Broncos 53-Man Roster Projection 4.0: Game 2 Shakes Up the Roster Bubble

Only one preseason game remains before the Denver Broncos have to cut their current 90-man roster down to the final 53 players. That deadline is on August 30.

By returning most of their 2025 roster, the Broncos have a good idea of who will make the cut this year. Honestly, analyzing this roster, there are maybe five spots open.

In the wake of the Broncos' 33-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, it's time to project the 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad once again. Let's see how things may have been shaken up compared to our version 3.0 projection coming out of the Atlanta Falcons game last week.

Quarterbacks: 2

Bo Nix | Jarrett Stidham

Practice Squad: Sam Ehlinger

There are no changes here, and fans shouldn’t expect any in the quarterback room. Stidham and Ehlinger aren’t in a true battle, and the Broncos seem unlikely to carry three quarterbacks on the roster.

Running Backs: 3

J.K. Dobbins | RJ Harvey | Jonah Coleman

Practice Squad: Cody Schrader

Even with some injury concerns over Dobbins, the Broncos still only roll with three running backs. They could look for more on the practice squad, but it seems like Tyler Badie and Jaleel McLaughlin would land elsewhere, leaving Schrader as the practice squad back, and there are no qualms there, as he has outplayed Badie and McLaughlin in the preseason games.

Fullback: 1

Adam Prentice

There will be a fullback on the roster; Sean Payton has said as much, and new offensive coordinator Davis Webb clearly has something in mind for how to use him.

Wide Receiver: 5

Courtland Sutton | Jaylen Waddle | Pat Bryant | Marvin Mims Jr. | Troy Franklin

Practice Squad: Lil’Jordan Humphrey | Cameron Ross | Kolbe Katsis

Due to roster math, Humphrey misses out on the 53-man roster, but he has a chance to make it, as Nix, Payton, and Webb seem to have a lot of trust in him as a weapon. The question is how the practice squad shakes up, and Ross has looked good on offense, with Katsis standing out as a returner.

Tight End: 4

Adam Trautman | Evan Engram | Nate Adkins | Justin Joly

Practice Squad: Dallen Bentley | IR: Caleb Lohner

Denver needs help in the tight end room, and until then, this will be the outlook for the room. Each day Lohner misses increases his chances of being one of the players put on injured reserve at the cutdown as someone who could potentially return.

Offensive Tackle: 3

Garett Bolles | Mike McGlinchey | Frank Crum

Practice Squad: Tyler Miller

With how bad Crum has been in the preseason, there is a chance the undrafted rookie could take his spot, as Miller has done quite well. However, Crum has been running with the second unit, while Miller has been with the fourth-unit offensive line, signaling a pecking order.

Interior O-Line: 6

Bo Nix. — Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) runs the offense in the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers. | Dustin Bradford / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Ben Powers | Luke Wattenberg | Quinn Meinerz | Alex Palczewski | Alex Forsyth | Kage Casey

Practice Squad: Calvin Throckmorton | PUP: Nick Gargiulo

Throckmorton has been doing well in games and in practice, which should be making Forsyth feel some heat, as he wasn’t doing the best in practice before he got hurt. There's also positional versatility with Throckmorton, which you don’t have in Forsyth.

Outside of those two players, the interior offensive line is pretty much set.

Defensive Line: 7

Zach Allen | D.J. Jones | Eyioma Uwazurike | Malcolm Roach | Jordan Jackson | Tyler Onyedim | Sai’vion Jones

Practice Sqaud: Jordan Miller

Barring a trade, the Broncos' defensive line seems set, even for the practice squad. They like to keep seven on the roster, and those seven are clear.

With Miller, he saw the field in the second half against Green Bay, and the last defensive linemen didn’t take the field until the fourth quarter. Miller has done well and seems like a shoo-in for the practice squad.

Outside Linebacker: 5

Que Robinson and Jonathon Cooper. — Que Robinson and Jonathon Cooper celebrate a sack vs. the Packers. | Dustin Bradford / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Nik Bonitto | Jonathon Cooper | Jonah Elliss | Que Robinson | Dondrea Tillman

Practice Squad: Dasan McCullough

The practice squad is up for a battle, and Denver could look outside the team to find another rush linebacker. Drew Sanders is hurt again, and Johnny Walker and McCullough haven’t been great. The Broncos' five outside linebackers are locks, barring a surprise cut or trade.

Linebacker: 4

Alex Singleton | Justin Strnad | Karene Reid | Jordan Turner

Practice Squad: Red Murdock | Taurean York

The top three seem pretty much settled, but the fourth spot is still up for grabs with Turner and Murdock competing for it. Both have had some bad moments, but also some bright spots.

Turner got the edge over Murdock here for special teams play, but it could honestly go either way. York is out of the running for the roster because of his lack of special teams ability, as he made multiple mistakes on special teams against the Packers.

Cornerback: 5

Patrick Surtain II | Riley Moss | Ja’Quan McMillian | Jahdae Barron | Kris Abrams-Draine

Practice Squad: Sean Fresch Jr. | Reese Taylor

There has been a debate about whether Denver would keep five or six corners, and Fresch is pushing for a roster spot with his play on defense and special teams, but the team could probably sneak him onto the practice squad.

The Broncos' top five corners are set, though, and that's great because it speaks to their depth.

Safety: 5

Talanoa Hufanga | Brandon Jones | Taylor Rapp | Devon Key | JL Skinner

Practice Squad: Miles Scott | Parker Robertson

Yes, Rapp makes it even as a new addition because he is a high-football-IQ veteran who should pick up the defense quickly, upgrading the third safety spot, which is much needed. This pushes Key back down into a key special teams player and the fourth safety.

Skinner sticks around for his third-phase play. Scott and Robertson have shown plenty of flashes to keep around and continue to develop.

Specialists: 3

Wil Lutz (K) | Jeremy Crawshaw (P) | Michael Fraboni (LS)

No competition for Lutz or Crawshaw, and Fraboni is clearly ahead of Luke Basso. There doesn’t seem to be much of a long snapper competition after all.

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