A local product won’t be coming back to the Denver Broncos

Edge rusher Jacob Martin won’t be back in Denver.

The Cherokee Trail High School product agreed on a contract with the Houston Texans on Friday. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport first reported the move.

Reunion: The #Texans are signing pass-rusher Jacob Martin to a 1-year deal, source said. He played on the edge for Houston from 2019-2021 before landing with the #Jets and #Broncos last year.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 19, 2023

For Martin, it marks a return to the team for which he played three seasons. Martin subsequently spent the early part of the 2022 campaign with the New York Jets before joining the Broncos in a deadline-day trade after Denver shipped Bradley Chubb to Miami.

Denver needed a boost in edge-rushing depth at the time. But by this month, they had a full complement — even though the unit has questions regarding the injury rates of some players and the youth of others.

And with Martin carrying a cap charge of nearly $4.9 million, the Broncos could use younger, cheaper options for depth.

Still, thhe potential for Martin’s return arose last Saturday at coach Sean Payton’s press conference following a rookie minicamp practice at what is now known as Centura Health Training Center.

At the time, Payton kept the door open for Martin’s possible return.

“Things are in flux. We’re in that process where some of these guys may come back,” Payton said, referring to players with whom the team parted ways.

“It’s the hard thing when you’re trying to manage the numbers. If you sign an undrafted free agent to a contract, he counts towards your number. There might be a couple players that all of the sudden may be coming back to us in a week. I don’t want to go any further than that. It varies with each player, and I know Jake was now of them.”

Denver did bring RB Tyriek McAllister back after waiving him before rookie minicamp. But Martin will move on to his former playing home.

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