2016 Denver Broncos season

2016 Denver Broncos season
Head coach	Gary Kubiak
General manager	John Elway
Owner	The Pat Bowlen Trust
Home field	Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Uniform

The 2016 Denver Broncos season will be the franchise's upcoming 47th season in the National Football League, the 57th overall and the second under head coach Gary Kubiak. The Broncos will enter the season as defending Super Bowl champions, and will attempt to compete for another Super Bowl run after undergoing numerous roster changes, including the retirement of quarterback Peyton Manning.

Coaching changes

• February 12: Brian Callahan, who had served as the Broncos' offensive quality control coach since 2010, was hired as a quarterbacks coach with the Detroit Lions.^[1]
• February 16: Klint Kubiak, son of Broncos' head coach Gary Kubiak, was hired as the offensive quality control coach, replacing Brian Callahan. Klint Kubiak previously served as a coaching assistant with the Minnesota Vikings from 2013–14, and was a wide receiver's coach at the University of Kansas in 2015.^[2]

Roster changes

Free agents

Position	Player	Tag	2016 Team	Notes
RB	C. J. Anderson	RFA	Denver Broncos	signed to offer sheet by the Miami Dolphins on March 10,[3] Broncos matched offer and re-signed Anderson on March 15[4]
CB/RS	Omar Bolden	UFA	Chicago Bears	signed with the Bears on March 31[5]
C	Sam Brenner	ERFA	Denver Broncos	signed tender on April 15[6]
S	David Bruton	UFA	Washington Redskins	signed with the Redskins on March 16[7]
S	Josh Bush	RFA	TBD
WR	Andre Caldwell	UFA	TBD
LB	Todd Davis	ERFA	TBD
TE	Vernon Davis	UFA	Washington Redskins	signed with the Redskins on March 31[8]
WR	Bennie Fowler	ERFA	Denver Broncos	signed tender on April 15[6]
OT	Ryan Harris	UFA	Pittsburgh Steelers	signed with the Steelers on March 15[9]
RB	Ronnie Hillman	UFA	Denver Broncos	re-signed April 18[10]
DE	Malik Jackson	UFA	Jacksonville Jaguars	signed with the Jaguars on March 8[11]
S	Shiloh Keo	UFA	Denver Broncos	re-signed April 18[12]
LB	Brandon Marshall	RFA	TBD	assigned tender on March 21[13]
G	Evan Mathis	UFA	Arizona Cardinals	signed with the Cardinals on March 16[14]
LB	Lerentee McCray	UFA	Green Bay Packers	originally an RFA, signed with the Packers on April 18[15]
PK	Brandon McManus	ERFA	Denver Broncos	signed tender on April 19[16]
LB	Von Miller	FT	Denver Broncos	assigned franchise tag on March 1[17]
WR	Jordan Norwood	UFA	Denver Broncos	re-signed March 23[18]
QB	Brock Osweiler	UFA	Houston Texans	signed with the Texans on March 9[19]
C	Matt Paradis	ERFA	Denver Broncos	signed tender on April 15[20]
OT	Tyler Polumbus	UFA	None	retired April 5[21]
DE	Antonio Smith	UFA	TBD
LB	Danny Trevathan	UFA	Chicago Bears	signed with the Bears on March 9[22]
WR	Kyle Williams	UFA	TBD
DE	Derek Wolfe	UFA	Denver Broncos	re-signed January 15[23]

Signings

Position	Player	2015 Team	Notes
DE	Jared Crick	Houston Texans	signed April 6[24]
TE	Richard Gordon	Denver Broncos	signed February 22,[25] waived May 4[26]
TE	Garrett Graham	Houston Texans	signed April 25[27]
LS	Casey Kreiter	Dallas Cowboys	signed April 7[28]
OT	Russell Okung	Seattle Seahawks	signed March 17[14]
S	Brandian Ross	San Diego Chargers	signed April 18[12]
OT	Donald Stephenson	Kansas City Chiefs	signed March 9[29]
NT	Phil Taylor	None	signed February 22[25]

Indicates that the player was a free agent at the end of his respective team's 2015 season.

Departures

Position	Player	Notes
LS	Aaron Brewer	released March 8[30]
TE	Owen Daniels	released March 8[30]
G	Louis Vasquez	released March 8[30]

Retirement of Peyton Manning

On March 7, two days before the start of the 2016 league year, quarterback Peyton Manning retired after 18 NFL seasons.^[31] In his four seasons with the Broncos (2012–15), Manning threw for 11,712 passing yards, second in franchise history behind John Elway. Manning also set numerous league records, including regular season passing yardage (71,940), regular season passing touchdowns (539), regular season wins (186 — tied with Brett Favre), combined regular season and postseason wins (200), single-season passing yardage (5,477) and single-season touchdown passes (55); Manning achieved the latter two feats in 2013.^[32]

Trades

• March 11: The Broncos acquired quarterback Mark Sanchez in a trade that sent a 2017 conditional seventh-round selection to the Philadelphia Eagles.^[33]
• April 9: The Broncos were involved in a trade that sent offensive tackle Ryan Clady to the New York Jets — see draft section below.^[34]

Draft

2016 Denver Broncos Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Trades
1	26	Paxton Lynch	QB	Memphis	[lower-alpha 1]
2	63	Adam Gotsis	DT	Georgia Tech
3	98 *	Justin Simmons	S	Boston College	[lower-alpha 1]
4	136 *	Devontae Booker	RB	Utah	[lower-alpha 2]
5	144	Connor McGovern	G	Missouri	[lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 4]
6	176	Andy Janovich	FB	Nebraska	[lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 5]
	219 *	Will Parks	S	Arizona
7	228	Riley Dixon	P	Syracuse	[lower-alpha 5] [lower-alpha 3]

*	Compensatory selection[41]

Draft trades

1. The Broncos traded their first-round selection (No. 31 overall) and their original third-round selection (No. 94 overall) to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for the Seahawks' first-round selection (No. 26 overall).^[35]
2. The Broncos traded their original fourth-round selection (No. 130 overall) to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for center Gino Gradkowski and the Ravens' fifth-round selection (No. 144 overall).^[36]
3. The Broncos acquired the No. 157 selection (fifth-round) in a trade that sent one of their seventh-round selections (No. 235 overall — previously acquired in a 2015 trade that sent offensive tackle Chris Clark to the Houston Texans^[37]) and offensive tackle Ryan Clady to the New York Jets.^[34] The Broncos later traded the No. 157 selection and their original seventh-round selection (No. 253 overall) to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the Titans' 2016 sixth-round selection (No. 176 overall) and 2017 sixth-round selection.^[38]
4. The Broncos traded their original fifth-round selection (No. 169 overall), along with their 2015 first- and fifth-round selections and guard/center Manny Ramirez to the Detroit Lions in exchange for the Lions' 2015 first-round selection.^[39]
5. The Broncos traded their original 2016 sixth-round selection (No. 207 overall) and their 2017 sixth-round selection to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for tight end Vernon Davis and the 49ers' 2016 seventh-round selection (No. 228 overall).^[40]

Undrafted free agents

All undrafted free agents were signed after the 2016 NFL draft concluded on April 30,^[42] unless noted otherwise.

Position	Player	College	Notes
WR	Bralon Addison	Oregon
DE	Vontarrius Dora	Louisiana Tech
WR	Mose Frazier	Memphis
S	Antonio Glover	Georgia Southern
OT	Lars Hanson	Sacramento State
DT	Calvin Heurtelou	Miami (Florida)
DE	Shaneil Jenkins	Shepherd
TE	Henry Krieger Coble	Iowa
NT	David Moala	Utah State
G	Justin Murray	Cincinnati
WR	Durron Neal	Oklahoma
G	Aaron Neary	Eastern Washington
LB	Dwayne Norman	Duke
TE	Anthony Norris	Southern Utah
NT	Kyle Peko	Oregon State
WR	Kalif Raymond	Holy Cross
LB	Frank Shannon	Oklahoma
LB	Sadat Sulleyman	Portland State
LS	Nathan Theus	Georgia
CB	John Tidwell	Sioux Falls
DE	Eddie Yarbrough	Wyoming

Staff

Denver Broncos staff
	Front Office Owner – The Pat Bowlen Trust President/Chairman/CEO – Joe Ellis Executive Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager – John Elway Director of Football Administration – Mike Sullivan Director of Player Personnel – Matt Russell Director of Pro Personnel – Tom Heckert, Jr. Assistant Director of College Scouting – Adam Peters Assistant Director of Pro Personnel – A.J. Durso Director of Football Analytics – Mitch Tanney Head Coaches Head Coach – Gary Kubiak Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Rick Dennison Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator – Greg Knapp Running Backs – Eric Studesville Wide Receivers – Tyke Tolbert Assistant Wide Receivers – Marc Lubick Tight Ends – Brian Pariani Offensive Line – Clancy Barone Assistant Offensive Line – James Cregg Offensive Assistant/Quarterbacks – Klint Kubiak			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Wade Phillips Defensive Line – Bill Kollar Linebackers – Reggie Herring Outside Linebackers – Fred Pagac Secondary – Joe Woods Assistant Secondary – Samson Brown Defensive Assistant – Chris Beake Special Teams Coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Joe DeCamillis Assistant Special Teams – Tony Coaxum Special Teams Quality Control - Chris Gould Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Luke Richesson Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Mike Eubanks Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Anthony Lomando Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Dennis Love → Coaching Staff → Management → More NFL staffs
AFC East BUF MIA NE NYJ North BAL CIN CLE PIT South HOU IND JAX TEN West DEN KC OAK SD NFC East DAL NYG PHI WAS North CHI DET GB MIN South ATL CAR NO TB West ARI LA SF SEA

Current roster

Denver Broncos roster
Quarterbacks 12 Paxton Lynch  6 Mark Sanchez 13 Trevor Siemian Running backs 22 C. J. Anderson 35 Kapri Bibbs 20 Devontae Booker 28 Cyrus Gray 23 Ronnie Hillman 32 Andy Janovich FB 40 Juwan Thompson Wide receivers  2 Bralon Addison 16 Bennie Fowler 17 Mose Frazier 14 Cody Latimer  5 Durron Neal 11 Jordan Norwood 15 DeVier Posey 19 Kalif Raymond 10 Emmanuel Sanders 87 Jordan Taylor 88 Demaryius Thomas Tight ends 84 Henry Krieger Coble 41 Manasseh Garner 80 Garrett Graham 85 Virgil Green 82 Jeff Heuerman 83 Anthony Norris		Offensive linemen 67 Sam Brenner C 62 Dillon Day G 53 James Ferentz C 76 Max Garcia G 78 Lars Hanson T 75 Cameron Jefferson T 60 Connor McGovern G 64 Justin Murray G 70 Robert Myers G 72 Aaron Neary G 73 Russell Okung T 61 Matt Paradis C 66 Kyle Roberts T 74 Ty Sambrailo T 79 Michael Schofield T 71 Donald Stephenson T 77 Darrion Weems T Defensive linemen 91 Kenny Anunike DE 93 Jared Crick DE 99 Adam Gotsis DE 63 Calvin Heurtelou DE 98 Darius Kilgo NT 62 David Moala NT 90 Kyle Peko NT 97 Phil Taylor NT 96 Vance Walker DE 92 Sylvester Williams NT 95 Derek Wolfe DE 65 Eddie Yarbrough DE		Linebackers 50 Zaire Anderson ILB 48 Shaquil Barrett OLB 51 Todd Davis ILB 68 Vontarrius Dora OLB 69 Shaneil Jenkins OLB 54 Brandon Marshall ILB 58 Von Miller OLB 52 Corey Nelson ILB 46 Dwayne Norman ILB 56 Shane Ray OLB 47 Frank Shannon ILB 59 Sadat Sulleyman OLB 94 DeMarcus Ware OLB Defensive backs 37 Lorenzo Doss CB 38 Antonio Glover FS 25 Chris Harris, Jr. CB 33 Shiloh Keo SS 30 B. J. Lowery CB 39 Taurean Nixon CB 34 Will Parks SS 29 Bradley Roby CB 27 Brandian Ross SS 31 Justin Simmons FS 26 Darian Stewart FS 21 Aqib Talib CB 45 John Tidwell CB 43 T. J. Ward SS 36 Kayvon Webster CB Special teams  4 Britton Colquitt P  9 Riley Dixon P 42 Casey Kreiter LS  8 Brandon McManus K 49 Nathan Theus LS				Reserve lists Currently empty Rookies in italics Roster updated May 5, 2016 Depth Chart • Transactions 89 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 FAs, 8 Unsigned → AFC rosters → NFC rosters
AFC East BUF MIA NE NYJ North BAL CIN CLE PIT South HOU IND JAX TEN West DEN KC OAK SD NFC East DAL NYG PHI WAS North CHI DET GB MIN South ATL CAR NO TB West ARI LA SF SEA

Schedule

Preseason

The Broncos' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on April 7. Exact dates and times were finalized on April 14, when the regular season schedule was announced.^[43]

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
1	August 11	6:00 p.m. MDT	at Chicago Bears			Soldier Field	KTVD
2	August 20	7:00 p.m. MDT	San Francisco 49ers			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	KTVD
3	August 27	7:00 p.m. MDT	Los Angeles Rams			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	KTVD
4	September 1	7:30 p.m. MDT	at Arizona Cardinals			University of Phoenix Stadium	KTVD

Regular season

As the result of winning Super Bowl 50, the Broncos earned the right to host the Week 1 kickoff game on Thursday, September 8, in a Super Bowl rematch vs. the Carolina Panthers. The Broncos' 2016 schedule was announced on April 14.^[44]

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
1	September 8	6:30 p.m. MDT	Carolina Panthers			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	NBC
2	September 18	2:25 p.m. MDT	Indianapolis Colts			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS
3	September 25	11:00 a.m. MDT	at Cincinnati Bengals			Paul Brown Stadium	CBS
4	October 2	2:05 p.m. MDT	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers			Raymond James Stadium	CBS
5	October 9	2:05 p.m. MDT	Atlanta Falcons			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	Fox
6	October 13	6:25 p.m. MDT	at San Diego Chargers			Qualcomm Stadium	CBS/NFLN/Twitter
7	October 24	6:30 p.m. MDT	Houston Texans			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	ESPN
8	October 30	2:05 p.m. MDT	San Diego Chargers			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS
9	November 6	6:30 p.m. MST	at Oakland Raiders			Oakland Coliseum	NBC
10	November 13	11:00 a.m. MST	at New Orleans Saints			Mercedes-Benz Superdome	CBS
11	Bye
12	November 27	2:25 p.m. MST	Kansas City Chiefs			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS
13	December 4	11:00 a.m. MST	at Jacksonville Jaguars			EverBank Field	CBS
14	December 11	11:00 a.m. MST	at Tennessee Titans			Nissan Stadium	CBS
15	December 18	2:25 p.m. MST	New England Patriots			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS
16	December 25	6:30 p.m. MST	at Kansas City Chiefs			Arrowhead Stadium	NBC
17	January 1	2:25 p.m. MST	Oakland Raiders			Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS

Notes

• Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
• Networks and times for Sunday games from Weeks 5–17 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling, for the exception of the Week 16 game at the Kansas City Chiefs, which occurs on Christmas.

Other news and notes

On March 12, linebacker DeMarcus Ware agreed to a re-structured contract with the Broncos. Ware, who signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Broncos in 2014, had his 2016 salary reduced from $7 million to $6.5 million, but can earn back money with incentives.^[45]

References

1. Renck, Troy (February 12, 2016). "Brian Callahan, Broncos offensive quality control coach, hired by Lions". The Denver Post. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
2. Jhabvala, Nicki (February 16, 2016). "Klint Kubiak leaves post at Kansas to be Broncos offensive assistant". The Denver Post. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
3. Smith, Michael David (March 10, 2016). "Dolphins sign C.J. Anderson to offer sheet". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
4. Renck, Troy (March 15, 2016). "C.J. Anderson stays put as Broncos match Dolphins' offer sheet". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
5. Renck, Troy (March 31, 2016). "Broncos' Omar Bolden agrees to deal with Chicago Bears". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
6. Wolfe, Cameron (April 15, 2016). "Bennie Fowler, Sam Brenner sign tenders to return to Broncos for 2016 season". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
7. "Safety David Bruton signs three-year deal with Washington". The Denver Post. March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
8. Renck, Troy (March 31, 2016). "Vernon Davis signs with Washington Redskins in an expected departure". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
9. Renck, Troy (March 15, 2016). "Ryan Harris joining Pittsburgh Steelers on two-year deal". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
10. Jhabvala, Nicki (April 18, 2016). "Ronnie Hillman, Broncos agree to one-year contract". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
11. Renck, Troy (March 8, 2016). "Malik Jackson agrees to 6-year deal with Jacksonville Jaguars". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
12. Jhabvala, Nicki (April 18, 2016). "Broncos sign safeties Shiloh Keo, Brandian Ross to one-year contracts". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
13. Renck, Troy (March 21, 2016). "Brandon Marshall could be long-term keeper at linebacker". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
14. Renck, Troy (March 17, 2016). "Russell Okung agrees to five-year deal with Broncos to bolster O-line". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
15. Wolfe, Cameron (April 18, 2016). "Lerentee McCray leaves Broncos, signs with Green Bay Packers". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
16. Swanson, Ben (April 19, 2016). "K Brandon McManus signs exclusive rights free-agent tender". Denver Broncos. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
17. Renck, Troy (March 1, 2016). "Von Miller receives exclusive franchise tag from Broncos". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
18. Jhabvala, Nicki (March 23, 2016). "Jordan Norwood returning to Broncos on one-year deal". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
19. Renck, Troy (March 9, 2016). "Brock Osweiler agrees to four-year deal with Houston Texans; Broncos could eye Colin Kaepernick". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
20. Wolfe, Cameron (April 15, 2016). "Matt Paradis signs tender with Broncos; Nick Kasa waived". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
21. Jhabvala, Nicki (April 5, 2016). "Tyler Polumbus, former Broncos tackle, announces retirement from NFL". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
22. "Trevathan signs deal with Bears". The Denver Post. March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
23. Renck, Troy (January 15, 2016). "Broncos sign DE Derek Wolfe to four-year contract extension". The Denver Post. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
24. Wolfe, Cameron (April 6, 2016). "Broncos agree to two-year deal with defensive end Jared Crick". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
25. Mason, Andrew (February 22, 2016). "Broncos add DT Phil Taylor and TE Richard Gordon". Denver Broncos. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
26. Jhabvala, Nicki (May 4, 2016). "Broncos waive tight end Richard Gordon. Again.". The Denver Post. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
27. Renck, Troy (April 25, 2016). "Broncos sign Garrett Graham, adding experience at tight end". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
28. Mason, Andrew (April 7, 2016). "Broncos add long snapper Casey Kreiter". Denver Broncos. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
29. Swanson, Ben (March 10, 2016). "Broncos agree to terms with T Donald Stephenson on three-year contract". Denver Broncos. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
30. Mason, Andrew (March 8, 2016). "Broncos release Louis Vasquez, Owen Daniels and Aaron Brewer". Denver Broncos. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
31. Renck, Troy (March 7, 2016). "Peyton Manning retires from football: "I love the game...I will miss it."". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
32. Mason, Andrew (March 6, 2016). "Peyton Manning: A career by the numbers". Denver Broncos. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
33. Renck, Troy (March 11, 2016). "Mark Sanchez acquired by Denver Broncos for 2017 draft pick". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
34. Renck, Troy and Jhabvala, Nicki (April 9, 2016). "Broncos trade Ryan Clady, 7th-rounder to Jets for 5th-round pick". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
35. Jhabvala, Nicki (April 28, 2016). "Broncos trade up, take QB Paxton Lynch at No. 26". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
36. Renck, Troy (April 1, 2015). "Broncos acquire center Gino Gradkowski in trade with Ravens". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
37. Jhabvala, Nicki (August 31, 2015). "Chris Clark, Broncos OL, traded to Texans for 2016 draft pick". The Denver Post. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
38. "NFL draft trade tracker". ESPN. April 30, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
39. DeChant, David (April 30, 2015). "Broncos trade up for Missouri LB Shane Ray in first round of 2015 NFL Draft". Denver Broncos. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
40. Renck, Troy (November 2, 2015). "Vernon Davis traded to Denver Broncos from San Francisco". The Denver Post. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
41. Mason, Andrew (March 11, 2016). "Broncos get three compensatory picks, including third-rounder". Denver Broncos. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
42. Mason, Andrew (May 2, 2016). "Get to know the Broncos' 21 college free agents". Denver Broncos. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
43. Mason, Andrew (April 14, 2016). "Times, dates for Broncos' 2016 preseason schedule set". Denver Broncos. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
44. Swanson, Ben (April 14, 2016). "Broncos' 2016 regular-season schedule released". Denver Broncos. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
45. Renck, Troy (March 12, 2016). "DeMarcus Ware agrees to restructure contract with Broncos". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 12, 2016.

External links

• Official website
• The Denver Post – Complete Broncos Coverage
• NFL Nation Blog – ESPN