Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Caleb Lohner SECRET WEAPON For Sean Payton?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos and Sean Payton are hoping that seventh round tied in. Caleb Loner couldn't be their secret weapon on offense. We'll tell you why he's got the elite traits to develop into that. Here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos country? Welcome into another episode.

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Starting point is 00:00:50 everydayer by hitting that subscriber or that follow button wherever you get your podcast. I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. And I'm Sarah Bedinger, site expert predominantly orange.com. And today we're going to wrap up our rookie profile series following the 2025 NFL draft. We're going to take a look at the sixth and seventh round picks for the Broncos. We're going to kick things off by talking about Caleb Loner, the Broncos seventh round edition at tight end and why the Broncos believe he has elite level traits that could fit into Sean Payton's system very well. Then we're going to talk about Jeremy Croshaw, the punter with a big

Starting point is 00:01:25 leg. Is he the favorite for the job? We'll break down that. Plus, we'll preview rookie minicamp a little bit because one player who's not a rookie is getting invited to a trial and happens to play quarterback. Desmond Ritter, getting a shot in the Mile High City. We're looking to that much more on today's episode of the show. Sarah, let's break it down here. Let's kick things off by talking about probably where the more important positions. Now, if we were going in order, we would have started off today's show with Jeremy

Starting point is 00:01:48 crossshot, punter, but I feel like we can't pass up on being able to highlight and make the focus of today's show about Caleb Loner, the 6'7 tight end out of Utah. The Broncos used a seventh round pick. And I know if he had went undrafted, somebody said that the Colts had an agreement with him, essentially to sign as an undraft their rookie free agent there. But John Payton and them seeing some traits that they liked and has a chance to be a fun developmental project that could be something big potentially down the road here for the Broncos offense.

Starting point is 00:02:18 Yes, I believe it was Chris Thomason who reported that Indianapolis Colts had an agreement with Loner to pick him up after the draft. And so the Broncos wouldn't have gotten him unless they had taken him where they did in the seventh round. And that was even after bringing him in for a top 30 visit and showing maybe more interest in him than most other teams in the pre-draft process. So they had to have this guy. And I really like that aspect of this pick is that the Broncos felt like, hey, even in the seventh round, you know you're taking sort of shots at a dartboard in the dark, right? That's

Starting point is 00:02:50 exactly what the seventh round is all about. It's, hey, can we see if anything will stick? We're going to throw stuff at the wall. And if anything sticks, that's a huge bonus because in round seven, you're not likely to hit on those picks. Let's just be honest. It's a low hit rate. So you go after a guy that has elite traits at the position. And sure, doesn't have a lot of football experience. But Cody, I'm looking at 6-7 and change, 6-7 and 2-8s or 6-7 in a quarter. For those that want to know, the exact height, which is in the 99th percentile of the tight-end position, 256 pounds, 37-inch vertical, which is in the 94th percentile, and a

Starting point is 00:03:28 469 in the 40-yard dash, which is in the 83rd percentile. This guy's explosive. this guy is athletic and he proved it last year at Utah on the football field that he could be a big difference maker when he's utilized in the red zone. I'm impressed by this selection. I'm intrigued by this selection and I cannot wait to hear what you and other onlookers have to say about how he looks at an NFL mini camp, even if it is all rookies out there. You know what the hardest part is about I've been doing my film reviews on all the Broncos rookies. It's hard.

Starting point is 00:04:02 I have not been able to find any all 22 on Utah's offense, let alone, you know, we haven't been able to find any on Caleb loan or because of the sample size. There is one of the other Utah tied end to cut up, but it doesn't feature anything of Caleb making place. So that's kind of frustrating here. But no, I agree with you. I think that, you know, the size, the athleticism, that's one thing that Sean Peyton told us after they drafted him is that he moved really well at his pro day that they obviously

Starting point is 00:04:26 observed. And there's got a good connection there at Utah. I mean, obviously, Luther Ellis, he's a defensive line. coach over there, the father of Jonah Ellis, who now plays for Denver. Utah has kind of been this Denver pipeline a little bit. What you got Garrett Bulls, you've got Devon Valet, you've got an undrafted, the rookie free agent linebacker. And now you have obviously Caleb Loner in the mix here as well.

Starting point is 00:04:48 So Denver loving to tap into those Utah roots right there. But here's the thing about Loner, and you called it a dart throw, which is exactly what it is. It's a gamble, right? But in my opinion, Sarah, this is a low risk, high reward type of possibility here for the Broncos because you're not talking about investing Premier Capital and a player that doesn't have a lot of football tape. Yes, he appeared in 12 total games for the Utes, but he only had four catches, 54 yards.

Starting point is 00:05:14 All four of those catches in total were four touchdowns. He had one catch that was a two-point conversion as well. So five catches led to points on the season here. And look, I like the idea of him being a red zone threat. I think right now, where does he fit? How does he project here in this offense? I mean, let's take a look at it right now. If you look at it on paper, knowing the information we know now about his limited sample size,

Starting point is 00:05:37 he still has a lot to work on and develop as a player. Right now, you look at Denver's tight-in roster. It's got Evan Ingram. It's got Adam Troutman. It's got Nate Adkins, Lucas Crowell, Thomas Yasmin, another former Utah player that Denver got last year. And you look at these guys and say, okay, hey, this is a room that's got a lot of numbers right now. This could change drastically. And we could see a guy like Loner shoot up the depth chart in training.

Starting point is 00:06:00 camp or the preseason depending on a multitude of factors. Now, I'm going to ask you your opinion here. If there's anyone right now at the tight-in position whose roster spot is more in danger, if Caleb Loner, let's go into the hypothetical, what if, if he accelerates in his development? I know we'll touch on what the Broncos see on him here in a second. But who do you think is most in danger here for Denver if Loner becomes something quick? I think it's Lucas Crull, right, who was supposed to be the breakout guy last year as that top receiving option. And to his credit, he did lead the tight ends with 19 receptions.

Starting point is 00:06:36 That's just not good enough in today's NFL, right? So you had a golden opportunity last year. That's not to say that Lucas Krull is just going to back down and drift into anonymity this offseason. He could very well have a great offseason and progress as well. But I think he's the guy who poses, you know, he's got the biggest target on his back with the addition of Caleb Loner, because you already have two guys in Nate Adkins and Adam Troutman, who are your primary blocking guys at the tight end position. Then you add Evan Ingram, who's going to float all over the offensive formation,

Starting point is 00:07:09 but he'll be grouped in with that tight end position, right? So that's the top three as of right now. And I don't think those guys are going anywhere. I think the Broncos could keep four tight ends, though, with loner in the mix. And I think Lucas Crow will be that one guy that you would say, hey, he's definitely on the outside. looking in after this draft pick.

Starting point is 00:07:30 Well, I think another thing to look at, certainly a possibility when it comes to the depth of this position, I still think that Nate Atkins is going to end up competing with Michael Burton for that fullback job. I think that's going to be one of those possibilities because he really was a full, a hybrid guy Nate Atkins was. He's brought initially to play fullback, moved a little bit to tight end. He does play special teams. But, you know, obviously you re-signed Mike Burton, but that's not necessarily a guarantee

Starting point is 00:07:54 going into 2025. Like, it's, hey, you know, you're coming back on a one-year deal and you're going to compete. I think Nate Adkins and Michael Burton will compete there, which will probably open up a spot here for another tight-in spot. And obviously, Thomas Yasmin will not count against the Broncos roster if he makes the 53, but he also won't count as one of the allotted 16 spots on the practice squad either. If he does get cut, clears waivers comes back to Denver here because they've received the player designation on him. I'm very curious to see how this goes. But here's how I think he can get on the field right away as a

Starting point is 00:08:27 rookie. I mean, Sarah, you mentioned his size at six foot seven. Like, can you imagine Evan Ingram, Caleb Loner and a two tight-in set with Cortland Sutton, Devon, Valey. I mean, even factor in another guys too, like Pat Bryant. Like, you want size in the red zone? I like this as a possibility here. Why not? Experiment a little bit. Throw Caleb Loner out there, have him go post up against a smaller defender, run a vertical seam or, heck, you can even run an out route and then box out a defender if you throw the ball to the right place to the outside. that's a way he can get on the field right away. He is also he's going to have to play some special teams,

Starting point is 00:09:02 which he did have one block kick at Utah last season. He can do a lot of different things for it. He can help out in a lot of different ways. And those basketball skills, they translate. Just ask the Colorado DB that he just literally posted up, backed his backside into the guy in the red zone there. But I found it very interesting, Cody. I was listening to our good friend Mike Clis.

Starting point is 00:09:24 I was listening to his podcast. He did an interview with George Payton. was very illuminating overall, but they talked about the Caleb Loner selection, and George said something to the effect of he has elite traits at the position, and the Broncos believe that they can get the best out of him. And to me, that indicates that this is one of those guys that you're willing to draft and stash on the roster. Not to say that he won't make it to the practice squad, but I think there's going to be too much interest and intrigue out there from other teams to develop. Like the Colts have done this recently, right, with Moe Allie Cox.

Starting point is 00:09:57 a team that, you know, had an agreement to sign him. They have developed a basketball guy recently under their regime. So I feel like there's going to be too much interest out there to try to cut him and sneak him onto the practice squad. So Broncos better be sure if they send this guy to waivers that they're okay, not getting him back. And so I think just what George Peyton said, the way the Broncos have talked about him, Sean Payton is the one who mentioned the name Jimmy Graham, right?

Starting point is 00:10:22 It wasn't just like fans or it wasn't just people trying to create headlines. like Sean mentioned the name Jimmy. So I think that with that, this is a guy that they're willing to say, hey, we will draft and stash this guy on the 53. You see it every year. There's guys who make it to the 53. They never play. They're just there because the Broncos want to develop them.

Starting point is 00:10:43 Frank Crum was a guy like that last year. I think that's going to happen here with Caleb Loner. Well, and I think another thing to watch for you, just signed a four-year rookie contract as well, as reported by our good friend, Chris Thompson, of the Denver Gazette, four years. I think he's going to count around 837,000 towards the cap this year. So a really significant low cap here. Probably not going to count towards your top 51 on your roster, essentially, in terms of cap impact. So yeah, he's going to make the 53-man roster. If they've

Starting point is 00:11:13 invested a draft picking him, they want to see him become something. And they're going to give him the time, I think, to develop and do just that. So we'll see how it all plays out. But Broncos, country, you want to know your thoughts on whether or not Caleb Loner, in your opinion, could end up being the secret weapon here for Sean Peyton and the Broncos offense. But we're not done just yet, Broncos country. We're going to break down the Broncos. Big booming leg here in the Mile High City. They drafted, yes, a punter.

Starting point is 00:11:35 We're going to talk about Jeremy Croshaw, why he's the favorite. And the competition is going to take place with veteran Matt Hack here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode, Lockdown Broncos is brought to you our friends over there at the game time app. And there's nothing like the atmosphere of an NBA playoff game. Every bucket, every defensive stop. Every moment feels huge.

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Starting point is 00:12:53 Download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. We talked about the Denver Broncos having a Utah pipeline in the first segment of today's show. But you know what? There's a pipeline coming to the NFL out of Australia. The punters that are coming out of Australia. And these guys can get the job done. And the Denver Broncos, they drafted a punter this year. We're going to tell you why he's probably a lock to make this roster in a competition with another veteran who has experience kicking for Darren Rizzi,

Starting point is 00:13:23 the Broncos Special Teams coordinator. Broncos country. Thank you so, so much for making us your first listen of the day every single day. We appreciate you so much. You know your boys, Cody and Sarah got you covered here. Broncos approaching rookie minicamp. The NFL schedule release is next week. The NFL offseason, it's in full swing. So hit subscribe so you don't miss a single episode of the show. Let's talk about punters, Cody. Every year we get to do this a couple of times where, you know, we have a punter competition or you bring in a new punter. This is probably, the most fascinating move that you can make at punter short of, you know, signing a free agent to,

Starting point is 00:14:01 I guess, a big money deal or maybe even trading for a guy. But drafting a punter, I think is probably the most maybe significant investment you can make in that position. Because as we said, with the Caleb Loner selection, you're trying to find guys on day three that have upside. You want those low risk, high reward. I'm going to go ahead and put this out there. I think that drafting a kicker or a Hunter is one of the biggest risk, like the high risk, potentially low reward moves that you can make in the NFL draft, which I think speaks to how much the Broncos think of this guy, Jeremy Croshaw. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:14:36 And look, you know, I think the thing that stands out about Croshaw, you know, he's got that rugby background and we talk so much about it, you know, in the NFL, like four or five years ago, you really started to see this emergence of, oh, this guy played rugby. And I think we all suddenly, it's like, it's like a buzzword of phrase, like, oh, there's a punter, he's a former rugby player? All right, this guy must have a big leg. But Krosha actually has the experience at the college level, four years of experience kicking for Florida,

Starting point is 00:15:05 where you see the sample sides. You're like, all right, this guy isn't just a gimmick in terms of that because some guys can be a tryout player. I can't remember who the Broncos had a few years ago that had a rugby background that they brought in on a tryout basis for punter. The name is escape me. It's going to drive me nuts.

Starting point is 00:15:21 So if anyone knows it, make sure you drop it in the comment. comments if you remember exactly what I'm talking about here. But the thing with Kroshaw is he's going to come into the mix and compete right away with a veteran player who also has experience with Darren Rizzy. Matt Hack signed a deal this offseason and one-year deal at that. But the thing that concerns me, that concerned me at the time of the punter market after Riley Dixon departed, we were looking at free agents. We're like, wow, there wasn't anyone that really stands out.

Starting point is 00:15:48 There are a couple of veteran names, but everyone's in their 30s, like mid-30s at that point. you're like, do you want to bring in a 30-something-year-old punter or do you want to look at some of the younger guys? Jeremy Croshoff is perceived by many to be one of the better punters that was available in this year's NFL draft cycle. Though, as you mentioned, there is that risk associated with using a draft pick on a punter or a kicker, but we've seen it work out for teams like the Detroit Lions. We've seen it work out, I think, for a handful of other teams. The name is escaping me as well, who a team drafted some kicker and he became probably one of their premier guys. I think of San Francisco, didn't they draft Jake Moody? And I think...

Starting point is 00:16:24 They did. Yeah, that's the one I was thinking about. Then Moody has obviously had some ups and downs in San Francisco, as we have seen the last couple of years. But to get back to my point, Krosh, I think has more upside right now. He's the early favorite on paper. When you look at where he's at compared to where a veteran like Matt Hack is at, like Matt Hack appeared in just five games since 2002, right?

Starting point is 00:16:45 In 2022, he had a full 17 game slate with the Indianapolis Colts. And then he had a couple of games in 2020. 23 and a few games last year. So for me, there wasn't a high demand for a punter like Matt Hack at this point. But you talk about the rugby background. This guy, Croshaw, he can boom it at altitude. But the question is, can he do it consistently? That's the thing that the Broncos has been trying to find.

Starting point is 00:17:08 I thought Riley Dixon did a pretty good job last year outside of a couple of games down the stretch. Yeah, pretty good job over the last couple of years for Riley Dixon, really. And I think that kind of consistency from him, the last. two seasons was what the reason the Broncos tried to resign him, right? And then they miss out on somebody else in free agency. I can't remember who that was at this point, but I know they tried to bring in a couple, they tried to bring in Riley Dixon and at least one other guy before they settled on Matt Hack and then turned to the draft. And in the draft, sometimes you do have to take these guys

Starting point is 00:17:40 to just make sure that, hey, this, we believe this guy can be a huge difference maker for us. And in the special teams realm, the punter is one of your biggest weapons. Because if you're offense goes three and out. And remember the Broncos last year, they were one of the worst teams in the NFL when it came to going three and out as an offense. If you can flip the field, especially now, knowing that you're getting the ball at the 30, 35 yard line every single drive, you can flip the field instantly. Your offensive woes, I guess so to speak, are no longer a complete detriment because you can flip field position pretty quick, get the ball back and try again, right? So a guy like this who, again, he didn't necessarily qualify because they didn't punt a ton at Florida, but he was still the

Starting point is 00:18:23 full-time punter. He would have ranked second in the FBS, both in 2020 and 2023 in terms of his average distance, took a bit of a step back in 2024, but still, like you mentioned, Cody, he's got a booming leg. And the Broncos believe like he can be a directional puncher. He can punt for distance. He can pin teams inside the 10 or inside the 20. They believe all those things about him. So to me, that that indicates, again, just like with the Caleb loaner selection, you're saying we believe this guy can do it eventually. We're going to live with the lumps and we're going to live with kind of the growing pains for lack of a better term while we wait for him to develop into those full strengths. I feel like you don't draft a punter without him

Starting point is 00:19:05 at least being the favorite to go on and win that job. Like you really believe like, hey, you know, Darren Rizzy has worked this player out personally, has met with him, has had lunch with cross shot on the draft process there. So to me, it just makes sense like, hey, we're going to have a veteran guy just to have it in the event. But ideally, they want cross shot to be the guy for the job, which is in bad. 46. So 46.4 career yards per punt. You know something that doesn't get talked about enough about punters?

Starting point is 00:19:32 And I feel like this really factors into context, right? When you watch, you know, where a team is out on the field and where they punt, right? If you're close to midfield, you're not going to boom it up as far as you can. you're going to try to punt it high a little bit, but sure, so that it can bounce and roll and your special teams guys can get it. So that can also alter your yards per punt attempt when you look at it in the overall data, right? So we can look at stats. And let's say there was a game. Like I think this is the case with Riley Dixon.

Starting point is 00:19:59 Some people are like, oh, he only average like 42 yards per punt in this game. Well, the context of that is he had four punts. And of course, he didn't have a lot of yards, but all four of those punts bounced inside the 20 yard line, right? you're talking about the changing of the field position game. They believe, as you mentioned, he can be a good directional punter. I think so much of that is beneficial in today's NFL, especially depending on what hash you're on. And if you have a really good coverage unit with your gunners on the outside,

Starting point is 00:20:26 you can really try to pin guys deep and force maybe tough returns. There might be a time where you want a returner to return the ball because you feel like you have the perfect coverage. If he catches it, you can at least tackle him for a short gain. and maybe you get a guy to risk bowing it out wide, and then he goes backwards and your coverage team chases, and now it's a minus three-yard return. Those are the things that are going to factor into so much of the decision-making there.

Starting point is 00:20:51 But I think that's something that doesn't get talked about enough with punters. We'll highlight that here on today's episode of the show. But Broncos Country, let's know your thoughts on Jeremy Krosha. If you had a chance to see some highlights there of him and also what you think about his competition with veteran, Matt Hack, we always want to hear from you on today's episode of show. but we're not down Broncos country. We're going to get in the fourth quarter action here in just a second.

Starting point is 00:21:12 We're going to talk about Broncos rookie minicamp. Now, while there's going to be a handful of rookies there, there are a couple of veteran child players, including a veteran quarterback now, Desmond Ritter, getting a chance at the Mile High City on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We'll talk about what this may mean for Sam Elegger in the Broncos cubie room here in today's episode of the show. Today's episode with Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by friends over there at

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Starting point is 00:23:08 Very interesting. Obviously, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, the Broncos got to see him last year when they were in Las Vegas after Gardner Minshue got hurt. Desmond Ritter came in. Nick Benito had the strip sack that really sealed the game in the Broncos big time road win against the AFC West Division rival to help secure that sweep there. Very interesting that Desmond Ritter here is getting a shot considering the Broncos. Yes, they re-signed Jarrett Stidham as the backup to Bow Nix, but then they also signed veteran Sam Ellinger to a one-year deal. So is there anything we should read into this in your opinion? Or does this maybe mean that, hey, Desmond Ritter might have a shot here to maybe upend Sam Elegger before training camp even comes through? I say, yeah, why not?

Starting point is 00:23:51 I say bring him in and bring in a fourth quarterback during the offseason program and see what happens because quarterbacks, as we know, they're the most valuable currency in the NFL. The Broncos are going to get potentially multiple seventh round compensatory picks next year just because they had Zach Wilson on the roster all of last season. He goes and gets signed by the Miami Dolphins. The Broncos work, the compensatory formula, and they're now projected by NFL.com to get two seventh round compensatory picks. But you never know when a player in the preseason breaks through and has a great preseason.

Starting point is 00:24:25 And some team is calling you up and saying, hey, we'll give you a fifth round pick for Desmond Ritter. We'll give you a sixth round pick for Desmond Ritter. Why would you not take that shot? He has the athletic upside. He's started games. He's looking for work, obviously, and he's got a chip on his shoulder. So I'd say give Sam Ellenger competition. There's no reason why he shouldn't be getting competition this offseason.

Starting point is 00:24:47 It's not like he's, you know, this established guy in Denver. So bring somebody else in. And I like the idea of Ritter because he's got athletic talents. He's got speed. He has a big arm and he played a lot of college football. So quarterback shouldn't be getting written off as quickly as they are. Cody. Look at the situation with Malik Willis with the Titans and the Packers, right? He gets traded away from Tennessee after looking like a complete disaster there,

Starting point is 00:25:14 gets into a much better situation and help the Packers win some games last year. It looked pretty darn good with very little time on task in that offense too. So I'm intrigued by this. Might not amount to anything, but I think why not at the quarterback position, take a shot. It doesn't hurt necessarily. And I think realistically speaking, I personally don't believe Denver's going to keep three quarterbacks on their 53 man roster this upcoming season. I know last year, I feel like it was different with Zach Wilson because Zach's a former first

Starting point is 00:25:42 round pick and you like his athletic traits. And, you know, you had Jared Stid him already on the roster. You understand those things. But, you know, Sean designated Zach as that emergency quarterback in the event we need it. And as we saw, the Broncos made it through an entire season where they weren't in a situation like the 49ers were a few years ago with Brock Purdy. We're like, oh, no, we have no one to play quarterback here because, you know, Purdy gets hurt.

Starting point is 00:26:03 Josh Johnson, former Broncos quarterback. gets hurt. Oh, now we've got to throw Christian McCaffrey in as our wildcat quarterback with Debo Samuel. We all saw how that all ended up for the 49ers there. So quarterbacks do, I agree, they are a premium. It is a premium position. And a lot of NFL teams are really on the board of saying, hey, you can't have enough quarterbacks as well, considering over the last, what, two or three years, the rate in which we've seen backup quarterbacks or third string quarterbacks play because of injuries. That has been a factor that hasn't been discussed, I think, as much in the NFL media

Starting point is 00:26:37 cycle. But you look at what a lot of these teams have done so far in the off season, a lot of QB needy teams, I mean, loading up on quarterbacks essentially. I mean, the New Orleans Saints shaking things up a little bit going with Tyler Shuck as their guy, Shadir Sanders sliding all the way the fifth round of the Cleveland Browns, who also took Dylan Gabriel in round number three. I mean, Sarah, we're seeing some of these teams take multiple. quarterbacks in this year's draft, which wasn't considered to be a good draft for QBs. Tennessee,

Starting point is 00:27:05 obviously the first overall pick, Cam Ward, wild enough that he's not being talked about as much. I mean, Shraduris Anders has been talked about more than Cam Ward, who went number one overall, which is wild to me in that buildup, but it just goes to show like you can maneuver some things around. And obviously, you know, our former friend Ben Danucci got released by the Saints because of the additions that they've made a quarterback as well. So maybe there's an opportunity for the Broncos to say, you know, let's say you have a joint training cap practice. I think Denver does this year.

Starting point is 00:27:34 I can't remember who's who's against. But there's a chance there. You go there and that team's like, oh, we like that. You know, maybe we'll trade something for Sam Ellinger or Desmond Ritter. I mean, Desmond Ritter is a former starter. I mean, he replaced Marcus Marriota in Atlanta during the QB series and Netflix and had some of those traits there. But it never formulated with Arthur Smith in Atlanta. and they obviously made that change to get Kirk Cousins and Michael Pennick.

Starting point is 00:27:58 So that was kind of the writing on the wall for Desmond Ritter, and he landed in Vegas last year. So this doesn't, I think, have any risk associated to the Broncos whatsoever. No, it's a well worth it type of risk reward scenario because quarterbacks are getting traded all over the place. I mean, I already mentioned Malik Willis, but look at even a number of his classmates, right? Kenny Pickett, he's been traded a couple of times, Dorian Thompson. Where is he at right now? Yeah, Kenny Picket.

Starting point is 00:28:24 Yeah, how many guys, if you just throw a name out there, they probably are on Cleveland's roster, right? We've almost mentioned that let's just throw out Joe Flacco's name there. He's also there, former Broncos all-time legend, Joe Flacco. But the guys are getting traded all over the place. And you can look at a number of players that shoot from the perception of others, you would throw out the idea on Twitter or X these days. Cody, you'd say, hey, I wonder if this player could get trade. I wonder if Dorian Thompson-Robbins could get traded. 100 people will jump into your reply saying, why would anybody trade for that bum?

Starting point is 00:28:56 Why would anybody trade anything of actual value for that guy? And then he's now been traded a couple or at least one time. Kenny Pickett's been traded. You know, Malik Willis, all these guys are getting moved. Sam Howell, he's been traded twice in the last two years. So I think that you can get value for these guys. I love the idea of bringing in quarterbacks with upside. Bo Nicks, he's established.

Starting point is 00:29:19 He doesn't need to worry about anybody behind him. It's all about, hey, divvy up those offseason reps. Go let guys play in the preseason and increase their value. Sean Payton loves to do that. So I wouldn't be shocked if Desmond Rinder gets signed after this weekend. I wouldn't either. So we'll see how things going. Look, Broncos country rookie minicamp is set to begin on Friday.

Starting point is 00:29:39 We'll be out there at practice. Not sure if we get access to full three days or whether it's just one day, still waiting on confirmation for that. But you'll have recap and everything here on Locked on Broncos to help set you up for your weekend. going into next week. And as Sarah mentioned earlier in the show, next week is the NFL schedule release. So you're going to get a bonus episode here

Starting point is 00:29:58 when the Bronco schedule comes out. We're going to react to it initially. We're going through the biggest storylines there as Denver prepares for the 2025 NFL season. With that said, Broncos Country, that'll wrap up today's episode of the show. We'll take a look on tomorrow's show at which players at rookie minicamp we have our eye on,

Starting point is 00:30:14 tryout players who have the best chance of impressing and maybe getting an invite to the 90-man roster for training camp. We'll get that much more on tomorrow. episode lockdown broncos

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