Broncos drop roster hints as decision day approaches

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The third preseason game is the crème de la crème, of preseason that is. Not only is it the game where starters play the most, making it the closest thing to regular season football until the actual regular season, it signifies that real, meaningful football is just around the corner.

But until Sept. 11 rolls around, the Denver Broncos first game of the regular season against the Los Angeles Chargers, there are many things that still must happen, most notably roster cuts. By 4:00 pm EST on Sept. 2, NFL rosters must be cut from 90 players to 53.

With numerous players “on the bubble” and uncertainty on the roster at nearly every position, it’s hard to predict exactly what the Broncos final 53-man roster will look like.

Fortunately, on Thursday, the Broncos dropped a few hints.

Donald Stephenson likely to make team

Restructured contracts are a give and take. Typically, it means a player accepts less money on their salary for a higher guaranteed salary—thus a higher guarantee for them to make the roster.

When a player restructures their contract twice in an offseason, their odds of making the team increase. When a player restructures their contract ten days before the rosters are cut to 53 players, their odds of making the team increase even more.

Stephenson has done both of these, thus significantly bumping his odds of making the Broncos final roster.

The 12-game starter at right tackle last year has had a rocky offseason. Not only did the Broncos sign a new starting right tackle, Menelik Watson, they drafted a left tackle in the first round and signed a high-prized guard, Ron Leary. All three have essentially been given the nod that they will be starting on the offensive line, thus pushing Stephenson out of the starting unit.

In March, Stephenson restructured his contract to $2 million fully guaranteed and an additional $2 million if he makes the final 53-man roster—to avoid the Broncos exercising a $4 million fully guaranteed option. On Thursday, Stephenson agreed to another restructure, this time guaranteeing him an additional $500,000 in exchange for a smaller salary, including eliminating his $4 million salary for 2018.

If the Broncos were going to cut Stephenson on Sept. 2, roster cut day, it’s highly unlikely they would have given him an additional $500,000, thus making him all but a lock to make Denver’s final roster.

Devontae Booker will start season on 53-man roster

With speculation that Booker could start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list—which would not allow him to return to the active roster until Week 7 due to a fractured wrist—Vance Joseph wasn’t shy about the status of his second-string running back.

“‘Book’ should be on the roster, that should not be an issue,” he said. “He’s apart of the roster. His injury should not put him out past two weeks, three weeks max. ‘Book,’ he’s on the roster.”

Plain and simple, count Booker as one of the 53 players that will be on the roster Week 1, even if he won’t be available to play until Week 2 or 3.

Andy Janovich will make team

The lone fullback on Denver’s roster has already received his blessing from special teams coordinator Brock Olivo that he will make the team. On Thursday, Janovich received another blessing, this time from the most important person, the head coach.

“The fullback spot, in this day of age of NFL in a passing league, some teams have fullbacks and some teams don’t. We have one, and he’s a pretty good one. So we are going to use him,” Joseph said about Janovich. “Outside of that, he’s good for Brock. That’s huge for him to be a core [special] teams player. If he wasn’t, it would be a discussion. But he is, he’s a really good fullback. He’s important to our football team.”

Offensive line will be solidified after Saturday night

The Broncos’ offensive line is nearly solidified. With Joseph announcing Bolles will be the starting left tackle earlier in the week, he joins Matt Paradis (center), Leary (right guard) and Watson (right tackle) as four of the five starters along the offensive line.

The final position, left guard, will be decided after the Broncos third preseason game, Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers. The contestants are the incumbent starter, Max Garcia, and newly acquired veteran Allen Barbre.

“Max has played very well the last couple of weeks. Max’s pass-pro has improved an awful lot,” Joseph said. “Barbre was new to our system, so it took him a while to kind of figure out what we were doing as far as our calls, but for about two weeks now, he’s been very solid. Both guys are playing well. It’s going to be tight.”

Garcia and Barbre will both receive playing time with the first-team during the game, and Joseph said they will make a decision on who will be the starter shortly after the game.