The strength of the Denver Broncos roster forced some tough decisions, and the result was an impressive practice squad.
The Denver Broncos have a stacked roster, which means some pretty good players got away after a somewhat brutal cutdown day that featured some tough decisions. Several players wound up on the practice squad, which has a talent level much higher than that of most NFL teams.
Start with Calvin Throckmorton, according to a report from Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post. The backup offensive lineman injured his nose in the epic camp scrap between quarterback Bo Nix and linebacker Nik Bonitto, and he was initially cut on Sunday before being added back to the practice squad.
“A little reminder of this training camp and hopefully what it’s going to lead to down the road,” Throckmorton said after his roster adventure day.
The Broncos didn’t get everything they wanted with all their practice squad shenanigans, though. Tight end Justin Joly was picked up by the Miami Dolphins after being cut on Sunday, and the Broncos chose to keep running back Tyler Badie over Jaleel McLaughlin as they added running back Cody Schrader to the practice squad.
“All of those (running backs) really played well,” head coach Sean Payton said Monday. “The edge goes to the kicking game, which is important. We were still able to end up with five. So much of the final equation comes down to special teams as we’re trying to project a vision when it’s close.”
Two other camp standouts will be returning to the practice squad as well, including seventh round pick Red Murdock, aka “Mr. Irrelevant,” along with safety Miles Scott. Murdock played well in his preseason appearances, but for Scott it was more about sustained improvement as he drew praise from a noteworthy veteran in the back end.
“It’s definitely a gradual thing,” he said. “I feel like this past week was my best week of practice. I was like, man, this is how it should be. I’ve got to develop and become a better player. I’ve only played safety for a few years.
“In college, the defense was pretty simple. Here, this defense is definitely more complex. That’s why it works, though.”
Fellow safey Talanoa Hufanga was the veteran who was impressed by Scott’s work given that he’s picking up a lot of the details on the fly.
“Smart player,” starter Talanoa Hufanga said of Scott yesterday. “A guy that is still picking it up, as always, it’s hard to learn, but he sits next to me in meetings. He’s picking the brain. A guy that’s willing to learn. As he grows and as he learns in this league, he can be a really good player.”
Fullback Adam Prentice was also stashed on the practice squad, although there’s still plenty of controversy about letting Joly and McLaughlin go as the Broncos sort out their final roster pieces.
