3 Potential Broncos Trades to Watch After Preseason Finale

The Denver Broncos have one last preseason game before the final roster cuts will come down the pike.

The Broncos will host the Minnesota Vikings in the preseason finale on Friday night. It's a great opportunity for the Broncos to showcase their roster depth to the rest of the NFL.

Denver has one of the deepest rosters in the league, and that surplus could be used to stockpile future draft picks and to clear some cap space. The odds are slim that the Broncos will trade a player before Sunday's roster deadline, but there are a few positions that could potentially net them a return on the market.

Let's look at a few players from these surplus positions who could be potential trade chips before the 53-man roster deadline on Sunday, if the Broncos were of a certain mindset. Before we get into it, please don't mistake my listing of these three players as me advocating for or predicting a trade.

They're simply situations to watch, and each player could be a trade chip if the cookie crumbles a certain way on Friday night relative to the Broncos' coming roster decisions.

Jarrett Stidham | QB

Stidham is in a contract year, and he's been pitted in a competition for the QB2 job all summer. If Stidham were to lose the job to Sam Ehlinger, which is unlikely but possible, the Broncos probably aren't going to carry three quarterbacks on the roster out of camp.

If the Broncos were to cut Stidham, it would free up $4.5 million in cap space, with a dead-cap hit of $3.5 million. Rather than cut him, the Broncos would likely first try to trade him.

However, it would seem that Stidham still has a sizable lead over Ehlinger, despite his poor showing last week against the Green Bay Packers. And as the Broncos' backup of the past three years, it would take a lot for Stidham to lose the job.

Ehlinger would have to be undeniable on Friday night against the Vikings, and I just don't see that happening. But the Broncos love him, and they've kept him around this long, re-signing him to a $2 million deal back in March, for a reason.

Troy Franklin | WR

The Broncos are deep at wide receiver this year. Jaylen Waddle's arrival has been a major boost to the room, and it's pushed everyone not named Courtland Sutton down at least one spot on the depth chart.

Beyond Waddle, the Broncos have the versatile veteran Lil'Jordan Humphrey and a couple of intriguing undrafted rookies — Kolbe Katsis and Cameron Ross — who've shown some tremendous returner ability this summer. Meanwhile, Franklin's seat at the table has been diminished, and he could be the fifth receiver on the depth chart.

The fifth receiver typically has to play special teams, but that's not really in Franklin's wheelhouse. If the Broncos were of a mind to hang onto Humphrey or one of the undrafted rookies, it could further minimize Franklin's role.

At the end of the day, though, I believe Franklin is making the roster. The Broncos aren't going to straight waive him. But if a team comes calling, looking for receiver help, my bet is the Broncos would be all ears.

There are just enough moving pieces to make the Franklin situation one worth monitoring.

Dondrea Tillman | OLB

Tillman enters his third year with the Broncos. He's arguably the team's best run-defending rush linebacker, and he's no slouch in the pass-rushing department, totaling nine sacks over the past two years.

The Broncos are very deep at outside linebacker, though, and if they want to get Que Robinson on the field more in Year 2, one way to do that would be to trade Tillman and create the space in the rotation. Robinson has had a tremendous summer, as has Jonah Elliss, and both players are recent draft picks.

Again, I doubt the Broncos are going to work the phones in an effort to move Tillman, but if a call comes in, why not listen? That's especially true if one of the young outside linebackers, like Dasan McCullough, Johnny Walker, or newcomer Ron Stone Jr., shows out on Friday night.

There's also Drew Sanders to wonder about. If the Broncos aren't ready to move on from their 2023 third-round pick, despite his inability to stay on the field, trading Tillman would at least offer the roster spot to carry him in hopes that he gets healthy enough to contribute in his contract year.

Sanders would also be great on special teams. Despite his talent and the Broncos' exceedingly long-suffering patience and support of him through his snake-bitten NFL career, the more likely outcome is Sanders either being waived or placed on injured reserve with a potential eye on activating him during the season.

Meanwhile, Tillman will be a restricted free agent next offseason, and I doubt the Broncos will want to tender him, so if they could get something for him now, and the offer was right, it might make sense to trade him, especially because they're so deep at outside linebacker. The one caveat that I've not mentioned yet is the Jonathon Cooper situation.

If the Broncos believe Cooper will be suspended this season, then trading Tillman would have to be taken off the table as a potential move. They would need Tillman big time if Cooper misses four to six games due to NFL discipline for violating the Personal Conduct Policy and getting arrested twice duruing the offseason.

Cooper has a court date on Monday, where he's scheduled to be arraigned on felony assault charges. Alas, the Broncos have to make their initial roster decisions by 2 pm MDT on Sunday, which likely means that the only way Tillman gets dealt is if an outside team comes calling with an offer GM George Paton can't refuse.

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