The Denver Broncos continue to leave no stone unturned when it comes to re-signing free agent veteran players.
Most NFL teams make free agency an exciting experience for their fan bases, but the Denver Broncos don’t seem to have caught on to how this works in this particular postseason. The Broncos continued their onslaught of recent in-house re-signings, rewarding fullback Adam Prentice for his hard work with a one-year deal for the veteran minimum, according to Luca Evans of the Denver Post.
There’s nothing wrong with this signing as a single event. Prentice, who played his college ball locally at Colorado State, was a quiet but important contributor for the Broncos this past season, playing in 19 percent of the team’s offensive snaps and another 45 percent of Denver’s special teams snaps, according to Evans.
Prentice replaced incumbent Michael Burton during training camp when the latter sustained a hamstring injury, as the Broncos signed Prentice off the street as a depth piece. Burton ended up missing the entire season, and Prentice capitalized by playing well as a run- and-pass blocker, not allowing a single quarterback pressure in 25 pass-blocking snaps according to Pro Football Focus.
Coach Sean Payton also used Prentice as an effective short-yardage weapon occasionally, as the 245-pound fullback recorded 10 first downs on just 16 offensive touches. Payton values backs who can protect the quarterback and get first downs as much as any coach in the league, and he commented about Prentice’s effectiveness back in December after running back J.K. Dobbins went down with his Lisfranc foot injury.
“We’ve utilized Adam in some of the sub-protection roles,” Payton said. “He’s really good, and he’s heavy. He’s good at protection. So when you get into maybe some of your longer-yardage situations … he’s converted a few, too.”
Prentice played a similar role at Colorado State, where he gained just 180 yards from scrimmage from 2017-19. He’s also got some brains to go with the brawn, too, according to Evans, having earned master’s degree in structural engineering while playing his final season at South Carolina after getting a degree in civil engineering at Colorado State.
The fullback is also yet another player who can trace his history back to Payton, having played for New Orleans under Payton in 2021, then with special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who referred to Prentice as an A-plus guy, which makes sense given the academic pedigree.
Prentice told the Post in December that he thought his NFL career might be over, but now he’s probably happy he made that mistake, even though he’s one of those players who probably won’t lack for options whenever life after football rolls around.