also signed and later cut).
The transactions could continue through training camp. Even after setting their initial 53-man roster in August, Denver will look to the waiver wire and consider picking up players cut by other teams.
“That final cut down from 90 [players] to 53 [players] — it happens on one night,” Payton said on June 15. “There’s a lot of work that’s done leading up to that. You’re watching film, and you have roughly over a day to look at who’s available. We tell our players all the time, ‘You’re not just competing with the depth chart in your room, you’re competing with your room on 31 other teams, as well.’
“We weren’t looking for Taysom Hill when we found him. We were looking at another receiver for a practice squad position. We kept watching the film. This was 11:30 at night. I finally call [Jeff] Ireland in and said, ‘Who is this No. 7?’ He tells me, ‘It’s Taysom Hill.’ I asked him to bring me all of his tape. A day later, we put a claim in, and we were awarded Taysom Hill. That doesn’t stop. The hay is never in the barn, relative to things like that.”
Hill went on to become a key, versatile player for Payton in New Orleans. Payton also claimed linebacker Michael Mauti off waivers in 2015 and he made 35 appearances in three seasons. After wide receiver Willie Snead was cut from the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad in 2014, the Saints signed him to their practice squad.
Snead later earned a promotion to the active roster and he totaled 149 receptions for 1,971 yards and seven touchdowns in three seasons in New Orleans.
Hill, Snead and Mauti were all cut by other teams before finding success with Payton. We’ll be tracking all of Denver’s roster moves on Broncos Wire this year as Payton seeks his next waiver-wire success story.
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