Now that the dust has settled from NFL teams setting their 53-man rosters and creating their practice squads for the 2026 NFL season, we can start to look back at some of the moves that were made to get there.
For the Denver Broncos, what seemed like an easily predictable 53-man roster took some twists and turns in the final hours before the rosters needed to be locked in. Will the team regret any of those decisions?
Fans are never 100 percent in agreement with a team's front office, but teams aren't always right all of the time, either. In the NFL, there are often just as many bad moves in terms of personnel as good ones. Here, we'll take a look at some moves that could come back to bite general manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton.
3 cuts Broncos may regret making
1. Jaleel McLaughlin, RB
This
was a predictable decision the moment the team used a fourth-round pick on Jonah Coleman, but aside from being smaller in stature and not playing special teams, there is no reason to cut Jaleel McLaughlin. Sadly, not playing special teams and being a victim of the numbers game caught up to him.
Payton made it clear that the team went with Tyler Badie over McLaughlin for his work on special teams. It's very reminiscent of when the Broncos moved on from another terrific undrafted running back, Phillip Lindsay, in favor of Mike Boone, who did next to nothing for the team.
Though McLaughlin has yet to catch on with a new team, hopefully he can continue his NFL career elsewhere.
2. Taurean York, LB
If nothing else, the Broncos should regret the signing bonus given to undrafted linebacker Taurean York this spring.
It wasn't a surprise to see York not make the 53-man roster, but it was very surprising to see him not added to the team's practice squad. The Broncos obviously saw all that they needed to see out of him. There's also the chance he was offered a spot on the practice squad and declined it.
A bit surprising but undrafted rookie ILB Taurean York is NOT re-signing to the Broncos' practice squad per source.
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) August 31, 2026
York received the greatest signing bonus ($25,000) and guarantee ($325,000) among Broncos' undrafted rookies.
Then again, 7th-round pick ILB Red Murdock got…
We'll see if another team gives him a shot.
3. Justin Joly, TE
One of the biggest head-scratchers any team made on Sunday was when the Broncos chose to cut fifth-round pick Justin Joly. Equally surprising was the decision to keep Dallen Bentley, who we saw hardly anything out of in the preseason, on the 53-man roster.
The coaching staff saw what it needed to see out of Joly and it just wasn't good enough. On Monday, he was claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins.
Teams generally don't release fifth-round picks after one training camp and for a Broncos team that only has an aging Evan Engram in terms of playmakers at the tight end position, this was a curious move. Payton is one of the best play-callers the NFL has ever seen, but his affinity for guys like Adam Trautman and Lil'Jordan Humphrey has never made much sense.
Sure, they can block, but when you don't have enough guys who can make plays down the field, you put up seven points in a conference championship game.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: 3 players the Broncos might regret cutting
