The Denver Broncos had a busy weekend.
Denver's front office made 38 moves over the last two days to get down to an initial 53-man roster.
"Every year is hard, regardless of your depth," general manager George Paton said on Sunday evening. "This is a tough day. It’s always challenging. This year, I think we spent more time on this roster going through a lot of different scenarios with a lot of these players that were released. It’s a puzzle. It’s ongoing. Now we’re building the practice squad, we’re looking at the wire tonight, obviously. So it’s fluid, and yet yes, this was a tough roster to make."
With that noted, here are six quick takeaways from Paton's post-cuts conference call.
6 takeaways after Broncos roster cuts
1. Broncos injury report: Offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo was
moved from the active/physically unable to perform list to the reserve/PUP list, and tight end Caleb Lohner and offensive tackle Frank Crum were placed on short-term injured reserve. All three players will be eligible to return after four games, but they might not all be ready that quickly. Paton roughly estimated Lohner could return in October.
2. Justin Joly among cut draft picks: Denver cut three members of their 2026 NFL draft class: tight end Justin Joly (fifth round), linebacker Red Murdock (seventh round) and safety Miles Scott (seventh round). All three players will likely be top targets for the Broncos' practice squad — if they clear waivers. "You always worry about the guys you want to bring back that they could get claimed," Paton said. "If they do, like we told them, we’re going to give them a hug and wish them the best. That’s part of it; that’s part of the league. It’s a risk when you put guys out there. It’s just part of it."
3. Sam Ehlinger returns as QB3: After not making the initial 53-man roster last summer, Ehlinger has made the active roster in 2026. "Sam is a big part of this quarterback room," Paton said. "We didn’t want to lose him, and we felt we were going to lose him [if he was cut]. He’s too important to our team and just didn’t want to risk doing that. Obviously, the game he played the other night was outstanding. We love the room. We’re going to keep the room together.” Denver didn't want to take the risk of attempting to bump Ehlinger down to the practice squad because other clubs likely would have offered him a spot on their active roster.
4. Jaleel McLaughlin's moving on: After being waived on Sunday, this feels like the end of McLaughlin's time in Denver (he posted a goodbye message on Instagram). Paton said choosing between Tyler Badie and McLaughlin was one of the hardest and one of the final cut decisions the Broncos made. Paton noted that special teams and "third-down ability" were two key factors. Badie, unlike McLaughlin, is heavily involved in the kicking game, and he's a reliable pass blocker.
5. Broncos get roster flexibility with two cuts: Two of Denver's notable cuts were fullback Adam Prentice and long snapper Mitchell Fraboni. Because they are vested veterans, neither player is subject to the NFL's waiver wire. The Broncos plan to re-sign both players to their practice squad, and they can be elevated to the game-day roster up to three times. Eventually, Prentice and Fraboni will be fully promoted to the active roster. In the meantime, Denver has some early-season roster flexibility with those two on the practice squad.
6. Jonathon Cooper placed on exempt list: The NFL placed Cooper on the commissioner's exempt list on Sunday, which means he can't practice or play in games until the league makes an updated ruling. In the meantime, the Broncos still have Nik Bonitto, Jonah Elliss, Que Robinson and Dondrea Tillman at outside linebacker. Paton said Denver likes their OLB room, but he also acknowledged the team will look for depth. "[W]e’ll be looking a little bit, looking on the practice squad and we’ll be looking around," Paton said. "You can never have enough pass rushers, so we’ll kind of see how that goes.”
Up next are waiver claims on Monday morning. After claims are processed, the Broncos can begin building a 17-player practice squad for the 2026 NFL season (expect Prentice and Fraboni to be among the first signings).
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: 6 takeaways after Broncos set initial 53-man roster
