Broncos Promote Brett Rypien, DeShawn Williams to Active Roster
The Denver Broncos have had to place multiple players on injured reserve over the past two weeks. The new IR rules allow teams to activate players off the list after three weeks and there's no limit to the number of players who can be activated.
After placing wideout Courtland Sutton, linebacker Mark Barron, and defensive linemen Dre'Mont Jones and DeMarcus Walker on IR, the Broncos were several spots shy of 53 players. Signing veteran QB Blake Bortles and promoting safety P.J. Locke off the practice squad inched the team a little closer, and the two additional moves Denver announced on Friday officially closed the distance to 53.
On Friday, quarterback Brett Rypien and defensive lineman DeShawn Williams were promoted off the practice squad to the 53-man roster the team announced. These two moves, like the Locke promotion, are official signings to the active roster, as opposed to the prerogative the Broncos have on gameday to promote two practice-squad players.
In each of the first two weeks, the Broncos utilized the new NFL rule that allows teams' rosters to temporarily swell to 55 players. But that's not what either of these moves are.
Rypien, 6-foot-2, 202 pounds, is a second-year player who originally joined the Broncos as a college free agent out of Boise State. Rypien spent most of his rookie campaign on the practice squad last year but did see a promotion to the 53 mid-season after the injury to Joe Flacco.
Rypien has spent all year in offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur's scheme, and is a far better backup option that last week's emergency QB when Drew Lock went down and Jeff Driskel had to step in cold. Royce Freeman is a fine running back but an NFL QB? Yeah, nah.
The Broncos obviously don't plan to keep Rypien as the No. 2 QB behind Driskel for long, as the Bortles signing telegraphed his soon-to-be standing as the official backup while Driskel plays and Lock recovers from his shoulder injury. However, until Lock returns, odds are, Rypien at least stays on the active roster.
Williams is a 6-foot-1, 292-pound trenchman, who's officially on his third stint with the Broncos. In each of his two past stints, he never made it past the practice squad so some congratulations are in order for the third-year player, though it's a shame that it took an injury epidemic to see it happen.
Such is the nature of the NFL, though. It's a violent game rife with injury risk. Those injuries create opportunities for heretofore unknown and untested players.
Williams joins rookie third-rounder McTelvin Agim as the only active backups on the defensive line behind starters Jurrell Casey, Mike Purcell, and Shelby Harris. Here's to hoping the Broncos' D-line can not only keep the injury bug at bay but produce at a high level and shut down Tampa Bay running back Leonard Fournette, who gashed Denver last year to the tune of 200-plus rushing yards as a Jacksonville Jaguar in Week 4.
With Tom Brady coming to town on Sunday, the Broncos front seven will have its hands full, especially considering the arsenal of weapons at the disposal of the future Hall-of-Famer.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
