Pro Football Rumors
The Broncos are 5-4 but did make a seller’s trade, unloading Baron Browning (to the Cardinals) for a sixth-round pick. This came shortly after the team extended fellow outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper.
Cooper and Nik Bonitto will continue to anchor Denver’s edge rush, while third-round rookie Jonah Elliss figures to see his snaps increase. But the Broncos also may have a boost coming from a 2023 third-rounder soon. Drew Sanders is now back at practice, returning to work months after suffering an Achilles tear.
While Sanders is in the PUP-return window, center Luke Wattenberg has received a return designation as well. Wattenberg spent the past four weeks on IR, but he is moving toward being one of the Broncos’ injury activations. Denver has used four and still has Josh Reynolds as a likely candidate to count for a spot. The free agent wide receiver pickup has not returned to practice. While he was in line to be back from the finger injury that landed him on IR, being wounded in an October shooting delayed the timetable.
Sanders will not count toward Denver’s eight activations, having resided on the PUP list all season. He went down soon after the Broncos started their offseason program in April, providing a runway toward a return this season. Last season, Sanders played in all 17 games and made four starts. At Arkansas in 2022, Sanders finished with 9.5 sacks and 103 tackles. His versatility could present options for his pro team as well.
An Alabama transfer, Sanders has spent time at OLB and in an off-ball linebacker spot. A role as a pass rusher would help the Broncos, who could effectively have him replace Browning, though the team also lost top tackler Alex Singleton for the season. Justin Strnad has worked as Singleton’s primary replacement alongside Cody Barton.
Wattenberg beat out Alex Forsyth for the center job following Lloyd Cushenberry‘s free agency defection. Pro Football Focus has viewed Forsyth as having been the better option this season, ranking the 2023 seventh-round pick — who snapped to Bo Nix at Oregon during the 2022 season — 11th compared to Wattenberg’s 28th-place ranking. It will be interesting to see how the Broncos proceed here. If nothing else, the player edged out of the starting lineup would represent important depth.
