Broncos promote WR Fred Brown off practice squad, waive River Cracraft

The Broncos made a couple of roster moves on Tuesday ahead of Week 4.

River Cracraft's roller coaster experience with the Denver Broncos continued on Tuesday, as the team waived the young wideout to make room for Fred Brown, per Denver7's Troy Renck. The team also announced that it had signed WR Trinity Benson to the practice squad, which means Cracraft's time with the Broncos is over for now. 

Meanwhile, Brown finally gets the pay-off from producing an impressive training camp and preseason performance. He hauled in eight receptions for 90 yards in August, with a touchdown. 

Brown punctuated a strong summer with a big game in the preseason finale, catching five passes for 66 yards and that score. The only reason he didn't make the 53-man roster out of camp was because he wasn't a factor at returner. 

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Brown was also the odd man out due to the roster math at the receiver position. After Tim Patrick went down with a broken hand, landing on injured reserve, the Broncos re-examined what they were doing at the bottom of the wide receiver depth chart. 

At first, Cracraft was the beneficiary. But something Brown's done, or Cracraft has failed to do, at practice during the ensuing two weeks, caused the team to promote the former and waive the latter. Brown has impressed the coaches consistently at practice running scout team. 

Brown can contribute on special teams as a gunner but as a returner, that's not his bag. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound wideout is in his first year, a former undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State. He initially landed with the L.A. Rams in 2018, before eventually ending up with the Broncos

He'll take Cracraft's spot as the fifth wideout on the depth chart. Meanwhile, Diontae Spencer brings up the rear as WR6 and the primary returner. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.