Following their preseason finale against the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, the Denver Broncos will begin preparing their 53-man roster for the upcoming season. One of the more interesting position groups for the team is at cornerback.
The Broncos already had a good group in the secondary, but then added last year’s Jim Thorpe Award winner, Jahdae Barron, with their first-round pick. That created an immediate question of which cornerback(s) from this talented group would be left off the 53-man roster?
The Broncos have Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Barron, Kris Abrams-Draine and Ja’Quan McMillian on the team. While there would likely still be room to slide Damrri Mathis onto the roster, the Broncos may choose to go with only five corners or look at one of the younger options, such as Jaden Robinson or Joshua Pickett, instead. Or, the team may keep only five cornerbacks.
Eric Edholm of NFL.com predicted that Mathis will be one of the more attractive cut candidates as teams create their 53-man rosters.
“This is not so much an indictment of Mathis as a player; rather, he just seems to have fallen behind some talented DBs in a loaded secondary. He started 17 games in 2022 and 2023 combined, but saw his workload dialed back significantly last season. Pat Surtain II, Jahdae Barron, Ja’Quan McMillian, Riley Moss and Kris Abrams-Draine appear to be ahead of Mathis, and the Broncos could save more than $3 million by cutting him if they feel they don’t need his experience and special teams value”, wrote Edholm.
Edholm brings up a good point about some savings under the salary cap, which could be enough for the Broncos to move on from Mathis.
Sources confirm Broncos are trying to trade CB Damarri Mathis. If no deal, Mathis will be released. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlisNews9) August 21, 2025
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Mathis has played in 43 career games with 18 starts. He is still looking for his first career interception, though he does have nine career pass breakups and 103 total tackles.
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