Defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike is back on the active roster in Denver.
The Broncos announced on Monday that Uwazurike has been reinstated from an indefinite suspension for a violation of the league’s gambling policy. Uwazurike was originally suspended on July 24, 2023.
Uwazurike was accused of betting on games he played in while at Iowa State and with the Broncos. A report in July indicated that his reinstatement was pending a review of possible criminal charges in Colorado.
The Broncos drafted Uwazurike in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. He had 17 tackles and one pass defensed while playing in eight games — one start — during his rookie season.
Denver is moving on from one of its recent draft picks.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the Broncos have informed safety Caden Sterns that they’re going to waive him.
A fifth-round pick in 2021, Sterns appeared in 15 games as a rookie. But injuries limited him to five games in 2022 and just one game last season.
Sterns, 24, has recorded four interceptions with nine passes defensed in his limited playing time.
The Broncos haven’t settled on a starting quarterback yet and first-round pick Bo Nix is showing one skill that should help his chances of beating out Jarrett Stidham this year.
Nix played a lot of games while at Auburn and Oregon and that experience has boosted his level of on-field awareness. Broncos head coach Sean Payton explained how that presents himself during a press conference this weekend and invoked the name of Drew Brees, his longtime quarterback in New Orleans, while praising Nix.
“You see pretty good pocket sense,” Payton said. “Doesn’t take a lot of sacks. I think when he knows when the play’s over, time to go, and then, I think he can make plays when he’s going. I used to say this all the time, ‘The sack numbers are a reflection more on the quarterback than the offensive line.’ And there are some — Brees was one of those guys. He was a tough sack. The ball came out and I think Bo has traits like that.”
Payton won a Super Bowl with Brees running the Saints offense, so anything Nix can do to create thoughts of the two-time offensive player of the year should help his push to wind up with the job in Denver.
If the owners gather on August 27 for a special meeting regarding the private equity rules, maybe they should consider making another tweak. To the kickoff rules.
Earlier in the offseason, we predicted that, by the middle of the season, half of the teams will be kicking the ball out of the end zone and conceding the 30. If, as it appeared during Thursday night’s Hall of Fame game, a kick caught in the landing zone from the goal line to the 20, it won’t take many strides to get the starting field position between the 25 and the 30.
So why not just give up the 30 and erase the possibility of a long return?
The easy fix is to move the touchback point from the 30 to the 35. As originally proposed, the magic number was the 35. On the eve of the annual meetings in March, it moved to the 30.
There’s still time to move it to the 35.
On Saturday, Broncos coach Sean Payton suggested the 35 — for all kicks that fail to land in the 20-yard “box.”
“I get the box; I like it,” Payton told reporters, via Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post. “If the analytics tell me that the average drive start or average return is past the 30, well, what do you think is going to start happening? Touchbacks. We’re going to be right back to where we were, and that’s the last thing we want. We’ve got to pay attention to that. And the other thing I think is significant is I don’t like the three different starting spots. . . . If it’s outside the box, put it at the same spot. I think right now it’ll take a lot of fans a lot of time to figure out the three spots.”
He’s right. Currently, fans need to process that, if the ball is short of the landing zone or hits in the box and goes out of bounds, the ball goes to the 40. For a touchback, it’s the 30. For a ball that hits the landing zone and goes into the end zone and isn’t returned, it’s the 20. Reducing it to two potential starting points — the 35 or the 20 — will make it much easier for everyone to understand.
More importantly, it will avoid situations in which teams decide as a matter of strategy to never put the ball in play.
“I’m not going to be comfortable with saying, ‘Hey, kick a touchback and give them the ball at the 35,’” Payton said. “Now, maybe in the fourth quarter with a two-touchdown lead, but the 30 — look, just do the math. If the average return is past the 30 and we’re getting explosives, there’s times where I’m going to look at the scoreboard and say, ‘Hey, we’re up 10 here in the third quarter, we might be comfortable with the 30.’”
Or teams that are willing to trust their defenses will always opt to give the other team the ball at the 30.
Some (like Packers special-teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia) expect some “amendments” to the rule before the regular-season starts. This assumes that teams will show their hands in the preseason in a way that gives the powers-that-be a reason to tweak the rule. Chances are that no one will see how teams truly plan to approach the play until the regular season rolls around.
“Every team in the league will hold on to some of the things they want to do for Week 1,” Payton said. “I was talking to [NFL officiating consultant] Walt Anderson today and I said, ‘Walt, you’re not going to see in the preseason. You just aren’t.’ . . . And I would tell you this — when we get to Week 1, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another tweak or two [to the rules] that they’ve made a change on. Not significant.”
What’s significant is the 30 vs. the 35. Once the season begins under one set of rules, however, the league will be very reluctant to undermine the integrity of the season by shifting the rules.
So do it now. More specifically, do it on August 27, if/when the owners meet to pass private equity rules.
“I feel like the 35 would give us what we initially did all this work for,” Payton said. “Make a box foul. That’s easy. Make it a box foul and there’s two spots [the 35 and the 20]. But right now that’s not where it’s at and we’re pushing.”
Good. They need to be pushing. Because if the touchback point is the 30 when the regular season starts, the league isn’t going to get nearly as many extra plays as it expects.
Put simply, the so-called dynamic kickoff could end up being a dud.
After a 35-year wait, Randy Gradishar entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. His speech was filled with thanks for dozens of people, along with blessings and scripture.
One of those who meant the most to him was Jay Cimino, president and CEO of Phil Long Dealerships, who hired Gradishar in his public relations department more than 30 years ago. Cimino had continued to keep Gradishar’s candidacy in the public eye as the years passed.
“Year after year, for almost three decades, Jay and a few other men presented my case to the HOF Selection Committee. They believed I was a worthy candidate for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Gradishar said. “Jay’s 30-year vision and labor came to fruition. On January 26, I received the news I had waited 35 years to hear: I was chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I immediately called Jay. You can only imagine how we felt.
“Less than four weeks later, Gina Sacripanti, Phil Long Dealership’s communications director called to say that Jay had passed. I buckled; it was a gut- punch. I stand here without Jay, but everything Jay built into my life stands before you.”
One of the leading tacklers in NFL history, Gradishar grew up close to Canton in nearby Trumbull County and played college football at Ohio State under Woody Hayes.
“Coach Woody was committed to my best. I knew and felt that,” Gradishar said. “The most valuable difference coach Woody had in my life was his ‘pay forward’ lifestyle. Every Friday during spring quarter, coach Woody and the team visited assisted living facilities, hospitals, middle schools, and high schools. Coach Woody’s ‘pay forward’ philosophy influenced me to develop a lifestyle of serving.”
Gradishar, a first-round pick of the Broncos in 1974, was a five-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler on one of the best defenses of his era. The Orange Crush allowed under 10 points a game in 1977, leading the Broncos to their first Super Bowl, where they lost to the Cowboys 27-10.
Gradishar thanked 16 of his defensive teammates and defensive coordinator Joe Collier.
The Broncos are still working toward a decision about their starting quarterback and they’re trying to make sure that the competitors sound the same as they initiate the offense in practice.
Head coach Sean Payton said the team is “making a big point” of Jarrett Stidham, Bo Nix, and Zach Wilson using the same cadence as they call for the snap. Payton said that changing from one cadence to another “becomes difficult for the offensive line if the one beat is a little slower or the one beat is a little faster.”
“We’re trying to create that same beat with three different players, we’re making a big point of it,’' Payton said, via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. “It becomes difficult for the offensive line if the one beat is a little slower or the one beat is a little faster. It’s not a rhythmic cadence and yet there’s a flow to it so how do we make it sound the same. It’s easy when your clear-cut starter is the X . . . so that’s become a point of emphasis.’'
When all three quarterbacks are taking snaps during individual drills, the Broncos have set up a speaker so one quarterback can call the cadence for all three snaps and then all snaps can be reviewed to make sure the cadence is uniform. None of that should factor into the quarterback choice, but it does help the rest of the team prepare while they wait to learn who will be leading the offense come September.
When it became clear that the Broncos would release quarterback Russell Wilson, he had a plan for sticking it to Denver. That plan could be backfiring on him.
With the Broncos owing him $38 million this year, subject to offset, Wilson took the minimum salary from the Steelers of $1.21 million. This forces the Broncos to pay Wilson $36.79 million.
It gives the Steelers a very cheap option, at starter or backup. And with the Steelers making a minimum financial investment in Wilson, the Steelers will be feeling no internal political compulsion to play him. If he wins the job, great. If he doesn’t, they’ll play someone else and have a Super Bowl-winning quarterback as their insurance policy.
Wilson is actually the lowest-paid veteran quarterback on the team. Justin Fields will get $1.616 million this year. Kyle Allen gets $1.292 million.
So with Wilson suffering a calf injury during the conditioning test and the Steelers taking it slow with his recovery, Fields (and, for that matter, Allen) have gotten extra reps in new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s system. If Fields performs well enough to win the job, Wilson really can’t do anything but wait for an opportunity.
If he wants to be a clear-cut starter in 2025, he needs to play this year. And he needs to play well. Both are in jeopardy due to the injury.
The good news is he’ll be making $38 million this year, no matter what. The not-good news is that his opportunities to be a starter could be drying up, forcing him to choose between remaining in the game as a backup or walking away, as soon as next year.
There’s a new tight end on the roster in Denver.
The Broncos announced the signing of Hunter Kampmoyer on Friday. Defensive tackle Brandon Matterson, who signed with the team after going undrafted this year, was waived in a corresponding move.
Kampmoyer spent the last three seasons with the Chargers. He spent most of that time on the practice squad, but did make three regular season appearances for Los Angeles. He did not have any catches in those contests, but had nine catches in the preseason.
Adam Trautman, Greg Dulcich, Lucas Krull, Nate Adkins, and Thomas Yassmin are the other tight ends for the Broncos.
Edge rusher Shane Ray hasn’t played an NFL game since 2018. He’s a longshot to stick with the Titans, who signed him last week.
But all Ray wanted was a chance.
“For me, it’s been one step at a time,” Ray said Wednesday, via Jim Wyatt of the team website. “Training, training, training, and talking to my agent, praying to God: Is there something? Is there something available? Does somebody want to bring me in? Is there an opportunity? Those moments were highs and lows because sometimes it was like, ‘Hey, we might have something,’ and other times like, ‘Hey, man, we got to go train for another five, six weeks.’
“So, for me, the call itself was amazing. Then, walking to the building was amazing; meeting the coaches was amazing; and having my first minicamp workout back was amazing. Every step that I’ve taken up to this point is another milestone that, for a long time, I just dreamed about it, and prayed about it and worked for. This opportunity, I have been preparing for this for a long, long, time.”
The Broncos made Ray a first-round pick in 2015, and he played 49 games, with 15 starts. He has recorded 14 career sacks, including eight in 2016 while playing in 16 games. He was a Super Bowl champion in Denver in 2016.
Injuries, though, set him back.
He has had offeason stints with the Ravens in 2019 and the Bills in 2023, playing for the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL in between. Ray said he has stayed on a schedule, continuing his training routine he had when he was in the NFL.
“When I came into the league, I came in with all the [high expectations], and now coming back it is really just on me working, and building,” Ray said. “It feels good to earn what I am getting. But my life is completely different now.
“I love this game. Unfortunately, I got banged up early when I felt like it was time for me to take it to the next level in my career, and it kept me out of the league for a long time. Now I have another chance, and I feel like I am ready. I’ve worked, and I’ve prepared. Now it is on me, and I want to show what I can do.”
Broncos offensive lineman Quinn Bailey’s season officially ended on Thursday.
The team announced that Bailey has been placed on injured reserve. Bailey was driven away from the field in an ambulance at Wednesday’s practice after he fractured his ankle during the session.
Players placed on injured reserve before the cut to 53 players are not eligible to be activated during the regular season.
Denver filled Bailey’s roster spot by signing offensive lineman Oliver Jervis. Jervis was undrafted out of Colorado State this year and he tried out for the Broncos at their rookie minicamp.
The Broncos also announced that they have activated rookie running back Blake Watson from the non-football injury list.