The day Sean Payton was hired as Denver\u2019s head coach, he previewed what his first several months on the job would look like.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the early part of six, seven, eight months, whenever you go to sleep at night, your checklist won\u2019t be complete,\u201d he said Feb. 6. \u201cThat\u2019s just part of the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s always still more work to do when trying to overhaul a roster and kickstart a franchise that\u2019s mired in a seven-season playoff drought.<\/p>\n
Payton\u2019s roster checklist won\u2019t be complete when he goes home in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, either, despite Tuesday afternoon’s hard deadline for NFL teams to cut down their rosters to 53 players.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s assuming he, general manager George Paton and the rest of the scouting and coaching staff make it home at all in the time between the 2 p.m. Tuesday roster cutoff and 10 a.m. Wednesday, when waiver claims on all those cuts are processed and more than 1,000 players become free agents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to go right inside and tonight we\u2019re going to be here until 2 a.m.,\u201d Payton said after his team finished a light-load practice at about 1:45 p.m.<\/p>\n
Quipped Paton, \u201cThere\u2019s 1,400 or some players on that wire that we\u2019ll sift through tonight. Sean said we\u2019re staying until 2 a.m. He hasn\u2019t done this before, but usually we stay until 5 a.m.”<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s where the Broncos stand at the outset of that all-nighter of a film session:<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve got 53 players, as necessitated by league rules. Three, however, are expected to end up on injured reserve Wednesday. The candidates include cornerbacks K\u2019Waun Williams (ankle surgery Monday) and Riley Moss (core), safety P.J. Locke (foot\/ankle) and offensive tackle Alex Palczewski (dislocated finger).<\/p>\n
Those placements will knock those players out for at least the season’s first four weeks and clear spots for three veterans released Tuesday \u2014 offensive lineman Quinn Bailey, defensive tackle Mike Purcel and cornerback Fabian Moreau \u2014 to re-sign to the active roster on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Another vested veteran, wide receiver Lil\u2019Jordan Humphrey, is set to return on a practice squad deal, a source told The Post.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, though, the Broncos will scour those 1,400-some players for potential additions. And given that they are fifth in line for waiver claim priority, they have a great chance of landing any player they really like. In fact, they could add multiple players to a roster that looks still to be in a state of considerable transition.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia, No. 31 in the pecking order, knew it would likely not be able to get tight end Albert Okwuegbunam on waivers because of its position, so it swapped 2025 picks Tuesday with the Broncos in order to acquire him.<\/p>\n
Denver, because of its paltry 5-12 record in 2022, is in a much different position.<\/p>\n
It would not be surprising if Payton, Paton and company find players they like better than those currently on their roster.<\/p>\n
Case in point: Payton made the comment about staying in the building watching film until 2 a.m. and then followed it up by saying, \u201dIf I loved where I was at (roster-wise), I\u2019d probably go home for dinner at 6 p.m. So, maybe that\u2019s a way to answer. I like the guys we\u2019ve fought with and are playing, but I do think the hay\u2019s not in the barn. There\u2019s going to be a number of players that will be on this waiver wire that we\u2019ve got to look closely at and then make the comparisons.\u201d<\/p>\n
What are they comparing against on Denver’s first 53-man roster?<\/p>\n
Well, for Tuesday night the Broncos have as many undrafted rookies (four) as they do wide receivers. And that total includes Jerry Jeudy, who has a hamstring injury that may cause him to miss the first couple weeks of the season.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Denver jettisoned a cavalcade of pass-catchers, figuring they can do better elsewhere. If waived speedster Marquez Callaway clears waivers and joins Humphrey on the practice squad, they could be early-season elevations to give Denver options while Jeudy is out. Beyond that scenario, though, the Broncos would have to find outside help to pad out their group. Or ask Kendall Hinton back to the practice squad.<\/p>\n
They have no such issue in the secondary, considering 13 defensive backs made the initial cut. That number will potentially drop Wednesday, however, when they move Williams and likely at least one other defensive back to injured reserve and bring Moreau back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a little heavy in the secondary,\u201d Paton said. \u201cOutside linebacker we have good numbers, and we\u2019ll get a practice squad or two at outside linebacker. We\u2019re going to be light at some numbers, but it\u2019s just roster management.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to fluctuate in the next 48 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, Denver likes its depth at outside linebacker \u2014 it kept undrafted rookie Thomas Incoom over veteran Aaron Patrick \u2014 and perhaps came through training camp surprised by its functional depth on the defensive line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Sean and his coaching staff, it\u2019s easy to evaluate (players) for him,\u201d Paton said. “It\u2019s easy for scouts because (Payton has) a vision. They have a clear vision of what they want at every position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Injuries complicate the early picture some, but the bottom line takeaway from Denver\u2019s roster cutdown day is they didn\u2019t feel like they had enough good players in camp to form a clear image in Payton\u2019s eyes. A temporarily unbalanced roster \u2014 27 defenders vs. 23 offensive players \u2014 a pair of trades and four undrafted players making the cut Tuesday all spoke to that conclusion.<\/p>\n
So, the next step is to see who the rest of the league was willing to part with and continue trying to make progress on that seemingly never-ending checklist.<\/p>\n