Saints Writer Surmises Broncos May Pursue All-Pro Specialist

The New Orleans Saints made a "challenging move" on Monday, releasing safety and core special-teamer J.T. Gray, who's now expected to draw significant interest as a free agent.

To little surprise, the Denver Broncos — particularly head coach Sean Payton — could be at the front of the line for Gray's services.

"Based on what Kellen Moore said today, it sounds like Gray wasn’t offered a practice squad spot and that there’s an anticipation that Gray will get plenty of offers quickly," Saints beat writer Ross Jackson reported. "No doubt in my mind that one of those offers, if not the first, will be Denver."

What happens next for the Broncos? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Undrafted in 2018, and overlapping with Payton's tenure, Gray made 98 appearances across seven seasons in New Orleans, totaling 103 combined tackles (68 solo) and three fumble recoveries. Of his 2,218 career snaps, 2,065 have come via special teams.

Gray earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2021 and was twice voted second-team All-Pro in 2019 and 2024, respectively.

"That was one of the hardest things so far this year. It was a challenging move, he's a really good special teams player and a really good player," Saints coach Kellen Moore said of cutting Gray, via ESPN.

Moore added: "We know the high-quality player that he is, the impact that he's had on this organization. Just with the ... roster management part of this thing over the course of the season and throughout next few weeks, there's a lot of challenges associated with that. It was a really tough one for this to do."

Dec 10, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints safety J.T. Gray (48) rushes past Carolina Panthers safety Xavier Woods (25) on a kick return during the first half at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

In forming their initial 53-man roster, the Broncos opted to carry five safeties (Talanoa Hufanga, Brandon Jones, P.J. Locke, JL Skinner, Devon Key) while re-signing two others (Delarrin Turner-Yell, Keidron Smith) to the practice squad.

Among the final cuts was S Sam Franklin, who joined the club in March due to his special-teams prowess. Franklin was deemed expendable, presumably, because Denver felt comfortable with the aforementioned.

But none of the aforementioned are as accomplished as Gray, and none have the years-long familiarity with Payton, infamous for stockpiling His Guys. It also doesn't hurt that Gray worked closely with former Saints and current Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi.

"I'm certainly a little biased, I coach him every day, but I don't know if there's a core special teams player in the league that I would trade J.T. Gray for," Rizzi said in 2021. "He's an outstanding gunner. That's where he probably gets most of his recognition, but at the same time, here's a guy who's really good in the return game as a blocker.

"He's a tough matchup. He can block different body types. He can run. He works his tail off. He's a good work ethic guy, blue collar, comes to work every day, got voted captain by his peers this year and he's a guy who over the last three years I've been here, I've been really proud to watch his progression. His production on the field is outstanding. J.T.'s production the last three years has been really unmatched."

While it's possible the Broncos are content entering Week 1, it's equally likely they at least attempt to lure Gray to the Mile High City — the potential cherry atop a playoff-ready roster.