The Denver Broncos are ready to begin their second season with head coach Sean Payton as head coach. After last year, Payton molded the team in his image, most notably by moving on from Russell Wilson and using a first-round pick to replace Oregon quarterback Bo Nix.
On Sunday, in Denver’s second preseason game, Payton started Nix against the Green Bay Packers. This game belonged to the Broncos, who pulled off a dominant 27-2 victory over a Packers who looked like a disaster in every aspect of the game.
Nix shined in his first start, completing eight of nine passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. In fact, Nix could have thrown another touchdown pass had he not crossed the line of scrimmage on one throw.
It was a great game all around for the Broncos. But the number of spots on the roster is limited, so some players could be out.
After the second warm-up game has been completed, here are three players who may have played their way out of the squad.
The Denver Broncos have a crowded running back room, much like their wide receiver lineup. The team has Javonte Williams at the top and has shown why it would be foolish to trade him in the first place. Williams has made the most of his runs, gaining 17 yards on three attempts.
However, the question remains as to what the rest of the lineup will look like when entering the 53-man roster. The experienced Samaje Perine could be the odd man out.
Perine has been with the Broncos since last season but has been a reliable rookie since moving to the NFL in 2017. Last year in Denver, Perine ran for 238 yards and a touchdown on 53 attempts and caught 50 of 56 passes for 455 yards.
The thing is, the Broncos used a Day 3 draft pick on powerhouse running back Audric Estime from Notre Dame. Not to mention, they have second-year running back Jaleel McLaughlin.
On Sunday, Perine had 16 rushing yards… on five carries. That’s just 3.2 yards per carry, the lowest of any running back in the game. Not to mention, McLaughlin was used more in passing situations than Perine, as Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus points out.
Based on the entire preseason, including Sunday, Perine could well be on the way out as Payton tends to a running back room with Williams, Estime and McLaughlin.
If there was one player who stood out for all the wrong reasons, it was offensive guard Will Sherman. Sherman has been with the Broncos since 2022 after spending his rookie season with the New England Patriots. But Sherman didn’t play a single snap in the regular season.
On Sunday, Sherman had a game to forget. The Broncos were on the verge of a shutout because the Packers couldn’t do anything on offense. But Sherman gave the Packers a gift.
In the third quarter, deep in their own territory, quarterback Zach Wilson picked up the football and rolled backwards to prepare for a throw downfield. Packers defender Zach Morton hit Wilson in the end zone to intercept the safety. The problem is, Morton never would have gotten to Wilson if Sherman hadn’t missed the block.
Will Sherman misses a block and lets a Packers defender sack #Broncos QB Zach Wilson for a safety pic.twitter.com/uWYNXmS7fG
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) 19 August 2024
Not a great performance for Sherman, who was trying to earn a spot as a reserve lineman.
I’m not saying Zach Wilson was terrible. It was more about Nix and Jarrett Stidham’s performance on Sunday night.
As mentioned, Nix led the Broncos on two scoring drives. Stidham, who was ranked as QB1, also played pretty well. Just look at his furious touchdown run into the end zone to extend Denver’s lead to 17-0. Stidham completed 7 of 11 passes for 65 yards and threw one interception. Granted, the interception wasn’t his fault, as the throw was partially knocked into the air at the line of scrimmage.
Wilson, on the other hand, did not make the most of his limited opportunities late in the game. Wilson completed two of six throws for 29 yards and scored a late touchdown with a screen pass to running back Tyler Badie.
Wilson hasn’t done much to move up the quarterback depth chart. Nix has essentially secured the starting spot, and Stidham has done enough to stick around as a backup. That’s not to say the Broncos will release Wilson. However, with JJ McCarthy already out for the season, perhaps a team will call the Broncos about Wilson to further secure their depth at the quarterback position.
