Broncos Elevate Two Cornerbacks with Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss Out

The Denver Broncos have added two cornerbacks to their game-day roster as they prepare to face the Los Angeles Chargers without both starters at the position.

Denver elevated rookie Brent Austin and Sean Fresch Jr. from the practice squad Saturday, according to an announcement on the team's official website.

Both players are receiving their first NFL regular-season elevations.

The moves come after the Broncos ruled out Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss for Sunday's AFC West matchup at SoFi Stadium.

Surtain suffered an ankle injury during last Sunday's 24-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, while Moss injured his ribs in the same game.

Denver had already made several injury-related roster moves Friday, including placing wide receiver Pat Bryant on injured reserve.

With Surtain and Moss unavailable, Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine are expected to start at outside cornerback. Ja'Quan McMillian will continue handling the slot.

Austin and Fresch provide additional depth behind those three players as Denver prepares to face the Chargers without its starting cornerbacks.

According to Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette, both Austin and Fresch will serve as backups to Barron and Abrams-Draine.

Austin joined the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of California in May and earned a spot on their practice squad in August.

He appeared in all three preseason games, recording eight tackles.

Before arriving in Denver, Austin played college football at James Madison, South Florida and California.

He finished his college career with 110 tackles, three interceptions, two interception returns for touchdowns, 24 passes defended, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Fresch joined Denver in June after spending the previous two seasons in the United Football League.

The former Rice defensive back played for the San Antonio Brahmas in 2025 and the St. Louis Battlehawks in 2026.

He appeared in all three Broncos preseason games, recording three tackles and returning three punts.

Fresch also offers special teams experience, giving Denver another option in the return game.

The decision to elevate both players comes after the Broncos received encouraging news about Moss' rib injury earlier in the week.

Moss reportedly avoided a fracture, but he did not practice this week and has been ruled out for Sunday's game.

Denver also received encouraging early news about Surtain's ankle injury, but the two-time All-Pro remains sidelined.

The Broncos will now rely on Barron and Abrams-Draine to handle larger roles against Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

Both stepped in after Surtain and Moss left the loss to San Francisco, giving Denver some experience playing without its regular starters.

The challenge will be maintaining that depth throughout Sunday's game.

Austin and Fresch give the Broncos two additional options in the secondary as they try to overcome the absence of their starting cornerback tandem.

Denver and Los Angeles are scheduled to kick off Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET.