The Denver Broncos still have one preseason game to play and directly after that, they will have less than 48 hours to get their 53-man roster set ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
The Broncos will face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and there is still much that is up in the air in terms of how the team's final roster will shake out. One of the biggest questions surrounds the quarterback position. Will the Broncos keep all three of their QBs ?
When deciding the best strategy to get the right 53 players on the roster, the Broncos could consider trading some of their fringe players and getting something in return for them, rather than just dumping them for nothing. They wouldn't receive much more than a sixth or seventh-round pick in any of these cases, but these are players they could still return some value on before just waiving them.
Here are some players the team could move on from and the team they could send them to.
Players Broncos could trade ahead of roster cutdown day
Zach Wilson, QB- Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings lost first-round pick J.J. McCarthy to a torn meniscus and will have to go with Sam Darnold in 2024. The only other quarterbacks on the roster are Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall and Matt Corral.
The Broncos have done a good job of rebuilding the image of Zach Wilson and instilling more confidence in him. Sean Payton likes him and would probably prefer to keep him, but if that is not feasible, the Vikings make sense as a temporary stop for the former No. 2 overall pick.
Samaje Perine, RB- Cincinnati Bengals
The Broncos probably don't have room for Samaje Perine and it's no fault of his own. He's just on the wrong side of a strong positional group. Perine turns 29 years old in a couple of weeks and the Broncos just have too much youth in front of him.
Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime are all going to make the team. If the Broncos were to trade Perine and decided to keep four backs, they could retain either Tyler Badie or Blake Watson, who have both looked good.
Sending Perine to Cincinnati , one of his former teams, reunites him with Joe Burrow and gives the Bengals more depth after losing Joe Mixon this offseason.
Damarri Mathis, CB- Detroit Lions
Of all of the players on this list, Damarri Mathis might be the one the Broncos could get the best return on. A fourth-round pick two years ago who is still just 25 years old, Mathis looks like a backup for the Broncos after Riley Moss flashed this summer.
He would be a backup in Detroit as well, but the Lions' biggest weakness last season was the secondary so an edition like Mathis could bolster the depth there and he could have a chance to see the field often. Moving him could also allow the Broncos to keep a guy like Tremon Smith, who they value on special teams.
Tyler Badie, RB- New England Patriots
Tyler Badie has made a strong case to be part of the team this year, coming out of nowhere after being mostly forgotten on the roster. He has scored two touchdowns in the preseason, which may have inflated his value.
The Broncos should keep four running backs. If they trade either Perine or Badie, it leaves Watson, a good-looking undrafted free agent, as potentially part of the final roster.
The Broncos should capitalize on Badie's strong showing this season and send him to a place like New England for a late-round pick in the future.
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