Justin Joly sits inside the Denver Broncos’ final roster squeeze after Friday night’s preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings. Sean Payton and George Paton were expected to move straight from the game to the 53-man roster, with the Sunday 4 p.m. cutdown deadline closing fast.
NFL teams had about 40 hours after the preseason finale to trim from 90 to 53. The Broncos could then finalize a 16-man practice squad after 11 a.m. Monday, giving the staff one more window to sort out the last fringe decisions.
Sean Payton’s roster call
Payton, Paton and their staffs were expected to go from the game to finalizing the roster, and that leaves little room for hesitation. Bo Nix did not play in the preseason finale, so the attention shifted to players who were still battling for depth spots, practice squad places, or a final pass to stay on the board.
The Broncos were described as deep and talented, but that did not make the cutdown simple. Injuries, depth questions and possible trade decisions were still in play, and the roster math had to be done under the same deadline every other NFL team faced.
Broncos defensive line math
The clearest roster fork came on the defensive line. The Broncos kept seven defensive linemen on the 53-man roster a year ago, and if Denver did that again, Tyler Onyedim would likely fill the opening left by the departed John Franklin-Myers.
If the Broncos kept six defensive linemen, the last spot could go to Jordan Jackson or Sai’Vion Jones. That decision would not be about a headline role; it would be about how much the Broncos wanted in reserve on game days and how much they were willing to risk exposing to the waiver wire.
Denver tackles and tight ends
The same kind of sorting applied up front. Denver had been without Alex Forsyth on and off for the past two weeks, and had been without Frank Crum this week. Calvin Throckmorton and Matt Peart were the veteran insurance pieces, either as key reserves or as players who could start the season on the practice squad.
The Broncos had lost one tackle at the cutdown in each of the past two years, so the final group on the line was never just about talent. It was also about who could survive the cutdown deadline without being exposed, and who could be kept close enough to step in later.
At tight end, the room behind Adam Trautman and Evan Engram was expected to come down to style preference and practice-squad decisions. Justin Joly was caught in that same calculation, with his path tied to whether Denver valued him on the initial 53-man roster or as part of the 16-man practice squad after Monday morning.
The open question is the practical one: Will Justin Joly make the Broncos’ initial 53-man roster, land on the practice squad, or be vulnerable when the cutdown deadline hits Sunday at 4 p.m.?
Jonathon Cooper and NFL clarity
The Broncos were also awaiting clarity on Jonathon Cooper’s status with the NFL ahead of a Monday arraignment on a felony assault charge and other lesser charges. That separate issue sat over the roster work without changing the deadline itself, which still required Denver to reduce the roster by Sunday afternoon and keep the practice squad plan ready for Monday.
