The Denver Broncos are currently in the process of trimming their roster to the league-mandated 53 players ahead of the 2:00 p.m. MT deadline on Tuesday. Several players have already been notified of their releases, and the team is looking to trade a few trusted veterans.
The team will have three players on the injured list or physically unfit to play list at the start of the season, which will require them to be out for at least the first four games of the season. However, they will not count against the 53-man roster while they are out.
Drew Sanders, linebacker
Drew Sanders tore his Achilles tendon last April during the offseason. He’s likely to miss the entire season and will likely be out for a while, likely beyond the first four games.
Delarrin Turner-Yell, Security
Delarrin Turner-Yell continues to recover from the torn ACL that ended his 2023 season. It will be interesting to see how soon he’s ready to play and what the team plans to do with him when he is. In the meantime, this opens up a roster spot for one of the other safeties.
Devon Key or Keidron Smith are the players in the running for that.
Damarri Mathis, cornerback
After being taken away in the preseason finale, things looked bleak for Damarri Mathis. But after X-rays came back negative, he was diagnosed with a high ankle sprainIt’s certainly a problematic injury, but not one that will end his season.
The Broncos will be without Mathis during his absence, but that frees up cap space for another cornerback and that could go to Tremon Smith for his special teams abilities.
Teams have identified Denver as one of the most active teams before cutting rosters. While Tim Patrick and Samaje Perine are available, as others have reported, #Broncos Denver also received calls about CB Damarri Mathis, though Denver plans to keep him. He injured his ankle Sunday.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 26, 2024
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Damarri Mathis’ injury could have prevented him from being traded
Interestingly, there were reports that some teams were looking to get Mathis from the Broncos, but instead the team will keep him.
Teams have identified Denver as one of the most active teams before cutting rosters. While Tim Patrick and Samaje Perine are available, as others have reported, #Broncos Denver also received calls about CB Damarri Mathis, though Denver plans to keep him. He injured his ankle Sunday.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 26, 2024
The Broncos will keep him because, as a player coming off a high ankle sprain, what other choice does he have? If he hadn’t suffered that injury, would the Broncos have traded him? It’s an interesting thought.
The team will instead wait until he is healthy before returning to the opposing defense. He played well for the team this summer, even though he lost the competition for the starting cornerback job to Riley Moss.
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