Broncos Narrow Offseason Roster as Mandatory Minicamp Begins

The Broncos made a pair of corresponding moves.

Jun 12, 2025; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Michael Woods II (81) misses a catch during mini camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos made two corresponding roster transactions after signing a pair of players ahead of this week's mandatory minicamp.

Per the Denver Gazette, the Broncos on Tuesday waived wide receiver Michael Woods II and cornerback Paul Manning, both of whom joined the team following tryouts at rookie minicamp last month.

A former sixth-round draft pick, Woods has totaled 12 receptions for 110 scoreless yards across 15 NFL appearances. The 6-foot-1, 204-pound receiver spent his first three seasons with the Cleveland Browns before holding brief stints elsewhere, including time with the Green Bay Packers in 2025.

An undrafted rookie out of Division II Henderson State, Manning notched 51 total tackles, 16 pass breakups, three interceptions (one pick-six), and two forced fumbles across 32 collegiate appearances, earning second-team All-Great American Conference honors last year.

The Broncos replaced both players on the 90-player offseason roster with WR Hakeem Butler and CB Sean Fresch Jr.

Jul 23, 2025; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Michael Woods II (81) runs a drill during training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Implication(s) Of These Moves

There isn't much to take away here. Woods and Manning ultimately were destined to be little more than camp bodies, and the same fate could await Butler and Fresch — depending on how they look during minicamp and, potentially, training camp later this summer.

Considering they play the same positions, it's fairly obvious that Denver merely preferred the latter over the former as they begin the slow-churning process of forming their final 53-player squad.

Butler, the reigning United Football League Offensive Player of the Year, might have a decent shot of sticking around in an already crowded WR corps, possibly challenging returning veteran Lil'Jordan Humphrey for the token big-slot role in Sean Payton and Davis Webb's offense.

“I think it’s strong, and I don’t want to just talk about three, or five or seven," Payton said last week of the depth chart at receiver. "When you add to a room like that with someone like Jaylen’s skill set, the level of competition and the results of all of them improve immensely. We’re kind of seeing that in practice. Those guys work together well. It’s exciting to see. It’s an area we felt like if we had an opportunity to address before the draft, fortunately we were able to. I’ve said this before: it was going to be difficult at our pick to find someone of that skill set. We feel fortunate it was able to get done.”

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