In June, Sean Payton told reporters the words that would come to define the Broncos’ backfield for two months: “Don’t start counting.”
But as training camp developed, it soon became impossible not to count the names in perhaps the tightest position battle on the roster. J.K. Dobbins was signed as Denver’s potential RB1 late in free agency. RJ Harvey was drafted in the second round to pour in some game-changing juice. Jaleel McLaughlin was back to scamper around. Tyler Badie, Audric Estime and Blake Watson each had their own case for making Denver’s 53-man. And thus, Payton’s tune changed come mid-August.
“You start looking at Badie, and then you start looking at Blake and then Jaleel, Audric,” Payton said after the Broncos’ joint practice with the Cardinals Aug. 14. “You guys can do the math.”
The equation was simple enough: Two of the six needed to be subtracted, with Denver likely to carry four backs into the regular season. And on the day before Tuesday’s roster-cutdown deadline, the Broncos waived Estime and Watson, sources told The Denver Post.
Denver will move forward without its 2024 fifth-round pick if Estime is claimed off waivers. The writing’s been etched on the wall with pencil and then pen and then permanent marker, a short nine months away from the then-rookie pacing Denver in carries against the Chiefs in November. Estime was scratched against Buffalo in January. Then the Broncos drafted Harvey in April. Then they signed Dobbins in June.
Still, Estime was the youngest player on the Broncos’ roster at 21 years old. Still, he offered a power-back frame unique in Denver’s room. Still, he ran for 45 yards on eight carries in the Broncos’ final preseason game against New Orleans, his 227-pound legs not toppling without a fight.
“I feel like I did what I needed to do to put myself in position to be on it, ” Estime said, after the Broncos beat the Saints 28-19. “But end of the day, Sean knows what’s best for this team. And I’m putting my trust in God, and I feel like I did what I needed to do.
“I’m proud of my progression,” he continued. “I definitely got better from last year to this year.”
Watson did, too. The 2024 undrafted free agent signee showcased serious burst and pass-catching chops throughout camp. Still, both were left at the back of the Broncos’ rotation throughout the preseason. And their cuts likely indicate Badie — a 2022 sixth-round pick by the Ravens who’s never once cracked a team’s initial 53-man — has solidified himself as RB4 in Denver.
Maybe higher, too, after Badie’s drawn praise for his pass-catching and pass-protection all camp.
“He can play in the two-minute, and we activated him late in the year at a playoff game,” Payton said Aug. 14. “There’s some savviness to his game.”
Estime and Watson still could both stick around. It would make little sense for the Broncos to turn their back fully on a 21-year-old fifth-round back if he cleared waivers. A source told The Post the club has expressed interest in putting Watson back on their practice squad if he isn’t picked up. But the backfield competition for the active roster is likely over, signaling an equally fascinating competition to come: How will touches be divvied up come Week 1?
Dobbins hasn’t gotten a single carry this preseason, which Payton indicated was by design. Still, the free-agent import should be in line for top touches come Week 1 in a time-share of sorts with Harvey. McLaughlin and Badie, meanwhile, will jockey for change-of-pace and third-down work in a run game that Payton hopes will be “markedly different” from a middling 2024 output.
“It’s not always going to be perfect,” Payton said in mid-August, “but that’s the magic of the good back.”
Broncos cut former starting corner: Denver’s also parting ways with a 2022 fourth-round pick on defense, as a source confirmed to The Post that the Broncos are cutting cornerback Damarri Mathis.
After recording 65 tackles his rookie year, Mathis struggled heavily in 2023 and played just 82 snaps last season. He’s authored a good camp, and could be picked up by a corner-needy team before Wednesday’s waiver deadline. The Broncos, though, were always likely to cut him, as they’ll now save $3.4 million in cap space that they can put toward potential waiver claims.
Other moves: As of Monday evening, the Broncos had made 12 total cuts, which brings their roster total down from 90 to 78: OLB Andrew Farmer, WR Joaquin Davis, CB Micah Abraham, CB Joshua Pickett, OL Clay Webb, OL Xavier Truss, DL Michael Dwumfour, OLB Garrett Nelson, WR Jerjuan Newton, Estime, Watson and Mathis.
Pickett and Watson will both receive injury settlements. Undrafted rookies Davis and Newton are natural practice-squad candidates after strong camps, as are Webb and Truss for offensive-line depth.
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