The Denver Broncos announced on Monday that they have placed starting safety Brandon Jones on the injured reserve. He suffered a chest injury during Sunday’s victory over the Green Bay Packers and will be out for at least the remainder of the regular season. With a spot open on the 53-man roster, the Broncos claimed running back Cody Schrader off waivers from the Houston Texans and he will add some running back depth moving forward.
With Brandon Jones out, we saw P.J. Locke step in and play rather well for the Broncos in the second half of Sunday’s game. He is a former starter who has plenty of experience in this defense and should be able to step in without any issues moving forward. Jones signed as a free agent back in 2024 and has been a steady presence at safety for the Broncos top-ranked defense. No timetable for his return has been announced but hopefully, he can return at somepoint during the Broncos postseason run.
Cody Schrader is a 5’9, 214 pound running back who has bounced around the league a bit since going undrafted back in 2024. He was originally signed by the 49ers, but was waived during final cuts and was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Rams a day later. He spent the entire year on their roster and saw some playing time in the season finale and would spend the entire following offseason with them before being waived during final cuts this past summer. This time, he would clear waivers and sign back to the Rams practice squad a day later. A few weeks later, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Schrader from the Rams practice squad to their 53-man roster. He would stay with the Jags until earlier this month when they would waive him. Schrader would once again be claimed off waivers, but this time by the Houston Texans, but he would last just 5 days with his new team before being waived again. Now, he was claimed by the Denver Broncos and will join their 53-man roster.
Schrader rushed for 1,627 yards during his final year at Missouri and was projected to be a Day 3 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. He ran a 4.61 40-time but was praised for his vision and fit in a zone blocking offense in the NFL.
Ornery and competitive, Schrader’s story arc reads like a Hollywood movie. The sixth-year senior dominated at Truman State before walking on at Missouri and showing he could shine against SEC competition. He’s a stocky short-strider lacking ideal explosiveness but is still a successful outside-zone back due to his vision, decisiveness and fearlessness through the line. He’s a volume back more likely to wear a defense down rather than gash them with chunk runs and is a capable pass protector against the blitz. Teams need to weigh the heavy production against average physical tools, but he appears to have a decent shot of becoming an RB2/3 with three-down ability.
The Broncos running back room is a bit banged up with veteran running back JK Dobbins out for the year and rookie running back RJ Harvey suffering an apparent rib injury during Sunday’s game vs. the Packers. If Harvey is indeed banged up, that would leave Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie as the Broncos lone backs on the 53-man roster. Schrader adds some depth while the team also has Sincere McCormick and Deuce Vaughn on their practice squad.
We’ll know more about Harvey’s status as the week progresses, but the fact they’re adding a back to their 53-man roster may mean he is questionable at best.
