Broncos Sign WR Ahead of Week 8 Tilt vs. Chiefs

The Denver Broncos made a pair of roster moves in the lead-up to their Week 8 home showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The team announced Tuesday that it has signed wide receiver Eli Pancol to the practice squad. In a corresponding transaction, Denver released defensive back Ugo Amadi — who joined the club on Oct. 9 — from the taxi squad.

Undrafted in 2025 and yet to appear in an NFL game, Pancol spent his rookie campaign with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts, with whom he signed a reserve/future contract in January. The Colts waived him at final cuts and eventually released him again last week following a second stint on the practice squad.

Due to injuries, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound wideout was a five-year collegiate contributor at Duke, catching 130 passes for 1,710 yards and 14 touchdowns from 2019-2024. He added seven rushes for 40 yards and two scores on the ground.

In 2024, he earned third-team All-ACC honors while taking home the Brian Piccolo Award, given to the “most courageous” football player in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Pancol ran a 4.40 forty-yard dash and recorded a 36-inch vertical jump at his Pro Day prior to turning pro.

"Any team that gets Eli Pancol is getting a relentless hard worker," Pancol told The Draft Network in a 2025 interview. "I’ve proven that no matter how much adversity comes my way, I’m always going to overcome the obstacles. I’m coming to work every single day to get better. I love the game of football. I love feeding off the energy of the fans. I use that to energize my teammates. I’m also a physical receiver who loves to block. I’m ready to work. You can’t go wrong with somebody like me."

What it Means for Broncos

Interestingly, Pancol becomes the fifth WR to land on Denver's practice squad, joining the likes of Dane Key, Cameron Ross, Kolbe Katsis, and Michael Bandy. None of these incumbents have been promoted to the active roster in recent weeks.

Speaking of the 53, the Broncos could be a little shorthanded at the position in Week 8 with Pat Bryant still on short-term injured reserve and Jaylen Waddle emerging from Sunday's win over the Cardinals with an apparent chest issue.

Head coach Sean Payton indicated Monday that Marvin Mims might see an uptick in usage going forward, as he's seemingly leapfrogged Troy Franklin on the depth chart.

“We’re trying to get him touches. He’s one of our explosive playmakers," Payton told reporters via conference call on Monday. "Quite honestly, we need to get him more touches on offense, and we’ll do that. A lot of it had to do with the way they were kicking off. We kind of, you noticed, went more to a single returner and certainly that first one (return) that puts us at midfield was a big one for us.”

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