The Denver Broncos brought back another former player from last year in wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey. I actually like this signing because Humphrey is a good blocking receiver and made some pretty big plays in the passing game too — like that touchdown reception against the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs.
Other than that, however, they have yet to sign an outside guy. Will that change before the end of the week?
Broncos daily recap
Yesterday, I said the only former Bronco left to sign was Jaleel McLaughlin. Sean Payton
must have read that (jk jk) because I clearly forgot about Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Maybe McLaughlin is the last one left now?
Broncos announce their 2026 coaching staff
The Broncos have officially finalized their 2026 coaching staff, and the headline move is Davis Webb stepping into the offensive coordinator role with play-calling duties after Joe Lombardi was let go in January. Sean Payton also brought back John Morton as pass game coordinator after a one-year stint in Detroit, and added former Saints receiver Willie Snead IV to the staff in his first NFL coaching role. On defense, Vance Joseph returns for year four while Robert Livingston slides in as the new passing-game coordinator after Jim Leonhard departed for Buffalo.Broncos are having a pre-draft top-30 visit with Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr.
Denver is doing its homework on one of the draft’s most exciting receiving prospects. Omar Cooper Jr., a key piece of Indiana’s National Championship squad, will visit Dove Valley on Friday for a top-30 meeting. Cooper hauled in 69 catches for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season and ran a 4.42 at the Combine. His yards-after-catch ability and middle-of-the-field prowess would bring a different dimension to the Broncos’ receiver room — and he could be right there at pick No. 30.Broncos re-sign WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey to a one-year deal
The Sean Payton favorite is back in orange and blue. Lil’Jordan Humphrey signed a one-year, $1.3 million veteran-minimum deal to return to Denver after contributing nine catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in seven regular-season games last year. Humphrey also came up big in the playoffs, including a 29-yard touchdown grab in the Divisional Round win over Buffalo. Payton originally brought Humphrey into the league as an undrafted free agent in New Orleans, and the big-bodied receiver continues to be a trusted depth piece.
Under the radar
The Jacksonville Jaguars are reportedly uninterested in free agency this cycle because they are aiming for more compensatory picks for what is viewed as a stacked 2027 NFL Draft. Could that be the plan in Denver on a lesser scale as they figure to get a fourth-round comp pick from the loss of John Franklin-Meyers in free agency.
The FEED happenings
Broncos history
Who was the worst free agent signing ever?
Thinking back, I can think of plenty of poor free agent signings but everyone has guys who don’t work out and doesn’t necessarily mean they were one of the worst ever. Dre Greenlaw didn’t work out for Denver and is heading back to the San Francisco 49ers, but I don’t think I’d even consider him for this list.
The name that pops out in my head would be Ja’Wuan James. Poor John Elway could never find a reliable right tackle in the post-Peyton Manning era and the poster child of that saga had to be James. He played in just three games after being signed, opted out for the COVID season, and then tore his Achilles in his final season with Denver never playing. He would play just one more game in his career after that and is now out of the league.
But surely, he wasn’t the worst. So I had AI compile a list of major free agent signings by the Broncos going back to 2000 and, sure enough, there were some pretty bad signings.
It would seem James would need to share this title with many other signings going back that far. In 2000, Mike Shanahan signed both Daryl Gardener and Dale Carter in free agency. Gardener played in three games and his career was over and Carter played that first season before being suspended a year for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. A few years later in 2007, Shanny signed Travis Henry to a big free agent deal and he would test positive for weed and get suspended and cut just a year later.
Then, we’ve got to fast forward to the John Elway era and his right tackle saga. James came to my mind first, but I totally forgot that right tackle saga was a saga for a reason. First came Donald Stephenson who had some rough outings in 2016 before the team then signed Menelik Watson in 2017 who would only play in seven games.
Who else do you think deserves some discussion on this rather sad topic?
That’s it for today, Broncos Country!
