Wasting little time, the Broncos signed 16 players to reserve-future contracts on Monday afternoon, including six members of their practice squad and one other player who was on the 53-man roster for two weeks earlier this month.
Returning to the team will be safety Marviel Underwood, who was inactive for games in Weeks 14 and 15 and was subsequently waived.
Underwood first broke into the league as a 2005 fourth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers and was in the starting lineup for their preseason opener a year later, but tore two ligaments in his right knee early in that contest and spent the year on injured reserve. The Packers waived him in preseason in 2007 and re-signed him for a week before waiving him again this season.
The six practice-squad players to sign reserve-future deals include defensive tackles Michael Bozeman and Antwon Burton, wide receivers Carlton Brewster and Marquay McDaniel, center Mark Fenton and tight end Chad Upshaw.
Practice-squad offensive lineman Cliff Washburn was not signed to a reserve-future contract Monday.
The nine players who have not previously played with the Broncos are:
FB Steven Jackson, Clemson
DE Nic Clemons, Georgia
DE Julian Jenkins, Stanford
C Norm Katnik, USC
CB Christian Morton, Illinois
TE Brett Pierce, Stanford
WR Clifford Russell, Utah
S Vickiel Vaughn, Arkansas
RB Marquis Weeks, Virginia
All of Monday’s signees will officially become part of the Broncos’ roster when the postseason concludes after Super Bowl XLII.
Last year, the Broncos signed 19 players to reserve-future contracts. Five were on the team at various points in the regular season: Darrell Hackney, Glenn Martinez, Andre Hall, Jeff Shoate and Amon Gordon.
Tags: Marviel Underwood
hey for any1 hers the draft order
http://www.nfl.com/draft/story;jsessionid=DACE9F7947F017A92727F0127514D81B?id=09000d5d805a3a57&template=without-video&confirm=true
thanks for that james. so it’s definitely #12.
this was interesting, the Broncos were basically “punished” for beating Buffalo
>>Though Buffalo and Denver had the same strength-of-schedule, their tie for the 11th and 12th positions was broken by the conference tie-breaker. Since Denver defeated Buffalo in head-to-head competition, Buffalo is given priority in the draft order and will select in the 11th position.
ok hopefully we can draft someone good at this position, maybe someone high will fall to us, like a safety or an everydown DL
Did anyone else see Javon’s rant and his “maybe Denver should trade me” B.S.?
Javon – get healthy, settle for being #1a/#2, helping your team win and SHUT UP. You won’t find a better QB to play for in the upcoming years. You should *want* to restructure your contract to play with Jay, Brandon, Tony and the Mastermind.
By the way, Javon, if you were healthy, they’d have used you on more deep routes.
The link (for anyone who hasn’t seen it):
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3175230
Wow…
hey maniac chill out he was just about crying i think he wants 2 be here but just lost control with emotions.
hey, at least they didn’t go out on a sour note and the vikings have to stay home too!!!! besides, Javon wasn’t there hardly at all! Next year will be better!
Thanks Andrew for all the updates!!
Ok, so last time I commented on a blog around here it was literally a novel but I just wanted to come on here and wish Andrew and all my fellow Bronco fans and players a Happy New Year. But most of all, I hope D-Will’s family is doing okay. I’ll never forget that guy (or Damien). RIP #27, we miss you!!
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!
Hey im the first i n 2008 to write on the blog…
Happy New Year everyone..espacially you, Andrew
Sorry im in Montreal so i messed up timming..
Happy New Years all.It is 12:00 AM 1-1-2008 here in Oregon.We need another QB.Who is Cutlers Back up.If Jonathan Stewart’Gose Pro”R.B’From Oregon Pick him up.Then Try to get Tim Tebow From Florida Next Season.Great QB.I Predict Green Bay Wins Super Bowl.Anybody But New England.I hope They Loss in the 2nd Round of Playoffs. Would not mind seeing Giants-Colts in Super Bowl The Manning Brothers playing against each other.Thanks Jimmy
i say let walker AND!! henry go, and lets get zach thomas in here with
a good draft pick!!young and marshell will step up and with cutler we will
have the off. we need next year!
i say let walker AND!! henry go, and lets get zach thomas in here with a good draft pick!!young and marshell will step up and with cutler we will
have the off. we need next year!
It’s not exactly like New Year’s Eve is the best day of the year to interview Javon is it???? Give the guy a break, no one else knows what he’s been going through emotionally this season and more importantly this week.
first of all, i hope we begin 2008 by firing bates…
but, i think that russell would be a great kick returner, because of the speed he has…
heres a scouting report:
http://tsn.ca/nfl/teams/players/bio/?id=5019&hubname=nfl-broncos
Ah crap, Walker I’m glad to see leave, but not Lepsis. That guy’s been a rock on the line for years. Yes Mr. Lepsis, you had a bad year, but it’s to be expected after you have surgery like that. Come on bud, don’t hang up your cleats just yet, one more year!
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_7854014
I think that Javon can see that Brandon Marshall is going to be the # 1 wide out for the Broncos, even if Javon recovers 100% he can not do the things that Brandon does, the Broncos should try to trade him because they are not going to use him in that # 1 slot it is going to be Brandon, he is going to be the talk of the NFL you will see.
OK, its 2008 and I am up. Why is Bates still on this team? Are you kidding me? Have we really turned into that type of team?
Bates + Broncos in 2008 = loosing season, simple as that.
Rex Ryan was let go in Baltimore, along with Brian Bilick. What are the Broncos waiting for??? Fire Bates and go get Ryan before someone else does. He will not be available for very long, trust me…. Just make sure he is not in charge of calling time outs!!!
Amen to that. If Rex Ryan does not get a head coaching job, we should do everything possible to bring him in.
Too bad to see Lepsis retire – unlike Javon (see yesterday’s post, which I completely stand by), Matt’s putting the team above his own $$$.
Lepsis will definitely be missed – although I’m also still very excited about the young guys on the line. Myers and Kuper should be long-time starters (imo).
Happy New Year, everyone!
I think it was overwhelmingly obvious that Kuper was playing out of position at guard. Wouldn’t hurt to sniff around in free agency either. Not entirely sure a guy like Rex Ryan would fit with the personnel available in Denver. I am convinced that we need to do something NOW and not screw around. Cut Bates and run (you know you liked it).
Walker is a grown man who should be able to control his emotions. If he wants to be traded, Denver is going to need some help on the offensive line after the departure of Lepsis and the highly unlikely return of Hamilton and the age of Nalen. Possibly a 3rd draft pick or veteran O-lineman.
Selvin Young is young and if he bulks up just a bit he is the future of the backfield in Denver with Hall making Henry great trade bait for a veteran O-lineman or 3rd round draft pick.
I agree Winborn looked good and I think Gold may be another good trade prospect. 4th rd pick possible. Briggs would be a spectacular pickup.
There are a lot of great DT’s in 08 draft and maybe 3 safeties that could play right away. Lynch s a liabilty in pass coverage. Would love to see him as a coach, but I see him going to the booth.
The offense is going to be great with a little help and experience on the O-line. The special teams needs a real KR! The Defense….Rex Ryan?
Rd 1 DT/S Sedrick Ellis/Kieth Phillups
Rd 2 S/DT Craig Steltz/DeMarcus Granger
Rd 3 (Henry/Walker trade?) WR/KR Donnie Avery
Rd 4-7 Best OL or DT
yalll are crazy….Javon is great….i mean the year he had was horrible..but its to be expected…he prob wants to leave Denver and kinda put things behind him….i dont blame him!! but ya know Lepsis…yall act like he was the man or sumthin…what big game did we ever win with him in at tackle,, 1 playoff game..wow….all iknow about him is that it was his dumb self that dove and blew out td’s knee!! we shoulda cut him then….i like that we are starting to get more talent from Bigger more traditional schools like Illinois and Georgia
yall better think about bringing ryan in too..cuz for real….him and bellick both inherited a great group of talent at every position….we however do not have such,,and look what happend when that tallent got old…they couldnt replace it which led to him getting fired!!! I like bringing in LINEMAN not briggs so what he can sit out and be a disruption just like he has been tha last few years with Chi!!
lets get to what ROD said more accountability all around…how acountable has Briggs ever been!! no much!!
I would luv to snag Jtaylor and zac from mia but you think the tuna would allow that!! doubt it!!
anybody notice we picked up that guy that was famous for saying,” it was just instinct , kinda like running from the cops” when asked about his 100 yard return in college…..Marquis weeks…could be a great return guy for us!!
HAPPY 2008!!!! GO BRONCOS!
a healthy WR corps of Marshall, Walker, and Stokley would be so powerful….as much as Walker pisses me off with his words, to have him playing healthy would give our offense alot of firepower
Javon had a really hard year. He has been hurt and he was there when a friend and teamate was killed. He tried hard this year but with all of what happened it was maybe too much. The season has just been over only a few days so see if he calms down during the off season. Maybe he just needs a fresh start.
Some of you just don’t get it, WALKER IS A BAD SEED! He cares about money more than he cares about winning. He’s missed almost 2 seasons the past 3 years, that’s not what I call a good record. Lepsis walked away because he felt he was hampering the team, that’s a stand up guy! Walker is a spoiled wide out who understands he won’t be the #1 guy next year and doesn’t like it. Favre got him out of Green Bay, now he’s gotten himself out of Denver. Take out the trash Shanny, and send Bates along for the ride. The defense couldn’t stop anyone from rushing all year, the defense was pi$$ poor.
OK…. Its getting late and I thought I would check out all you bloggers before I hit the bed. My only question is why is Bates not fired yet? Your kidding me right? Have we turned into the Raiders. Wait thats right. If it wasnt for Shannys time out the Raiders would have swept us like the Chargers did. Please can him before I wake up or I will be p*$$ed off all day tomorrow.
got a chuckle out of the “take out the trash” comment but these are after all real people so lets give them a break! i was suprised to hear javon walker sounding like ashley leilei, i’m gonna give him a break because of all he has been thru on a personal level here in denver. give him a little time to think about it, if he can get over his ego he could probably win a superbowl here in a couple of years. if he leaves it won’t keep the broncos from getting there, just keep him from getting there. hope he sticks it out and renegotiates his contract,after all, he hasn’t produced as advertised.
lepsis was a good soldier for the broncos and a good left tackle …but you need a great left tackle to win the superbowl. proirity #1 in the off season in my book. you have to be able to run the ball against every team and protect your qb.
priority #2 defensive tackle. even if eb makes it back healthy, as good as he is, he is not dominant! we need a BIG push up front, someone who can control the line of scrimmage.
a good coach can communicate with and get the most out of his players, i just didn’t see that from bates. what scheme the bronco’s play doesn’t matter, it’s how they execute is what matters. i like the rex ryan idea. he would be a great counterpart to shanny on offense. a real “get after them ” defensive co-ordinator. i hate prevent defense, seems the only thing it prevents is the broncos winning .
thanks rod smith for everything, you are truly a great bronco ! i hope you get to stay here and coach because you belong here. the heart of a bronco. i remember when you just started , fighting for and always earning a roster spot against the odds. then on to greatness! you gave it everything you had always ,thanks for the memories!
hope coach takes some time off , he needs it to be at his best for next season. by far,shanny is my favorite coach ever in the nfl. always a first class guy. thanks coach for weathering the storm. it was a rough season in many ways and no team in the nfl had as many incidents to deal with.
i think lynch will hang it up. i never saw him miss as many tackles as he did this year and he didn’t hit like we have seen in the past. i don’t think he played up to his own standards.
i see a lot of changes coming up this off season and i’m sure some will leave us scratching our heads. we can only guess what goes on behind the scenes at broncoland. lots of great young players here. hope the broncos stay away from older high cost free agents and ones with health issues. hope they make the young talent feel appreciated so they want to be broncos for a long time. looking forward to seeing ted and the gang making some more great signings, trades and draft picks, the off season is always a blast.
thanks mason for a great year on your part. you get us the stuff year round we need to know as fans. i don’t know what we’d do without you!
happy new year everyone! go broncos!
if we can make a big free agent acquisition at DT or LB, i think we should draft desean jackson especially if walker is gone. he would help out the special teams alot and would be a legit 3rd target for cutler. And ofcourse fire bates.
Andrew I hate to be a pest but could you do a blog with a roll up with stats for our starting guys. Like forced fumbles, blocked passes, sacks, reception yards, YAC, and that sort of thing.
Thanks.
This was a hard season , we are glad not to finish 3-13 , in large part thanks to Mike Shanny , not every team have that chance ( ravens , chiefs , raiders …..) , whith Mike at the helm , a bad season is a 7-9 season whith ups ( pittsburg game , the 2 games vs KC ) . for many teams in the NFL , a bad season is 3-13 or 2-14 , not in Denver !!! But for sure , some changeneeds to be done : The Qb protection , the running game and the rushing defense , the base of every great football team .We need a dominant safety like Lynch WAS in the past , a good LB to support Williams , in the front line , we have everything , it’s just a ma
My dream has come true. Not only is Rex Ryan available but Mike Martz was just let go in Detroit. I know Kubiak is locked in Houston, so who better to get Cutler, Marshall, Sheffler, Graham, Young, Stokely and Walker (should he stay) into the end zone than Martz??
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3177253
I think the Broncos need to get Brian Billick as D coordinator and get rid of “Jimmy-Boy” Bates. Maybe draft some BIG DTs and a back-up for Lynch in case he goes. Keep Javon for another season to see if he was worth the trade. Hopefully some good offensive lineman are Free Agents so the Broncos can pick them up. This season wasn’t a totoal failure. If 7-9 is a bad season there have been many bad teams for a long time. Next year I am hoping to see a 10-6, division winning record (as a low).
The Broncos need to get Brian Billick as D coordinator and get rid of Jim Bates. Maybe draft some BIG DTs and a back-up for Lynch in case he goes. Keep Javon for another season to see if he was worth the trade. Hopefully some good offensive lineman are Free Agents so the Broncos can pick them up. This season wasn’t a totoal failure. If 7-9 is a bad season there have been many bad teams for a long time. Next year I am hoping to see a 10-6, division winning record (as a low).
yall keep thinking BRIAN BILLICK is a good D coordinator
2Champ4 – haven’t we acquired big FA’s to play DT before? We need good ones! (Forgive the pun, please.)
Rex Ryan could be a good addition – Baltimore has played well on D. However, he has proven his qualities in a 3-4 defense. Could we switch to this system with the personell we have within one season? Moss would probably be a better OLB than DE, Dumerville and Crowder might work as well, but we would need a lot of help at DT and ILB. Among our actual players, I can see only Thomas, maybe Ekuban play tackle in a 3-4. Williams should be good at ILB, who else?
I will be easier to find a solid DT and an MLB (I still don’t buy into DJ in the middle) to shore up our 4-3 defense.
Forget about Martz being a quick fix for our offense. Has anybody followed Detroit (outside our game)? Some of their stats look intriguing, but they still stink. Their O-line is not weaker than ours. Still, they could not manage a running game. They had some success with big passing plays, but they did not play to the strength of their receivers – too many passes into the slot, not enough to Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams, a tandem I value higher than Marshall and anyone you pick from our team.
The Lions could not protect their QB. Kitna is a tough guy, other QB’s would not have survived the whole season. Martz uses so many decoys, that nobody is left to block the pass rush. With our O-line, Cutler would get killed in a Martz system.
We absolutely need to strengthen our O-line. I have a ton of respect for Lepsis. He did the right thing for the team and he did it for the right reason. He did not play well enough this season and he problably did not see a chance to return to hís old form.
Why not use a high draft pick on OL? I know, not every 1st rounder works out (Foster, Gallery, McDougal …), but this is true for other positions as well. I know, we had some success with late rounders, but they take time to develop. They often lack strength and only fit zone blocking. Shouldn’t we prepare to abandon this blocking scheme by getting stronger OL-men, who can force, not just finesse running lanes open and hold up to pressure on pass plays?
We do have the skill players on offense to score plenty. With Marshall and a healthy and willing Walker (hey – you will get a lot of catches, if the opponent has to focus on Marsh!) or an adequate replacement, with Stokley in the slot, our TE’s and the RB’s we have, Cutler has plenty of weapons.
That won’t add up to a Superbowl yet, but I can smell the playoffs next season.
Happy new year – Broncos! Thank god 2007 is over.
Mason have you gone on permanent vacation? I like Tampa in the NFC a lot, they’re ready to surprise some folks. Can we just go ahead and skip to New England and Indy though, I mean seriously?
he was a offensive guru in Minnesota way b4 he inherited the d players in bmore
I like Rex Ryan and i LOVE the idea of the 3-4 defense:
DL: Ekuban- Crowder – Moss
LB:DJ-Webster-Winborn-Dumervil
Cb:Dre-Champ
S: Abdullah- (Place 1st round draft pick here)
Obviously this is not the best formation…just throwin it out there
What do you think
I shifted some name around and came up with something like this:
DL: Thomas (Peterson)-? (McKinley)-Ekuban (Mallard)
LB: Moss (Crowder)-DJ (Winborn)-? (Webster)-Dumerville (Crowder)
(): 2nd team
?: I don’t see a 1st-teamer for the position on our current roster
I still see no run stopping by this front seven.
I agree with the choice of DB’s.
I would love to see Bates go away! This year’s defensive problems are a direct result of his coaching.
No matter that the Broncos need some improvement in their lines. I think the most important thing to consider is making sure that the team has some excellent leaders. Al Wilson has been truly missed! Rod Smith and John Lynch are still needed around this team. Perhaps Rod as a coach?
I really hope that John plays one more year. We need his leadership on the defense. He is a class act!
OK just thought id take a braek from work and see if we canned Bates yet. Why have we not canned his A$% yet! Can someone please explain this to me. Anyone?
If I could ask for a late Xmass present:
1)Bates away. Ryan as D coord.
Can you imagine him coaching Cutler?
2)Shanny as real Headcoach, with someone under him in Offensive coordination.
3)Rod Smith as WR coach.
4)Get back the ball recovery of last year (without Coyer returning).
5)I do belive in Santa Clauss!!! Elway as QB coach!!!
Come on yall we havent had this type of year ever…. I was pissed at Javon too like what a selfish prick…but after thinking about them interviewing him on new years eve its like come on he has WAY TOO MUCH GOING ON… it might be good just for him to leave on the strength of last new years eve…
Definitely need Billick as Defensive Coordinator and need to trade Walker and Henry for some decent Offensive Linemen. I’m not against trading Bailey as well. Foxworth can step up this year and fill his shoes with some help on the defensive line. Bailey this year was just plain average in my opinion. Nickname him toast as much as he got burned.
Can we also pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease get rid of Antonopolous the schmuckhead Greek because his training methodologies are ancient like himself. Sure he is part of the family but send him to the old folks home and visit him on saturday afternoons. Give him a years subscription to a top; cable channel so he can watch the broncos. Just don’t let him try miserably any longer to impersonate an athletic trainer. Bye Bye Steve.
Odomsfan I agree with everything except #24. Are you crazy? Champ Bailey without a doubt is the best player we have in Denver wearing the orange and blue. That’s why he’s on his way to his 8th pro bowl. He’s one of the top corners to ever play and your talking about trading him, that’s madness. He only got trully burnt once in the packers game. The Bernard Berrian catch was because he slipped couldn’t you tell. Nobody plays lights out every game. Tom Brady had a bag game against the Colts. LT didn’t do anything until the last 8 weeks. And you haven’t heard about Brian Urlacher nor Julius Peppers since last season, yet I would like to believe all 4 are the best or cream of the crop at their respective positions. Now Champ turned in a fine year yes $#%@ happened but it’s not even the least bit realistic that 24 should leave Denver. If anything Foxworth should step up in place of Dre Bly’s sorry @$$, while being mentored by Champ.
Why should we bring in Brian Billick as a DEFENSIVE coordinator when he was hired by Baltimore to bring OFFENSE to the table.
And we are not even nearly built for a 3-4. Marcus Thomas is a 4-3 DT who can develop into a star in the type we run. He is not physically built to handle the attention of the center and guards which is why that is not suitable. If you look around the league and the top DT contracts and how long it is before an opening occurs, you ‘ll stop hoping for some stud DT to open up because from Jamal Williams to Marcus Stroud, John Henderson, Casey Hampton, etc. they are all locked up on their own teams for some time. We cleary go O-Line in free agency and D-Line, specifically DT in the draft, if not MLB, yall are right DJ belongs on the outside not at MLB.
I’m starting to think that we should priortize getting that LB prospect from USC so we could complete our corp of LB’s that as of two seasons ago were touted as the fastest Linebacking corp in the league. Our team speed was always our strength and we’ve always been built behind the back 7 which is why we’re better off with the 4-3. With three quick LB’s who needs 4 senseless ones. In Denver we’ve always run the 4-3 and that’s the way it should stay, leave that 3-4 sh** in San Diego. Can somebody tell me who was the last 3-4 to win the superbowl, don’t worry I’ll wait….
Let me know if yall agree with me when I say our defense would look nice if it looked a little like:
LE(Jarvis Moss) DT(Marcus Thomas) DT(Offseason Aquisition) RE(Elvis Dumervil)
LOLB(DJ Williams) MLB(Offseason Aqusition) ROLB(Ian Gold)
CB(Champ Bailey) FS(John Lynch) SS(Offseason Aqusition) CB(Dominique Foxworth)
Why would D.J. Williams be moved back to OLB when he was the second leading tackler of the season? They just need a better system to work under and a few key aquisitions at DT, FS and Jarvis Moss switching to WLB!