ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos roster that emerged from the weekend was a combination of difficult decisions, a smattering of surprises -- even for the Broncos -- and the team telling a player who is “the kind of guy you’d like to have your daughter marry" he was no longer part of the football plan.
And according to executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway, it was all just a sign of the times for a team that has won four consecutive AFC West titles and continues to try to secure the bigger trophy.
“Yeah, any time that you’re letting go of guys that you know can play football, it’s always tough," Elway said. “But I think that’s what we want to do. We want to put ourselves in the position where we have a lot of tough decisions to make and we definitely did. There are a lot of good football players that we had to let go."
The Broncos waived, in the cuts to 75 and 53, two players who were claimed by other teams. The Tennessee Titans claimed linebacker Steven Johnson Sunday after he had been sent on his way in the cut to 53.The Chicago Bears had claimed quarterback Zac Dysert when the Broncos waived Dysert in the cut to 75 players and after Dysert was waived again, this time by the Bears, he signed with the Houston Texans practice squad.
Johnson now joins a Titans’ linebacker corps that includes Wesley Woodyard, a former Broncos’ captain who signed with the Titans last season. Dysert lost the No. 3 spot to rookie Trevor Siemian, whose live arm and late-game chops in the preseason, may have surprised even the Broncos at least given he was roughly nine months out from ACL surgery that ended Siemian’s senior season at Northwestern.
Two other players who earned their spots with robust preseason performances, and figure to survive future moves when safety T.J. Ward and defensive end Derek Wolfe return from their suspensions in Week 2 and Week 5 respectively, were wide receiver Bennie Fowler and outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett. Fowler, who spent the 2014 season on the Broncos’ practice squad, is a big-bodied player (212 pounds) who showed he can play outside and in the slot, just what coach Gary Kubiak wanted from a backup receiver.
Fowler led the team in catches (10) and receiving yards (155) to go with a touchdown.
Barrett got the coaches’ attention when he arrived for the offseason program and kept it by consistently harassing opposing quarterbacks to lead the team in sacks in the preseason with four. Asked this weekend about what players may have simply won the jobs in the preseason, Kubiak quickly tossed out Barrett’s and Fowler’s names.
“I can think of Shaq, just the way he played throughout the course of the preseason," Kubiak said. “I can also think of Bennie right now. Bennie was probably in a tough spot going into the game Thursday. He had a banged up hip and he found a way to get on the field and play, and play very well."
And then there is the case of Ben Garland, who arrived to the Broncos as a defensive lineman in 2010, served two years active duty in the Air Force and was switched to guard when he returned to the team. Garland also spent two years on the team’s practice squad before making the active roster in 2014.
Garland opened training camp as the starting left guard, but was displaced by rookie Max Garcia, who was also displaced when the Broncos signed Evan Mathis as the preseason drew to a close. But with Garcia and Shelley Smith behind Mathis, there was no room for Garland.
Garland was an ironman in the team’s efforts in the community, a fixture at any and all off-the-field events. Fox, whose father was a Navy SEAL, routinely used to say he would always try to keep players “who’ve been trained by the best in the world.’’
Elway said it was difficult to tell Garland he was going to be waived.
“Because Ben has worked so hard making the transition from defensive line to offensive line,’’ Elway said. “He’s the kind of guy that you’d like to have your daughter marry, so anytime you let a guy like that go, it’s tough. Ben’s worked so hard and really tried to make that transition. Unfortunately there weren’t enough spots, but I think that Ben will be one of those guys that is going to get an opportunity.’’
