August 31 roster cuts: Time is running out for these three young Broncos

These three young Broncos have only two more games' worth of sunshine to make some hay.

The deadline is rapidly approaching. On August 31, the 32 NFL teams will be cutting 37 players from their rosters as they cut down to their 53-man regular-season squad. 

There will be a couple of days in-flux, as teams add and subtract by signing players that were cut and setting up their practice squad. What that means, though, is one way or another, roughly 864 players will be without a job in the NFL in seven days' time. 

The actual number will be less than that with players going on injured reserve. But that means time is running out for bubble players, and there are three young bucks for the Denver Broncos that are leaning towards being three of those 864 players.

Trey Marshall, S

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First up is safety Trey Marshall. Marshall was a preseason stud last year, and looked like he was going to build on it earlier in 2019 camp and in the first two games of the preseason. 

However, when it came time to take on the San Francisco 49ers, what Marshall put on tape for the game was something that’d make you wish you had food poisoning. It was that bad of a performance from Marshall.

He was out of position a lot, which was something that has been an issue before but not to this extent. Marshall's play against the run was a mess, and he just didn’t look as quick in coverage as he has before. 

Whatever the reason, Marshall has two games left to prove that he should stick on the roster. Roster math may not allow a 10th defensive back, but if Denver decides to keep that many, Marshall's odds of making it improve.

Keishawn Bierria, LB

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Next up is former sixth-round draft pick Keishawn Bierria, who was horrible a year ago yet somehow made the roster. There was a lot of talk that the young linebacker has shown tremendous growth in practice, and that may be true, but when it matters most, he hasn’t proved it. 

Instead, he continues to look lost, slow and out of place on the NFL football field, just as he did a year ago.

From watching what tape he has put out there thus far in 2019, he looks exactly the same as he did last year and that is worrisome. By now he should be showing signs of growth. I won’t say he has no shot of making the roster, because he shouldn’t have made it last year. 

It's hard to see the Broncos making the dumb decision to carry six off-ball linebackers again, but there are crazier things that have happened. There are two games left for Bierria and he has a long way to go, but the fourth linebacker spot is open between him and Josh Watson.

Devontae Jackson, RB

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Jackson is a player that was getting so much hype this offseason before the games started. He was hailed as a playmaker and the answer to the Broncos' returner issues. 

When the games started that momentum deflated faster than a New England Patriots football. You can see that Jackson has the speed to be a threat, but he lacks the vision to find the lanes, the strength to break tackles, and, to be fair, didn’t get much help from his blocking upfront.

Additionally, Jackson hasn’t gotten a shot as a return man for the Broncos, which for being as explosive as he was touted as being is something to take note of. Denver went out and picked up Theo Riddick, and since he got hurt, Devontae Booker has pretty much cemented himself as the No. 3 back. 

It's going to be hard to bridge the gap over two games, especially with so few starters playing. Jackson will be facing second-, third- and fourth-string players, many of whom won’t play a snap in the NFL after this summer. 

There won’t be much of a chance to see what Jackson can do against tougher competition. Time has basically run out, and his only hope is to get a shot as a returner and shine. 

Follow Erick on Twitter @ErickTrickel.