It����ap actually basically a 55-man roster.

It����ap a little bulgy here, a little slim there.

It����ap uniquely constructed and Denver hopes it����ap also uniquely constituted to thrive despite a gauntlet of a regular-season schedule, a deep playoff run and, ultimately, a Super Bowl championship.

The NFL might be a young man’s game, but this roster is not for the light-on-experience. Time and again the Broncos chose sure bets, roster continuity and familiarity over the unknown of inexperience.

Only four of seven draft picks made the cut. General manager George Paton, head coach Sean Payton and their staffs will hope for smooth sailing and calm winds on the waiver wire until 11 a.m. Monday to deliver some of their younger and less experienced players to the practice squad so their development can continue there.

“This year, I think we spent more time on this roster going through a lot of different scenarios with a lot of these players that were released,” Paton said. “It����ap a puzzle. It����ap ongoing. Now we’re building the practice squad, we’re looking at the wire tonight obviously.

“So, it����ap fluid and yet, yes, this was a tough roster to make.”

For a team trying to follow a 14-3 season in 2025 that ended in AFC title game heartbreak on their own field, the 53-man roster is about trying to win Sept. 14 in Kansas City and the weeks beyond.

At position after position, the final spots came down to specific roles rather than youth or upside.

Tyler Badie over Jaleel McLaughlin? Look no further than pass protection and Badie’s history of being a trusted part of Denver’s punt protection unit.

Lil’Jordan Humphrey over the fleet of undrafted receivers in camp? Payton says all the time that Humphrey makes game-planning easy because they know exactly what he does well. He blocks at the point of attack; he’s good in the middle of the field, and he can play wherever you need.

Tycen Anderson as a fifth safety? He’s not a safety, really, but he’s a core special teams player and that earned him a spot.

Jordan Turner over Red Murdock? Turner’s played special teams in Denver already, and the Broncos are banking on getting “Mr. Irrelevant” from April’s draft through waivers.

Murdock isn’t alone in that regard. It only takes one look at Denver’s 2026 draft class to get an idea of the competition up and down the roster.

Fourth-rounder Jonah Coleman is the lone rookie who looks poised to potentially make a splash right away as a complement to fellow running backs J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey. Third-round defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim, Denver’s lone Day 2 pick, might make the rotation out of the gate, but will be behind a veteran group that will command much of the playing time. Same for fourth-round offensive lineman Kage Casey.

From there, the fifth through seventh rounds did not fare well on cutdown day. Three of the four players Denver drafted from the fifth round on — TE Justin Joly, S Miles Scott and Murdock — were waived Sunday. The Broncos hope they can get all three back to the practice squad after 11 a.m. Monday. The only rookie from that stretch to actually make the club was the one perhaps least talked about during training camp: Tight end Dallen Bently.

Likewise, none of Denver’s undrafted rookies made the active roster to start, either.

If they’re back in the building Monday afternoon, that����ap terrific. If not? “We’re going to shake their hand, we’re going to give them a hug and root for them,” Paton said.

The Broncos pulled out every stop to maximize the numbers they could keep. Fullback Adam Prentice and long snapper Mitch Fraboni are not on the 53, but as vested veterans, they have already agreed to start on the practice squad, so they’ll contribute as game-day elevations from the jump. Denver also used its two short-term injured reserve placements allowed Sunday on OL Frank Crum and TE Caleb Lohner.

So, there’s a 53-man roster expanded by four, basically.

“Remember it����ap the right 53 and getting the proper evaluation,” Payton said after Friday’s preseason finale against Minnesota. “I will spend more time concerned with who’s making it as opposed to the ones that maybe possibly aren’t. And I just finished saying this in the locker room: Oftentimes in those tough meetings the next two days, within a month, within two months, all of a sudden, a player will be back in your building. That happens.”

Nearly all of the players who know they’ll be back with the Broncos as of Sunday night have been here before. Literally.

Overall, there are only seven players on the initial roster who have not played at least three  games for the Broncos: Star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, QB Sam Ehlinger, Anderson and the four rookie draft picks who made the cut.

Continuity has been a theme. Payton says this team is still young, but really it has some young players amidst a group now steeped in experience, expectation and the Payton Way.

This is a team built for now. It����ap not all-in the way some of Payton’s late New Orleans teams were: Recklessly and without regard for salary cap consequences.

It����ap all in the way Payton, Paton and CEO Greg Penner want to be: With a recognition that the future is a reality but primarily a sense of urgency right now.

Every roster cut this time of year is difficult.

The player sitting across the table wants nothing more than to make the team and to know his NFL career is continuing.

More than 1,200 players were let go in some form or fashion across the league this week.

Not many were tougher than the Broncos letting running back Jaleel McLaughlin know he was being waived on Sunday.

McLaughlin made the team as an undrafted rookie in 2023 but has seen the room change and advance around him.

He was left off Sunday in favor of J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey, rookie Jonah Coleman and fellow bubble candidate Tyler Badie.

“That was really tough,” Denver general manager George Paton said Sunday. … “Jaleel, he’s something else. He was really important to this team, the passion, everything he brings.”

Renck: Jonathon Cooper’s actions put Broncos in a tough spot against Chiefs in opener

McLaughlin sometimes grew up without a place to sleep at night. His work ethic is the stuff of legend, from pre-dawn hill running and workouts to the time he bought a JUGS machine with his own money to try to improve as a pass-catching option with the Broncos.

In the end, the conversation came down to Badie’s ability to pass-protect and his more expansive special teams role, which includes playing on the team’s punt shield.

“Without getting into details, it was a really hard decision,” Paton said. “Obviously, special teams are involved, third-down ability. There’s a lot involved.

“That was probably the last decision we made, this fourth runner.”

Frank Crum, Caleb Lohner start season on injured reserve

The Broncos will start the season with a pair of potential future contributors on the shelf.

Offensive tackle Frank Crum was injured in the team’s second preseason game against Green Bay and now will miss at least the first four games. He’s a swing tackle, jumbo tight end and even caught a postseason touchdown in January.

The exact nature and severity of his injury are not known, but he’s expected to be ready around the time he’s eligible to return, sources have told The Post.

Lohner, meanwhile, will be out longer. The second-year tight end drew rave reviews from Payton after the club’s rookie minicamp in May, but then was out for all of OTAs and minicamp with an injury.

He was not put on the physically unable to perform list to start camp and was expected to join quickly, but then sustained another injury. He was seen watching practice with a boot on his left foot and never did get on the field.

Paton on Sunday said Lohner will not be back in the fold until the middle of the season, perhaps in late October.

Gone, but not really

The Broncos don’t technically have a fullback or a long snapper on their 53-man roster. Both positions, however, will be used in Week 1 against Kansas City.

Fullback Adam Prentice and long snapper Mitch Fraboni are each veteran players and thus not subject to waivers when released. That allowed the Broncos to strike a deal with each to start the season on the practice squad.

They did the same last year with quarterback Sam Ehlinger and he ended up on the 53 anyway later in the week when Malcolm Roach hurt his calf in practice and was put on injured reserve. If something like that happens, one or both of Prentice and Fraboni could be added to the 53 sooner rather than later. Otherwise, they can each be elevated from the practice squad three times. After that, they’ll have to be added to the 53 in order to continue playing.

Denver loves Sam Ehlinger. Head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton value the quarterback room as it was constructed in training camp. And they didn’t think it was a sure bet he’d be back if they released him.

That led to a fairly easy call for the Broncos: Keep Ehlinger on the 53-man roster and roll into the regular season with both him and Jarrett Stidham behind starter Bo Nix.

“We love the quarterback room. We’ve stated that a lot,” Paton said Sunday. “Sam, ‘Stiddy,’ we thought they both had really good offseasons, really good training camps and (played well) in the games.

Denver Broncos roster cuts tracker: See the initial 53-man roster

“Sam is a big part of this quarterback room. We didn’t want to lose him, and we felt we were going to lose him. He’s too important to our team and just didn’t want to risk doing that.”

Denver had been leaning toward keeping three before Friday night����ap finale, Paton indicated, but Ehlinger put an exclamation mark on his preseason by throwing for 233 yards and three touchdowns in about three quarters' worth of work.

That shut the door on any notion of trying to sneak somebody else onto the roster instead.

“Obviously, the game he played the other night was outstanding,” Paton said. “We love the room. We’re going to keep the room together.”

Offensive coordinator Davis Webb has been an Ehlinger fan since Ehlinger played at Austin Westlake High in Texas. He followed Ehlinger’s career from there and said last year that when he watched Ehlinger in Indianapolis early in his career, he saw a player with real upside if he got the right coaching and development plan.

Now he’ll get a second season with the Broncos.

Now comes the next interesting quarterback-related question: Who’s the actual back-up between Stidham and Ehlinger?

NFL teams must reduce their rosters from 90 players to 53 by 4 p.m. Sunday, which means as soon as Friday night’s preseason finale ends, the process of finalizing the first version of an active roster kicks into high gear.

So many of Denver’s starters and key role players return from past years and little doubt exists about their roles.

Still, there are several spots up for grabs and, perhaps more pertinently, there are several levers the Broncos can pull to get as many players back into their building as possible.

The job isn’t to pick the best 53 players, necessarily. Head coach Sean Payton always uses the term “the right 53.”

That means some players who are going to be part of Denver’s equation this season could start on the practice squad, be cut and re-signed to the 53-man roster a day later, start the season on injured reserve or any number of other machinations.

Having a deep roster means added risk of losing players between Sunday afternoon and the 11 a.m. claiming deadline, after which teams can begin assembling their practice squads.

“I think that gets weighed in a lot,” Payton said of who’s most at risk of getting claimed. “I’ll turn to the analytics and a lot of it is what kind of tape the opponents seeing. That gets weighed in a lot. Who do we feel like is more likely to get claimed? Certain positions are more likely to get claimed.

“So that����ap always a challenge.”

A challenge, but one we’re taking on one final time. Here’s a last stab at a 53-man roster.

Changes from last week’s projection are italicized.

OFFENSE (24)

QUARTERBACKS (3)

Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, Sam Ehlinger

Final call: Taking three quarterbacks is going to cost Denver a player somewhere else, but in the end, that����ap the call here. Ehlinger didn’t sound earlier this week like a player who planned on packing his bags any time soon, then he authored a terrific preseason finale. Plus, there aren’t any good Payton-experienced quarterbacks out there as practice squad options.

If they take two to start, it����ap most likely because they swung a deal with Ehlinger or found a trade option they liked. Ehlinger is a veteran, so he can sign anywhere if he’s cut. Depending on how much injured reserve activity the Broncos have, they could cut Ehlinger with a promise he’s back on the 53-man roster in a day. Or they could ask him to start the season on the practice squad. The real curveball would be a two-man Nix/Ehlinger room to start.

RUNNING BACK (3)

J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Jonah Coleman

Final call: The Broncos will press all the buttons to squeeze extra spots out of the roster. In this projection, that means cutting Adam Prentice with the agreement that he’ll be signed to the practice squad, elevated three times and/or added back to the 53 when a spot becomes available. Prentice has had a good camp and will be in the mix one way or another.

If Jaleel McLaughlin and/or Tyler Badie clear waivers and return to the practice squad, all the better. Historic odds on players claimed suggest at least one will. Cody Schrader could be a practice squad option, too.

TIGHT END (4)

Adam Trautman, Evan Engram, Nate Adkins and Justin Joly

Final call: Joly hasn’t had a big training camp, but he finished with a bang on a wide-open 88-yard touchdown Friday night. Caleb Lohner hasn’t practiced at all and seems like a candidate to begin the season on injured reserve. They could wait a day and thus save a return designation for now to ensure that Lohner actually does recover and get fully healthy. Can’t rule out Dallen Bentley or Lucas Krull nabbing a spot, but they feel like the most likely to get through waivers.

WIDE RECEIVER (5)

Courtland Sutton, Jaylen Waddle, Pat Bryant, Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin

Final call: The same five it����ap been all of camp. The sticking point here: Lil’Jordan Humphrey is almost certainly going to be part of the plan. In this case, he either starts on the practice squad or is a one-day cut until the Broncos place someone else on injured reserve. Denver will feel fortunate if all of its undrafted rookie receivers get through to the practice squad. There are a ton of receivers out there around the league, but Cam Ross and/or Kolbe Katsis could factor on special teams at some point in the not-so-distant future and could draw attention from other teams.

OFFENSIVE LINE (9)

Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Luke Wattenberg, Quinn Meinerz, Mike McGlinchey, Alex Palczewski, Kage Casey, Alex Forsyth, Tyler Miller 

Final call: Let����ap get a little bit wild. In this projection, Frank Crum is placed on injured reserve Sunday with a designation to return. Then, there’s the Tyler Miller conversation. The Broncos have lost a developmental tackle each of the past two years at the cutdown. They know the value of such players. If they can get Calvin Throckmorton and Matt Peart to agree to start the year on the practice squad, this becomes possible. The end goal here: Keep as many of this group as possible for as long as possible.

DEFENSE (26)

DEFENSIVE LINE (7)

Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach, Eyioma Uwazurike, Tyler Onyedim, Jordan Jackson, Sai’Vion Jones

Final call: Maybe the Broncos ultimately feel like they have to choose between Jackson and Sai’Vion Jones, but this coaching staff and front office have prided themselves on building depth in both trenches. If there are ways around cutting somebody up front, they’ll find them. Jackson is too reliable and Jones too young to part ways with just yet, though the latter has had a relatively quiet camp.

“Every year is different and you really never know,” said Jackson, whose made the 53 each of the past two years. “Five weeks to put in the work I’ve put in. We’ll see how it all comes out.”

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (5)

Nik Bonitto, Jonah Elliss, Que Robinson, Dondrea Tillman, Ron Stone, Jr.

Final call: Time is ticking quickly, but in this version, the projection is that the Broncos will have clarity on Jonathon Cooper’s status — a suspension levied by the NFL or (perhaps more likely at the moment) a placement on the commissioner’s exempt list — by the time the roster cutdown arrives. Stone makes it as a depth piece, at least to start. The tough call here is what to do with Drew Sanders. Is it injured reserve? They have to use one of eight return designations to put him there Sunday but if they carry him for one day, they can stash him and decide later whether to bring him back. Still, Sanders has played four games in the past two seasons. It may be time for a fresh start. If there’s no decision on Cooper at 4 p.m. Sunday, he’ll be on the roster.

INSIDE LINEBACKER (5)

Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, Red Murdock, Jordan Turner, Karene Reid 

Final call: The Broncos had a curveball thrown this week when Taylor Rapp left after just one practice. Reid, Turner and Murdock are all special teams staples and it����ap easy to see any of them getting time on defense if either Singleton or Strnad miss time. Murdock has been calling the defense in practice, the type of investment that makes it easy to think Denver wants to keep him around for a while. The question: Are Reid and Turner worthy of among the last spots on the roster. Their special teams work last year and preseason playing time so far this summer suggest yes.

CORNERBACK (5)

Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Ja’Quan McMillian, Jahdae Barron, Kris Abrams-Draine

Final call: One of the toughest calls to leave off the roster is Reese Taylor. The Broncos are just fortunate to have high-quality depth across the cornerback group, which works against Taylor despite his special teams ability and ability to play in the slot on defense. He’s a player who will likely feel like a little bit of a risk trying to get through waivers. He also sustained a concussion Friday night against the Vikings.

SAFETY (4)

Talanoa Hufanga, Brandon Jones, Devon Key, JL Skinner

Final call: Miles Scott is a nice developmental player, but based on his role and playing time so far in camp, perhaps Denver is hoping they can get that redshirt year done on the practice squad. Tycen Anderson was one of the most conspicuous players not to dress Friday night vs. Minnesota. Those guys are either already on the roster or definitely not making it. The guess here is the latter.

SPECIAL TEAMS (3)

Wil Lutz (PK), Jeremy Crawshaw (P), Mitchell Fraboni (LS)

Final call: Easy. They’ve got Luke Basso’s number if they need a long-snapper at any point during the season.

The Broncos finished theirs with a 34-6 shellacking of Minnesota at Empower Field.

If this time of year is about roster depth, Denver boasted a vast superiority to the Vikings essentially from the opening kickoff.

Sean Payton’s team didn’t dress 30 players, most of them starters and key contributors, and still dominated. Minnesota, to be sure, also sat its top players, but this was backups on backups crime.

Now, tough roster questions are ahead.

“I look back to my first year here, and we were looking to claim (players),” Payton said Friday night. “And it was like that in New Orleans early on. As you build something that gets a little bit more polished, players are — gradually, the quality of your team, it becomes a harder roster to make.

“So those teams out there that have new coaches that are rebuilding. They’ll be more active and those are the teams sometimes that can end up with one of your players.”

That����ap the focus for the next few days. Then attention turns fully to Week 1 and Denver’s Sept. 14 trip to Kansas City for Monday Night Football.

Here are four takeaways from Friday night:

Sam Ehlinger authored quite a bounce back after a rough start

The Broncos head coach was afraid he’d end up in the stat book with a PBU. OK, maybe not quite, but as Payton watched Sam Ehlinger start moving to his left and then sprint back to his right on a fourth-and-3 in the second half Friday, Ehlinger kept getting closer and closer. Finally, he uncorked an off-balance throw to Cody Schrader for a 14-yard touchdown and basically fell into the coach’s lap.

That set off a raucous celebration after the second of Ehlinger’s three touchdowns on the night.

The Broncos quarterback started his night with an ugly interception.

Then he responded with three touchdowns and finished the night with 233 yards and a 134.5 passer rating.

The touchdown was a thing of beauty.

“I was standing on the white,” Payton said of the sideline. … “Two more feet and my concern was all of a sudden the ball hit my chest and I’m the reason he doesn’t throw it. I was excited for him. It was really good.”

So was Ehlinger overall.

“There’s one thing he does, I’ve said this to you guys before many times, when you’re in practice situations and plays don’t finish out, you see ‘X,’” Payton said. And then, for him, when you’re in a game situation, we don’t have to decide whether he was sacked or not. He wasn’t. And it was a touchdown pass. That����ap one of the things that I think has served him well in college and when he plays in games.

“It����ap hard to simulate some of that. So I was excited for him.”

Ehlinger made a bad throw on the first drive and got under-cut on an out-breaker for an interception.

After that, though, he was sharp.

“Obviously you don’t want to start that way,” Ehlinger said. “But it was good to get that out of my system and then being able to get in the flow of the game, get the feel for coverages and how the game’s going was really good.”

Whether the Broncos keep two or three quarterbacks is among their most intriguing questions as the roster deadline approaches Sunday, but Ehlinger has said for the past week that he has trust in Payton and the Denver staff.

“When it comes down to the roster decisions and things of that nature, it����ap completely out of my control,” he said. “I don’t derive my confidence from the result of what happens with numbers or things of that nature.

“I have great confidence in this organization and the relationships we have and the way they’ve handled things with me to this point. I’m in a really good spot.”

If the Broncos do cut Ehlinger, a vested veteran who is not subject to waivers and thus can sign anywhere at any time, he said he’d look around to see what else might be available.

“Yeah, you have to look at all your options, right? That����ap what we’ll do,” he said. “That����ap what we did last year and I look forward to whatever opportunity there is.”

He’s also got much bigger things happening in his life, too, and soon. Ehlinger’s wife is pregnant with their first child and is due Tuesday.

So his upcoming days could well be very different than most of the guys sweating out the cutdown deadline.

“I might be in the hospital having my first son,” he said. “That’s what it could look like.”

Pat Bryant����ap ascension was on display in absentia Friday night

Payton bristles at categorizations like “third wide receiver” or “second running back.” He’s got roles defined for certain players and they fulfill them.

However, Friday night served as a final stamp of approval on a breakout August for second-year wide receiver Pat Bryant.

He didn’t need a big stat line to prove it. He did so with a ballcap and tennis shoes.

Payton and the Broncos didn’t dress three receivers for the game: Jaylen Waddle, Courtland Sutton and Bryant. That����ap as clear an indication as any that Bryant is going to factor heavily into Denver’s offensive plans.

Not that there’s been much doubt since the start of camp.

Bryant has made play after play, day after day.

Every player and every coach who’s been asked about him over the past month has had nothing but raves.

Troy Franklin, meanwhile, was out there playing and so, too, was Marvin Mims Jr. Mims was up mostly because he’s been hurt and hasn’t had much live action this summer.

Franklin hasn’t done anything wrong, either. He’s had a nice camp himself and is a versatile, valuable player.

Bryant, though, has had an undeniable training camp. He’s one of the players fans should be most intrigued to see on the field at Arrowhead Stadium in 16 days.

Marvin Mims Jr.’s camp started fast. It����ap been a slog since.

Not many players were more impressive than Mims during the first week of training camp, n. Since then, it����ap been a slog. He took a couple of weeks to come all the way back from a groin injury. He made his preseason debut Friday against the Vikings and figured to get a couple of series. Instead, Jarrett Stidham overthrew him on his first target of the night and Mims hit the ground along the sideline and rolled over in pain.

Payton described the foot injury as “just a bruise” after the game and said the club was being cautious with the fourth-year wide receiver.
The veteran head coach also referred to Mims as a “front-line guy.” That much isn’t in question, even if Mims’ ultimate role in this offense is a bit of a mystery at this point.

What����ap also clear is that Mims was frustrated about having to head back to the blue medical tent. He hopped up and tried to jog off, shooing away a trainer. Then he reluctantly ducked into the tent and then headed back to the locker room early in the game.

If Mims plays a big role and has an impact this fall, this night will be quickly forgotten.

But for a guy going into his contract year, the training camp and preseason rigmarole that has cost him time on the practice field and in game action so far this summer could also easily become a source of frustration.

He (probably) won’t make the 53-man roster, but take a bow, Cody Schrader.

The only knock on Cody Schrader’s Friday night? After he caught the touchdown from Ehlinger, he threw the ball into the crowd. Brother, don’t you want to keep that one?

“I didn’t think to keep that thing,” Schrader said. “I was just kind of blacked out in the moment and super excited to get in the end zone.”

Schrader, 26, went undrafted in 2024 and bounced around. Like, really bounced around. He’s been cut seven times. At one point last year, he played for three teams in as many weeks, the last of which was Denver. But he stuck on the practice squad down the stretch, got a futures deal and has had a nice training camp. He could well end up on the Broncos’ practice squad and is in the mix with Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie.

Moreover, he’s been a needed bell cow in preseason as Denver managed the workload of several other backs.

He carried the ball 24 times over Denver’s three preseason games and churned out 74 yards. He also caught all nine of his targets for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Schrader led Broncos backs in snaps, too, in each of the first two games and likely did again Friday against the Vikings.

Schrader, who ran for 1,627 yards his senior year at Missouri, finished with a flourish, too. He had six catches for 90 yards plus 42 rushing for a total of 132 offensive yards and a touchdown.

“It definitely meant a lot,” Schrader said. “I’m so thankful for this organization, just in terms of how they take preseason. They treat it like the regular season and that means a lot to guys like me who’s competing and fighting for every opportunity possible. …

“We have a great room. We’re a brotherhood and I think all of us can play in this league.”

Schrader did the Broncos well this preseason and probably helped himself in the process, too.

They just did so more than three hours before Denver kicked off its preseason finale against Minnesota.

Sean Payton held out not only quarterback Bo Nix but nearly every expected front-line player for the last of three preseason contests. The only ones who played: Those who have either missed extended periods of time due to injury in training camp and also outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper, who may well not be available to Denver early in the season if he is suspended or placed on the commissioner’s exempt list after a pair of June arrests.

Otherwise, Denver’s lineups were full of reserves and players fighting for roster and practice squad spots.

“It����ap hard to go into this game and just say, ‘Hey, these 40 aren’t (playing),’” Payton said earlier this week. “The stress level then on everyone else kicks up. So it����ap a challenge whenever you get into this last game, and we’ll have a good plan.”

Denver’s plan wasn’t to have 40 guys out of uniform, but 30.

Payton had 26 expected contributors, one conspicuous special teamer and three injured players out of uniform for the club’s final tune-up before it opens the regular season on Monday Night Football Sept. 14 at Kansas City.

Among the notables who did and didn’t play:

Cooper got playing time and it����ap unclear when he’ll be next on the field. He’s slated to be arraigned in Douglas County on Monday morning, the day after Denver’s roster must be set. That means the Broncos will be hoping to get clarity from the league ahead of Sunday’s cutdown deadline. If no ruling comes from the league office, he’ll be on the roster. If he is suspended or placed on the exempt list by Roger Goodell, he will not count against Denver’s 53-man roster.

Center Luke Wattenberg has missed most of camp after a shoulder injury on the first day in full pads nearly four weeks ago. He got in there for one series and saw live action for the first time this preseason.

Wide receiver Marvin Mims has similarly missed multiple weeks with a groin injury. He was out there to start with Denver’s offense, but turned his ankle coming down after a Jarrett Stidham overthrow and saw his night end right there. He at first appeared to be in pain but was able to jog off the field and, reluctantly, to the blue medical tent once he was back to the home sideline.

One not entirely surprising development but a notable one nonetheless: Both Mims and Franklin were in uniform, but second-year man Pat Bryant was not. Bryant has emerged as the de facto third wide receiver for Denver behind Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle. Franklin and Mims, assuming neither is traded in the next couple of days, will factor into the equation. So, too, likely, will Lil’Jordan Humphrey. But they were all out there playing Friday night. Bryant was on the sideline with the players Payton and company decided needed no more snaps before the regular season.

“He’s smart, he’s sudden, he’s big,” Payton said earlier this week about Bryant. “He’s having a heck of a camp. You guys have seen it. And it����ap been consistent. He’s super intelligent, it����ap really important to him and I like his size.”

At quarterback, Jarrett Stidham started and played two series before giving way to Sam Ehlinger. Both are candidates to be in Denver’s plans for the season behind Nix, though it����ap not clear if both will start out on the 53-man roster. Ehlinger’s first drive of the night ended in an ugly interception when he was undercut trying to throw an out-breaking route to undrafted rookie wide receiver Dane Key.

One interesting player who was not in uniform: Special teamer Tycen Anderson. He was Denver’s lone external free agent signing this spring, though it was a one-year deal at the minimum with $450,000 guaranteed. He’s hardly been used defensively in camp and is essentially a special teamer only. Did Denver see enough to keep him out Friday, or does the team perhaps already know he will not make the roster?

By Saturday morning, the Broncos staff will be well into finalizing their 53-man roster. By Sunday afternoon, the initial rendition will be set. Then the practice squad follows Monday.

From there: Two weeks to Kansas City.

Same, most likely, for players who find themselves on the edge of Denver’s roster or any other NFL team.

Hard deadlines approach.

By the time players clear out of the locker room after the Broncos’ preseason finale Friday night at home against Minnesota, the cut-off for teams to reduce their rosters from 90 down to 53 will only be about 40 hours away.

That means coach Sean Payton, general manager George Paton and their staffs will go essentially right from the game to finalizing their 53-man roster. After Sunday’s 4 p.m. cutdown deadline, they’ll get back to scouring the waiver wire and assembling their 16-man practice squad, which can be finalized after 11 a.m. Monday.

For a team as deep and talented as the Broncos and with as many defined starters and roles as the club already has set, there are still a unique group of decisions to make.

Denver may place up to two players on injured reserve with designations to return on Sunday, but it����ap unclear if any of its injured players currently are set to miss enough time to warrant such a move. The Broncos, as of Friday morning, are awaiting clarity on Jonathon Cooper’s status with the NFL ahead of a Monday arraignment on a felony assault charge and other lesser charges. They have veterans who could be asked to start the season on the practice squad, too. Perhaps there’s a trade candidate or two on the roster, too.

Essentially, the playbook is wide open and Denver will use all tools at its disposal to keep as many players as possible in the building beyond just the 53 that make the initial cut.

But first, 60 minutes against the Vikings. Quarterback Bo Nix isn’t playing. If other Broncos starters do, it likely won’t be for long.

It����ap a bubblelicious weekend.

Here are five storylines to watch.

The closing days of bubble watch arrive with questions to answer on both lines

For the Broncos on the defensive line, the question is as simple as whether they’ve got room to go as heavy as last year. Denver kept seven on the 53-man roster a year ago. If it does the same this year, the likelihood is the same six plus plus rookie third-rounder Tyler Onyedim instead of the departed John Franklin-Myers. If the Broncos take six, then the question becomes whether the last spot goes to veteran Jordan Jackson or second-year man Sai’Vion Jones. Could Denver trade one of them? Jackson made the roster cleanly the past two years and is a trusted role player. Jones hasn’t cracked the rotation yet, but Denver traded up into the third round to draft him in 2025. The Broncos have been loath to part with depth up front in past years.

Questions on the offensive line are more injury-related. They have been without Alex Forsyth on and off for the past two weeks and without Frank Crum this week. How long will each be out? They have a pair of veterans in Calvin Throckmorton and Matt Peart who could be needed as key reserves but also could be asked to start the season on the practice squad.

That leaves several moving pieces. Could a young guy like Tyler Miller snag a spot? Tackles are popular targets on the waiver wire and the Broncos have lost one at the cutdown each of the past two years.

Looking for clues at linebacker and tight end

There are also interesting decisions to make at inside linebacker and tight end. They’re similar positions in a way, because there are a pair of veterans at the top of each room and then a lot of unproven first- and second-year players behind.

At tight end, the room behind Adam Trautman and Evan Engram is going to come down to style preference and who Denver’s front office thinks it can get through to the practice squad. Justin Joly is a fifth-round pick, but he and seventh-rounder Dallen Bentley have each had relatively quiet camps. Nate Adkins had a down 2025 season due to injuries, but teams around the league like players with his versatility. Lucas Krull has been a regular presence here the past two seasons. Caleb Lohner is a wild card. Payton raved about him this spring, but he’s missed all of camp with lower-body injuries. Perhaps he’s an injured reserve stash candidate.

At linebacker, behind Justin Strnad and Alex Singleton, there are four candidates for two or three spots. The consistent No. 2 line recently has been Karene Reid and Jordan Turner, but the Broncos like seventh-round rookie Red Murdock and undrafted rookie Taurean York has done good things, too.

Will Denver roll the dice with Murdock (or Reid/Turner) on the waiver wire? Or do they feel the need to keep five from the jump?

QBs Sam Ehlinger, Jarrett Stidham again take center stage

With Nix not playing, Denver’s other two quarterbacks will take center stage for what the Broncos certainly hope is the final time this season. Stidham is set to start but ,Ehlinger is in line to play most of the game, perhaps as much as three quarters depending on how the game flows and how many possessions unfold in the first quarter.

This could just be a carbon copy of the 2024 season, where Stidham played 10 snaps in the preseason finale, Zach Wilson handled the rest and then shortly after they both found out they made the 53-man roster.

Or, it could be a continuation of an actual battle. Payton said categorically on Wednesday that the club had not yet determined who the No. 2 is behind Nix, though given the way the preseason and reps have played out so far, Stidham has played the role of a No. 2 every day but two that reporters have been present.

Ehlinger told The Post this week that he trusts the Broncos and has had good conversations with them so far through training camp. Perhaps it����ap just as simple as Denver keeping all three, whether that����ap on the 53-man roster or Ehlinger starting off with a brief practice squad stint like he did last year.

Either way, neither Ehlinger nor Stidham will want to leave anything to chance on Friday.

Any conspicuous players held out of the game?

Payton on Wednesday acknowledged that teams this time of year not only are careful not to show their cards scheme-wise, but they’ll also try to hide a player they’re trying to sneak through waivers. Payton’s tried it before — and eventually got burned anyway by his own mentor. He was excited by tackle Jeremy Parnell as a developmental project during New Orleans’ Super Bowl run and had plenty else on his mind when he invited Bill Parcells — then the Miami Dolphins’ president — to watch a pre-Super Bowl practice.

The next fall, Payton tried to sneak Parnell through waivers at the roster cutdown and get him on the practice squad. He hadn’t played in games and had essentially no film. And yet, the Dolphins claimed him.

“There was literally no evidence at all,” Payton recalled this week. “A year after that, Bill had retired and I asked him, ‘Hey, what allowed you guys to claim Parnell?’ And he said, ‘Well, you invited me to practice and every time you broke the huddle, all I saw was that 6-7 tackle.’

“And he said, ‘Don’t invite the fox in the hen house.’ I learned a lesson.”

Parnell played 111 games in his career, including 64 starts, but funny enough, they all came for Dallas and Jacksonville from 2012 on.

Payton also often says it����ap not easy to hold a lot of players out of preseason games because you risk exposing those who carry a heavier workload to injury. Plus, holding a player out could be a tip-off in its own right.

Regardless, it����ap good to remember that this is roster gamesmanship season.

Any conspicuous stat lines that add up to “trade candidate?”

The Albert O. Special, as it����ap known in Denver. In 2023, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam didn’t feel like a fit on Payton’s first roster. Then in the team’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams, he caught seven passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. That����ap how you play yourself onto a 53-man, right? Well, yeah, but in Philadelphia. The Broncos traded the tight end to the Eagles between the finale and the roster cutdown. If Philly thought it could have landed Okwuegbunam as a waiver claim, it wouldn’t have traded for him. It wasn’t much — Okwuegbunam and a seventh-rounder for a sixth-rounder — but it was better than nothing.

The Broncos pair the top offense and top defense against each other for nearly every facet of training camp and, therefore, Singleton is lined up 5-10 yards away from Nix over and over and over again. Virtually every day.

Singleton isn’t a quarterback evaluator, but in many ways he’s uniquely situated to understand what Nix is doing, how he’s playing and what the opening weeks on the field have looked like for the Denver quarterback after six months of rehabilitating a pair of offseason ankle surgeries.

In Singleton’s mind, the answer is pretty simple.

“He’s playing out of his mind,” the 32-year-old linebacker said Monday.

In the four weeks since the Broncos reported for training camp, the evaluation of and attention on Nix has slowly shifted away from whether he looked like he was all the way past the ankle injury first sustained in January — he’s shown no limitations in practice or Friday against Green Bay — and more toward what kind of third season he may author.

It was almost exactly a year ago when now-offensive coordinator Davis Webb said he thought any quarterback improvement between Year 1 and Year 2 was more about consistency and that Year 3 is when elite quarterbacks make a big jump.

“That����ap just my experience personally and with my friends,” Webb said last summer. “Everybody talks about Year 2, but I think that����ap just the world rushing like we do with everything. … It depends on the situation you’re in, the village you’re around, the play-caller, your defense playing good, your O-line’s protecting you, guys are catching it and you’re executing.

“There’s a lot of domino effect there.”

As Bo goes, so do Broncos

The Broncos are betting that they have even more of those dominoes lined up than in previous years, particularly with Webb now calling plays and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle injecting horsepower into the offensive skill group.

Webb himself said earlier this month that Nix is “right on par with the other guys I’ve been around going into Year 3,” which is particularly notable considering Webb has pointed previously to the way Josh Allen exploded in his third season in Buffalo in 2020 when Webb was his backup.

The question that won’t fully be answered until the season is off and running, though, is just how big a jump Nix himself can take. It doesn’t have to be Allen-sized, but he will need to keep pushing forward if the Broncos are going to win a Super Bowl.

Certainly, Nix has won at a rate that puts him near the top of the heap in the NFL, leading the Broncos to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons. By many advanced metrics, he’s more middle of the pack. Several national outlets ranked him in the mimid-to-loweens when it came to the pantheon of current quarterbacks in the game.

Broncos players and coaches aren’t objective observers, of course, but the sense that Nix is set to turn in an eye-popping season is palpable in all corners of Broncos Park.

“I’ve been very impressed,” quarterback Sam Ehlinger told The Post this week. “Obviously, I was impressed when I first got here last year, but he’s been a lot more consistent this year and he’s just in a great spot. You’d never know he’d had an injury at all and that����ap not just on the field. In the building, there’s not extra stuff he’s having to do or make a big deal about it. He’s able to do everything.”

Coaches, teammates of various positions and more have expressed similar sentiments. Their reasons vary depending on perspective.

The QB whisperer

Webb’s ascension to play-calling duties certainly plays a role.

So, too, do what so far looks like cleaner footwork, better rhythm and more willingness to stay in the pocket from Nix. Webb talked, too, about trying to marry reads for Nix to more efficiently stay on his top target and then quickly get to No. 2 in hopes of helping alleviate the quarterback’s tendency to rush through his progression.

There’s just plain old comfort in the system. Nix had a new one every year of college and now has been immersed in this one for more than two full years.

“When you have a second-nature thought process and you know the play and you’re not thinking about operation, or emotion or a route concept or a handoff point, you can attack the defense in a little bit more of a strategic way,” Nix said. “So my eyes are up a little bit more. I just feel comfortable. It����ap like riding a bike for the third year as opposed to the first. You get up on it and it����ap just by memory at this point. I feel good. I feel like there’s a lot of growth to be had.”

Away from the huddle and the two-minute drill, Nix has had time to settle into his role as the clear leader and face of the franchise.

“I think he’s letting things that are out of his control not bother him,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey told The Post earlier this month. “I think, as a young player, you think you need to take on every challenge and take on all these different things. Bo is now learning, ‘Hey, that can be a waste of my energy but that isn’t.’ He’s learning how to pick his spots.

“He’s learning what to get fired up about, what to fight the things he doesn’t like and let the things go that maybe don’t really matter.”

There are no guarantees in the NFL and there haven’t been many grand proclamations from the Broncos so far in training camp, but add up weeks worth of practices and the tone consistently coming from teammates and coaches and it����ap clear the club thinks Nix is on the verge of a huge season.

“He knows the ins and outs of the offense, he’s comfortable with the offensive line,” Ehlinger said. … “He has a ton of reps. Add up how many reps he’s had in the regular seasons and that����ap a lot of ball. He knows all the receivers and all the running backs too. He’s making great decisions.

“He’s always been really talented as a thrower but you can really tell that everything’s lining up really well for him.”

With enough time and enough repetitions in one place, the light bulb eventually comes on.

“It����ap just, do you have enough time to develop in order for that to happen?” Ehlinger said after the Broncos beat Atlanta in their preseason opener earlier this month.

The Broncos’ third-string quarterback, now nearing the completion of his second training camp since arriving here as a free agent in the spring of 2025, feels the game starting to click into place for him.

He’s seeing defenses well, he thinks, and he’s received a lot of work through training camp.

Though only a handful of times with anything resembling the Broncos’ top-line players during open camp practices, just being in a second season with head coach Sean Payton, offensive coordinator Davis Webb and company has made a big difference.

“It����ap a comfortability with the offense,” Ehlinger told The Post this week. “Obviously a little bit of terminology is different with Davis calling plays, but it����ap similar concepts. There’s a little bit more, but I think just terminology, lingo and then obviously flow of scheduling and things of that nature. The way Sean likes to run things. There’s just a comfortability with all of that stuff.

“And then, obviously, personnel. You know what guys are good at, what guys aren’t. Where you can throw the ball to certain guys. Things of that nature. So overall, in a lot of different ways, comfortability would be the word.”

Staying in a good situation

Ehlinger, it is well documented, has had chances over the past year to leave Denver. He was released at the roster cutdown last year, but with the understanding he’d be signed back to the practice squad. After Malcolm Roach was put on injured reserve shortly after the cutdown, Ehlinger was back on the 53-man roster before Week 1 arrived. He bounced up and down between the 53-man roster and the practice squad through the season. Then Indianapolis, the team that drafted him in the sixth round in 2021, wanted to sign him off Denver’s practice squad later in the season. He turned down that opportunity to stay with the Broncos then, too.

Then he signed a one-year, $2 million deal that came with $1 million guaranteed before free agency began in March.

Add it all up, and the former University of Texas quarterback has clearly shown to this point that he wants to be in Denver. It would be natural to feel some stress, then, as the NFL’s roster cutdown deadline approaches Sunday, considering starter Bo Nix is entrenched and Jarrett Stidham has received the lion’s share of the No. 2 reps this summer.

Stidham and Ehlinger split the preseason opener against the Falcons, then Stidham played five drives against the Packers on Friday and Ehlinger got one real possession before a couple of run plays in the final minute.

Ehlinger, though, doesn’t give off a stressed vibe in the least.

“Last year was the first year I’d ever been cut, but the Broncos, they were transparent with everything and they took care of me as if I didn’t get cut in the first place,” he said. “When you’re with an organization that you trust, it����ap not a big deal. I have a great trust with the conversations we’ve had up to this point. It����ap kind of like, it����ap just another day. I think optically it can be, like, ‘Here’s the numbers. Either you did make the roster or you didn’t make the roster or whatever.’

“But knowing you’re in a situation where you’re wanted and you’re comfortable with their word, it����ap not that big of a deal.”

Prepared when the opportunity arises

There’s an interesting balance happening here for Ehlinger. Everybody wants a shot at playing and being a starter. Those who have had it — Ehlinger did, albeit a brief three-game stint in 2022 — and lost it want another crack.

But it only takes one look around the NFL to see clearly just how much the situation matters for quarterbacks of all stripes.

Ehlinger thinks he’s got a good one for his development right now. He sensed it not long after arriving in Denver in the spring of 2025, after a free agency in which Webb told The Post that he wasn’t interested in many free-agent quarterbacks, but he really wanted to work with Ehlinger.

“When you find a situation where you’re in a great organization, you know you’re going to get better, you’re getting a lot of reps and, God forbid something did happen, you feel like it����ap a situation where the quarterback is teed up to play well?” Ehlinger said. “You don’t really want to just jump on an opportunity to just go play anywhere.

“That����ap what went into last year as well, having opportunities to go play, it����ap like, well, I could, but this is a pretty good situation.”

Webb said earlier in camp that he’s seen Ehlinger grow “tremendously” from last year and that he’d trust Ehlinger in a game if it came to that.

Could the coming days result in the chance to perhaps move closer to playing somewhere else if the Broncos cut him? Possible, but Ehlinger sounded like a player more focused on being ready here just in case and preparing for an opportunity to play somewhere further down the line.

“You see a lot of guys, they get a few opportunities early and it doesn’t pan out, whether it����ap their fault or not, and their career is over,” he said. “I want to be the best prepared I can possibly be for the next opportunity but also be in a situation that is winnable, because I’ve been in a situation where the odds are stacked against you, and that����ap not a fun situation.”

Cornerback Riley Moss, who left Friday’s preseason loss to Green Bay on the second play of the night with an injury to his ribs, did not sustain a serious injury, head coach Sean Payton said Monday.

Moss didn’t practice on Monday and was relegated to light conditioning work on the side field.

“He’s doing fine,” Payton said. “It����ap nothing serious. We’re being smart. We’ll see as the week progresses where he’s at.”

Moss nearly came away with an interception on the first snap of Friday’s game, jumping an out-breaking route to Packers receiver Christian Watson and getting both hands on the ball. On the next play, Denver corner Pat Surtain II knocked the ball away from Watson and Moss picked it up, but was hit in the side in the process. Watson was ruled down by contact and Moss didn’t return to the game after that. Most of the Broncos’ defensive starters didn’t play after the first drive of the game.

Frank Crum also hurt Friday, but ‘doing good’

Payton didn’t give specifics on offensive tackle Frank Crum, but did not make it sound like he was hurt badly during Friday’s game. Crum was not seen at practice on Monday.

“He’s doing good,” Payton said. “We’ll have a couple of these guys — so far, we’ve had a few injuries that were costly for some players, but hopefully we can get through this next stretch, you know, relatively healthy.”

Crum, undrafted out of the University of Wyoming in 2024, tied rookie Kage Casey among offensive players Friday by playing 37 snaps. He was in until a 9-yard Sam Ehlinger sack midway through the fourth quarter. After that, Denver ran just two more plays in the final minute to bleed the rest of the clock.

Injury updates

Among the rest of the roster, center Luke Wattenberg and wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. each did team work for the first time since getting injured early in camp. Wattenberg took most of the first-team reps but didn’t have a completely full workload.

Also not practicing: OLB Drew Sanders, C Alex Forsyth and TE Caleb Lohner. Lohner, though, was working out on the side field for the first time since the team reported in late July.

Sean Payton excited about adding veteran Taylor Rapp

The Broncos last week added veteran safety Taylor Rapp to their roster by signing him to a one-year deal. The contract is worth the veteran minimum, $1.3 million, according to NFLPA data and comes with $100,000 guaranteed, a source said.

“Veteran player we liked,” Payton said Monday. “Had good grades on (him) and just, more talent at that position. It wasn’t us pounding the table, ‘‘we need a safety.’ It was, hey, this player is available. Let����ap work him out and sign him if possible.

“I’m glad he’s here. We’ve had experience playing against him. He’s got real good football instincts and awareness that serves you well at that position. I think it was more availability than necessity, if that makes sense.”