That’s a surprise!
According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, the Denver Broncos have waived rookie tight end Justin Joly. He was selected in the 5th round of the 2026 NFL Draft and was expected to make the 53-man roster. Now he will hit the waiver wire, and we will have to see whether he clears waivers and joins the Broncos’ practice squad.
Joly entered the summer with some hype, but he reportedly struggled throughout camp and played strictly with the third-team offense throughout the preseason. Players like Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull were getting second-team reps around him. We did see his talent on an 88-yard touchdown grab in the preseason finale, but he was left wide open by the Vikings’ defenders.
With Joly now waived and potentially not making it through waivers, the question has to be: what are the Broncos doing at tight end? He was viewed as a likely pass-catching weapon for them, but could it open up a spot for Lucas Krull? Rookie Dallen Bentley? Or maybe even the Payton favorite, Caleb Lohner? Or could we see an outside addition via a trade, waiver claim, or perhaps a reunion with veteran free agent Taysom Hill?
Payton did tell reporters that the team would explore adding Hill early in camp, and nothing really came of that. The two got together during the Hall of Fame ceremonies and were expected to talk about a potential reunion, so we’ll see.
At the end of the day, this is a disappointing development. The Broncos tight end room has been disappointing, and Joly was expected to add some talent and pass-catching upside to the team. He still might if he clears waivers, but he will likely be one of the more high-profile players available, so we’ll see.
