Well, that was quick.
After signing with the Broncos just a few days ago, the Broncos have now released veteran safety Taylor Rapp along with wide receiver Kyre Duplessis and have signed defensive tackle Israel Antwine and offensive tackle Foster Sarell. This news comes from NFL Network’s lead league insider Ian Rapoport.
This is a bit of a surprise considering Payton’s comments on Rapp just a few days ago. Rapp was not present for Tuesday’s practice, so the veteran safety may have suffered an injury, and the team may have decided to move on, but that’s just speculation on my part. As for Duplessis, he was signed after the Broncos were down multiple receivers due to injury and had little to no shot at making the roster or practice squad.
With those two roster spots open, the Broncos have signed defensive tackle Israel Antwine and offensive tackle Foster Sarell. Antwine is a former undrafted free agent who spent time with the Jaguars, played in the CFL, and most recently in the UFL. In all likelihood, Antwine is simply a preseason body for the finale on Friday Night, but we’ll see if he can push for a practice squad spot during his short time with the team.
As for Foster Sarell, he was just released by the Washington Commanders and has spent time with several teams, including the Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, and Washington Commanders. During his career, he has appeared in 41 games, all with the Chargers, and has 4 career starts. With Frank Crum dealing with an injury, it appears the Broncos have added some tackle depth ahead of their preseason finale. He is an experienced player, so he may have a shot at a practice squad spot, but it’ll be difficult to latch on after joining a team this late in the process. We’ll see how he does on Friday Night.
As for the safety position, this changes things a bit again. It seemed like Rapp was penciled in as the third safety. He’s an experienced player, and head coach Sean Payton spoke highly of him just a few days ago. Now, with him suddenly released, it opens things back up for JL Skinner, Devon Key, Tycen Anderson, and rookie Miles Scott. I still wouldn’t rule out the team addressing the safety position prior to Week 1, but we’ll see how it goes in the coming days.
