Broncos Get Rookie LB Back From IR Just in Time for Playoffs

The Broncos need all the horses they can get for this crucial playoff run.

August 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Karene Reid (47) after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos really took their time deciding on when to activate rookie linebacker Karene Reid. The Broncos initially designated him to return from injured reserve back on December 17 and teams only have 21 days to officially activate a player before he becomes permanently ineligible to play the rest of the year.

Just in the nick of time, the Broncos have officially activated Reid. He's back on the 53-man roster, joining Alex Singleton, Dre Greenlaw, Justin Strnad, and fellow rookie Jordan Turner in the linebacker room.

The Broncos also signed defensive back Tanner McCalister to the practice squad. He returns to Denver after spending the 2024 season with the Broncos on the practice squad.

McCalister was waived last June and would go on to spend time with the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs. He knows Vance Joseph's scheme.

The roster is now at 53 players after the Broncos waived two guys the day after clinching the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger took one of those two spots vacated on the 53-man roster, as the Broncos promoted him from the practice squad.

Reid claims the other. The Broncos will soon have another decision to make with tight end Lucas Krull expected to begin practicing soon. He's been on IR with a broken bone in his foot since October 2, and according to The Denver Gazette's Chris Tomasson, the Broncos could designate Krull to return, opening his 21-day practice window.

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Reid's Path to Denver

August 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Karene Reid (47) celebrates intercepting the football with linebacker Levelle Bailey (56) against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Reid went undrafted last spring out of the University of Utah. He made the 53-man roster out of training camp, leapfrogging incumbents like Levelle Bailey in the process.

A hamstring injury torpedoed Reid's rookie momentum, but the Broncos are getting him back in time for their hard-earned playoff run. He appeared in 10 regular-season games as a rookie, contributing mostly on special teams, with five tackles (four solo).

At 25 (birthday in February), Reid is old for a rookie, but that is often the case for players who serve a two-year LDS mission, as he did. Broncos Pro Bowl left tackle Garett Bolles, also a former Utah Ute, served an LDS mission, as well.

Reid, 6-foot, 226 pounds, immediately bolsters the Broncos' coverage units on special teams. He's the size of many NFL safeties, but he plays with the physicality of a true linebacker.

“We saw a draftable player," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said of Reid back in August.

Reid's football character, maturity, and instincts resonated with the Broncos in the pre-draft process, according to GM George Paton.

"He’s exactly what we saw in college. We’ve had some luck with these Utah guys," Paton said of Reid back in August. "He’s mature, obviously went on a mission. He’s 25 years old, but smart, instinctive, nose for the ball, playmaker, urgent. He’s going to be a good [special] teamer. [He is] everything we want in a football player."

Karene's father, Spencer Reid, was also an NFL linebacker, suiting up for the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts back in the late-90s.