When the Denver Broncos signed veteran safety Taylor Rapp this summer, it flew a bit under the radar, but it was a notable transaction.
Rapp is a Super Bowl champion with 72 career starts and 12 interceptions on his résumé. He suffered a season-ending knee injury last year, and that's likely why he was still available when Denver initially signed him in August. If not for that injury, Rapp might be starting elsewhere right now.
Instead, the Broncos stashed him on their practice squad, and that proved to be a prudent move after Talanoa Hufanga went down with an ankle injury. Rapp has played 69.3% of the defensive snaps in the last two games that Hufanga has missed.
“Signing Taylor was purposeful for us," defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said last
week. "We needed a veteran safety who can play without reps. Obviously that was a short week for all of us. For him to go in a game and play 60-plus snaps and play at a high level and make every call, it’s been impressive to watch.
"His first week in training camp, we saw it, and I was like, ‘Man, this is cool.’ If we can get him back in some capacity moving forward, it’s going to be a big part of our defense. Again, it was perfect to have Rapp in the circle.”
Taylor Rapp set to make his Broncos debut pic.twitter.com/xHllnOHO5V
— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) October 16, 2026
Denver has elevated Rapp from the practice squad to the game-day roster in each of the last two weeks, and the 28-year-old safety has totaled eight tackles in those contests.
“He’s smart, tough, loves the game and is one of those players that can come in like he did and transition cleanly," coach Sean Payton said. "It’s hard to find that. His experience, his football I.Q., all of that shows up on tape, and it’s one of the things that attracted us to him.”
NFL teams are allowed to elevate practice squad players to the game-day roster up to three times during the regular season, so if Rapp is called up again this week, it will mark his final practice squad elevation of 2026. After that, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Broncos fully promote Rapp to the 53-man roster. He has certainly proven to be a valuable depth option in Denver's secondary.
Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X!
This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Broncos' under-the-radar summer signing has been a perfect addition
