Broncos face decisions galore as preseason ends, cutdown nears

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For Broncos coach Sean Payton, perhaps part of the reason for his decision to “probably” sit Bo Nix for Friday night’s preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings isn’t simply about protecting his third-year quarterback and getting him a bit more rest after an offseason defined by recovery from two ankle surgeries.

It’s about getting a longer look at Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger, too — and deciding whether to invest two or three spots on the 53-player roster to be established Sunday on the quarterback person.

“If there were eight roster questions, it’s one of the eight as you’re looking at building your roster,” Payton said.

He didn’t name the other seven. But they’re almost certainly tied to the back end of the roster, as well as deciding how to use the two recallable injured-reserve spots at the Broncos’ disposal.

For the first time, teams can place up to two players on injured reserve at the roster deadline immediately. In prior years, they had to spend at least one day on the 53-player roster before going to injured reserve.

This could effectively give the Broncos two extra spots. And there are some potential candidates who have lingered with injuries in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, cornerback Riley Moss, tight end Caleb Lohner, center Alex Forsyth and edge rusher Drew Sanders all worked out on the side field. Of the quartet, Moss appears to be least likely to have such an injured-reserve designation used on him, given the Broncos’ need and the apparent lack of severity of the rib injury he suffered on the second play of the Aug. 21 preseason game against the Green Bay Packers.

Plus, the Broncos are going to need Moss as soon as possible — and the injured-reserve designation means playing Weeks 1-4 without the fourth-year cornerback.

Forsyth and Crum in particular are players the Broncos could use at some point. Sanders is edge rusher No. 6, but that suddenly becomes a bit more valuable if Jonathon Cooper is suspended; at that point, he’d be an injury away from substantial playing time int he edge-rusher rotation.

But the Broncos don’t know when Cooper might be suspended by the NFL in the wake of his June arrests, or what that might look like in terms of game length. If they have an indication — and they think a suspension comes early — it might lead them to keep Sanders on the 53. Otherwise, giving Sanders an extra four weeks to recover from the latest in his litany of injuries might be a good idea.

WHAT BECOMES OF THE BRONCOS’ BASKETBALL PROJECT AT TIGHT END

Lohner could end up on the waiver wire, and there would seem to be a good chance of passing him through waivers to the practice squad.

For starters, they successfully did this year. Secondly, being a second-year player means that another draft class, all entering with blank slates, has worked its collective way into the NFL; the members of the 2026 class are the shiny new objects, to so speak.

Third, Lohner hasn’t put anything on preseason film, so, all other teams have to go on for evaluating his progress if they wanted to claim him off waivers is the Broncos’ word — and his Broncos preseason work from last year.

Waiving Lohner could represent a calculated gamble that has a chance to pay off when he could resume practicing. Lohner needs repetitions above all.

Still, it didn’t have to be this way with any form of risk; the Broncos could have placed him on the physically-unable-to-perform list before the start of training camp — and they could still have him there, as he has yet to practice.

With Lohner and any other player at the deadline, one factor Payton and the Broncos brass will consider is the likelihood of slipping them through waivers to the practice squad. Vested veterans such as Adam Prentice, Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Calvin Throckmorton don’t have that concern; they’re released if the Broncos let them go, but their next move is entirely their choice, and the Broncos can add them to the practice squad if they so desire.

Ehlinger and Stidham are also vested veterans.

So, when the Broncos make cuts, the likelihood of whether a waived player might be claimed matters.

“I think that gets weighed in a lot,” Payton said. “I’ll turn to the analytics, and a lot of it is what kind what kind of tape are the opponents seeing, and that gets weighed in a lot.

“Who do we feel like is more likely to get claimed? Certain positions are more likely to get claimed, so, that’s always a challenge.”

And that’s why a player who plays many snaps in a preseason finale may be here today, gone tomorrow. As seen with Albert Okwuegbunam in 2023, it’s possible to showcase a player for a potential trade.

For more, watch the embedded video report.

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