The NFL deadline to set the 53-man roster deadline is Tuesday, Aug. 30, at 2 p.m. MT. A look at the Broncos' roster cuts.
Tuesday 11:27 a.m. — In the crowded and competitive Broncos receiver room, Kendall Hinton is the first to get axed. The Broncos waived Hinton, a league source confirmed, but the third-year wideout could find his way back to Denver's practice squad if he clears waivers.
Hinton made his NFL debut as the Broncos' quarterback in 2020, and has since shown flashes of reliability as a reserve wideout and special teamer. He had 15 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown in 16 games played last year. His waiving leaves fellow wideouts Seth Williams, Tyrie Cleveland, Jalen Virgil, Brandon Johnson and Darrius Shepherd still on the roster bubble.
Tuesday 11:06 a.m. — The Broncos waived Jonathan Harris, a league source confirmed. Harris appeared in three games for Denver in 2019 and three more in 2021. He has yet to make an NFL start and faced an uphill battle to make the team, though the Broncos will want him back on the practice squad again if Harris clears waivers.
With Harris and Agim out, that leaves a defensive line room headlined by D.J. Jones, Dre'Mont Jones and Mike Purcell, with veteran DeShawn Williams and rookies Eyioma Uwazurike and Matt Henningsen as depth.
Tuesday 10:14 a.m. — A reminder of how waived and released works. A vested veteran player like Josh Johnson is "released," which means he is not subject to waivers and immediately becomes a free agent. A "waived" player must go through waivers until Wednesday and his contract is free to claim by a team. Once a player clears waivers, they can be signed to a practice squad.
Tuesday 10:05 a.m. — The Broncos made their first trade of the day, sending outside linebacker Malik Reed to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a source confirmed. Reed, who was a starter from 2019-21 when Bradley Chubb and Von Miller were injured, is on an expiring contract. Reed's departure leaves the edge-rushing group as Chubb, Randy Gregory, Baron Browning, Nik Bonitto and possibly Jonathon Cooper. Also possible is Aaron Patrick, who has special teams value.
Reed's departure creates $2.433 million in salary cap space. Combined with the release Monday of punter Sam Martin, the take here is that GM George Paton is creating flexibility that he can use at the trade deadline and/or roll over to 2023.
Tuesday 10:04 a.m. — The Broncos made their initial decision on who will be Russell Wilson's back-up quarterback. A source confirmed that the team is releasing Josh Johnson, leaving Brett Rypien as the current No. 2. Johnson received the bulk of second-team snaps during the offseason program, but Rypien used a good set of camp practices and three preseason games to win the job.
Tuesday 9:48 a.m. — The Broncos waived defensive lineman McTelvin Agim, a league source confirmed. Agim, a third-round pick out of Arkansas in 2020, appeared in 17 games over the past two seasons, with no starts.
Agim had a strong preseason finale for the Broncos last Saturday at Empower Field in the 23-13 win over the Vikings. He had a 10-yard strip sack that led to a Baron Browning scoop-and-score as well as another forced fumble, plus two tackles and two pass deflections. But that wasn't enough to convince the coaching staff to keep Agim on a deep defensive line where he was buried on the depth chart.
After his play against Minnesota, Agim said he believed he had shown enough growth to make the team's initial 53-man roster. But he was also at peace with the potential of getting cut.
"It was the last (preseason) game and I knew I needed to get good film, so that was my mindset, just to make sure I put the best film out there so that all 31 other teams see it as well," Agim said.
Denver also waived offensive lineman Zack Johnson, a second-year undrafted pro out of North Dakota State. Johnson spent time on the Broncos' practice squad in the latter half of last year, and could end up there again this year if he clears waivers.
Monday 1:18 p.m. — In a cost-cutting move, the Broncos released two-year starting punter Sam Martin, saving $1.88 million when subtracting new punter Corliss Waitman's salary ($825,000) from Martin's. The Broncos also waived waived cornerback Bless Austin, inside linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel, offensive tackle Sebastian Gutierrez, running back JaQuan Hardy and designated cornerback Donnie Lewis as waived/injured.
These moves put the Broncos' active roster at 74 heading into Tuesday.
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