The Denver Broncos have a very crowded wide receiver room, so the team will have to make some tough decisions at the position when roster cuts begin later this summer.
Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler and fifth-round draft pick Montrell Washington are presumably locks to make the 53-man roster. That’s already five spots spoken for and the Broncos typically carry six receivers on the active roster.
Candidates for the WR6 spot include fan favorite Kendall Hinton, special teams ace Tyrie Cleveland and fourth-year veteran Travis Fulgham.
Denver’s roster decisions will ultimately be made by general manager George Paton, but the team’s coaching staff will have input. Broncos special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes has made it clear that he’d like to see Cleveland on the 53-man roster.
“There’s no secret that we want Tyrie to be a core special teams player,” Stukes said on June 14. “That isn’t my decision — that’s Mr. Paton and Coach [Nathaniel] Hackett’s decision. But obviously he’s a big part in our special teams here and what we want to do. The speed, the athleticism, the physicality, he brings all of that to our team. So we want him to be a core special teams player.”
Unless the team decides to carry seven wide receivers, carrying Cleveland as a special teams player and Washington as a returner might not leave room for Hinton. Denver might try to stash Hinton on the practice squad, but the team would have to risk putting him on the waiver wire to do that.
Receiver will be an intriguing position battle to watch this summer.
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