The Denver Broncos secondary — specifically the safety position — has experienced a whole host of injuries as of late, and the team made a move Wednesday to shore up the back end of the NFL’s No. 1 defense.
On Tuesday, the team released backup quarterback Christian Ponder, which made move for them to sign safety Shiloh Keo on Wednesday morning.
Keo was originally selected in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans, where he spend his first three seasons. Now in his fourth year, Keo competed with the Cincinnati Bengals in their training camp before being waived with the last round of cuts on Sept. 5.
Keo stands at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds. He’s totaled 64 tackles, two interceptions and seven passes defended in his career. The fourth-year safety also has some playoff experience, with eight tackles in four appearances with one start.
Keo is a strong special teams player, so look for him out there wearing No. 33.
And, Keo even asked Wade Phillips to sign him via twitter:
@sonofbum didn't want to pick me up huh?
— Shiloh Keo (@kaleo10) December 2, 2015
@sonofbum I hear ya, still the same system tho. Little man is doing great. Keep me in mind tho if things don't pan out
— Shiloh Keo (@kaleo10) December 2, 2015
With an ankle injury to starting strong safety T.J. Ward — who sat out of the win over the New England Patriots as well as the defeat of the San Diego Chargers — as well as a sprain to the MCL and PCL of David Bruton Jr.’s knee, the Broncos were all of the sudden lacking safety depth. This move was necessary, as was the re-signing of safety Josh Bush last week.
This Sunday, the Broncos host the 5-7 Oakland Raiders with a 2:05 p.m. MT scheduled kickoff.
