What Cravens to IR, McKenzie to 53 means in terms of Broncos thinking
Sep 3, 2018, 9:05 AM
Lost in the fray of Sunday’s news that the Denver Broncos had released former first-round draft pick Paxton Lynch was the club placing safety Su’a Cravens on injured reserve and re-adding wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie to the active roster.
Cravens, whom the Broncos acquired from the Washington Redskins in late March, had been battling knee soreness during training camp and played in only the final preseason game.
McKenzie returns to the 53-man roster after being waived during Saturday’s preseason cutdown, after which he was reportedly targeted for return with the Broncos practice squad.
But what does the roster move indicate about Denver’s thinking regarding some of its roster moves over the past 48 hours?
The news of McKenzie’s return and Cravens to IR initially surprised 104.3 The Fan host DMac on Sunday, who said, “So, Su’a Cravens is out for the year and Isaiah McKenzie’s on the 53? I’ve got to think about that one for a second.”
The move, DMac said, indicated how the Broncos felt about a number of players, including McKenzie, running back De’Angelo Henderson, and linebacker Alexander Johnson.
“It came down to Isaiah McKenzie, De’Angelo Henderson or Alexander Johnson,” DMac said of the final roster cutdown. “They chose Alexander Johnson, and now they’ve chosen Isaiah McKenzie. They could have signed De’Angelo Henderson.”
Henderson, instead, made his way through waivers and signed with the New York Jets practice squad.
“That’s how they rank them in order. You just saw, the language of the NFL is money and transactions,” said Cecil Lammey, DMac’s co-host Sunday. “It went Alexander Johnson, Isaiah McKenzie, and De’Angelo Henderson.”
McKenzie’s ability in the return game was also a factor, DMac said, as the Broncos may be “hedging their bets” regarding veteran cornerback and returner Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones.
“It tells you a little bit of something about how they feel about ‘Pacman’ Jones. They’re hedging their bets just a tad,” DMac said.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
