2021 Denver Broncos season
The 2021 season will be the Denver Broncos' upcoming 52nd season in the National Football League, their 62nd overall, their third under head coach Vic Fangio and their first season under general manager George Paton.
| 2021 Denver Broncos season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Estate of Pat Bowlen |
| Head coach | Vic Fangio |
| General manager | George Paton |
| Home field | Empower Field at Mile High |
| Uniform | |
 | |
Coaching changes
- January 25: Renaldo Hill, the Broncos' defensive backs coach during the previous two seasons, departed to become the Los Angeles Chargers' defensive coordinator.[1]
- February 4: Chris Cook was hired as an offensive quality control coach.[2]
Front office changes
- January 3: During halftime of the Broncos' 2020 regular season finale, director of player personnel Matt Russell announced his retirement, after eight seasons in that role.[3]
- January 4: John Elway announced that he will remain president of football operations, but will relinquish his general manager duties, and led the hiring of a new general manager.[4]
- January 13: George Paton was hired as the new Broncos' general manager. Paton spent the previous 14 seasons in the Minnesota Vikings' front office, including the previous nine seasons as the Vikings' assistant general manager and the last three as vice president of player personnel.[5]
Roster changes
Future contracts
All players listed below were signed to reserve/future contracts on January 4, unless noted otherwise. The signings include all ten players who were on the practice squad of the final roster at the end of the 2020 season. Each player will be officially added to the active roster on March 17—the first day of the 2021 league year.[6]
| Position | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| OT | Quinn Bailey | |
| WR | Trinity Benson | |
| WR | Fred Brown | waived February 2[7] |
| S | Chris Cooper | |
| RB | Jeremy Cox | |
| RB | Damarea Crockett | |
| WR | Kendall Hinton | |
| TE | Jordan Leggett | waived February 2[7] |
| LB | Patrick Morris | signed January 5[8] |
| OT | Darrin Paulo | waived February 2[7] |
| DT | Deyon Sizer |
Unrestricted
| Position | Player | 2021 team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LB | Jeremiah Attaochu | TBD | |
| CB | De'Vante Bausby | TBD | |
| TE | Jake Butt | TBD | |
| LB | Anthony Chickillo | TBD | |
| OT | Demar Dotson | TBD | |
| DT | Shelby Harris | TBD | |
| DT | Joel Heath | TBD | |
| S | Kareem Jackson | TBD | club option |
| LB | Joseph Jones | TBD | |
| LB | Von Miller | TBD | club option |
| S | Will Parks | TBD | |
| S | Justin Simmons | TBD | |
| DE | DeMarcus Walker | TBD | |
| G | Elijah Wilkinson | TBD | |
| DT | Sylvester Williams | TBD |
Restricted and exclusive-rights
| Position | Player | Tag | 2021 team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OT | Calvin Anderson | ERFA | TBD | |
| LB | Austin Calitro | RFA | TBD | |
| DT | Jonathan Harris | ERFA | TBD | |
| LB | A. J. Johnson | RFA | TBD | |
| RB | Phillip Lindsay | RFA | TBD | |
| S | Trey Marshall | RFA | TBD | |
| WR | Tim Patrick | RFA | TBD | |
| G | Austin Schlottmann | ERFA | TBD | |
| WR | Diontae Spencer | ERFA | TBD | |
| CB | Kevin Toliver | RFA | TBD | |
| LB | Josh Watson | RFA | TBD | |
| Restricted Free Agent (RFA): Players with three accrued seasons whose contracts expired at the end of the previous season Exclusive-Rights Free Agent (ERFA): Players with two or fewer accrued seasons whose contracts expired at the end of the previous season | ||||
Signings
On January 10, the Broncos claimed linebacker Natrez Patrick off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams. Patrick will officially join the Broncos' roster on February 8—the day after Super Bowl LV.[9]
Departures
| Position | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DE | Joel Heath | waived February 2[7] |
| S | Alijah Holder | waived February 2[7] |
Suspensions
On December 9, 2020, cornerback A. J. Bouye was suspended for six games—the last four games of 2020 and the first two games in 2021—for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.[10]
Draft
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | |||
| 2 | 40 | |||
| 3 | 71 | |||
| 4 | TBD | |||
| 5 | TBD | |||
| 6 | TBD | |||
| 7 | TBD | |||
| TBD | ||||
| TBD |
Notes
- Exact numbers of the selections from rounds 4–7 will be determined when compensatory selections are awarded at the NFL's annual spring owners' meetings.
Draft trades
| Trade partner | Broncos give | Broncos receive | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | FB Andy Janovich | 2021 seventh-round selection | [11] |
| New York Giants | CB Isaac Yiadom | 2021 seventh-round selection | [12] |
Staff
|
| |||||
Current roster
Preseason
The Broncos' preseason opponents and schedule will be announced in the spring.
Regular season
2021 opponents
Listed below are the Broncos' opponents for 2021. The length of the season is contingent on whether the league expands the regular season from 16 to 17 games. If this happens, a 17th game would match the Broncos against a interconference opponent from one of the three divisions from the NFC that the Broncos are not scheduled to play in 2021, which will be based on division placement from 2020. Early reports indicate that the Detroit Lions would be the Broncos' 17th opponent, though it is unknown as to whether that would be a home, road or neutral game.[13]
Exact dates and times will be announced in the spring.
| Category | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Division opponents (AFC West) | Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers | |
| Conference opponents (AFC North) | Baltimore Ravens Cincinnati Bengals | Cleveland Browns Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Conference opponents (based on 2020 division placement) | New York Jets | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Interconference opponents (NFC East) | Philadelphia Eagles Washington Football Team | Dallas Cowboys New York Giants |
References
- Renck, Troy (January 25, 2021). "Broncos coach Renaldo Hill lands Chargers' defensive coordinator job". ABC Denver. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- DiLalla, Aric (February 4, 2021). "Broncos hire Chris Cook as Offensive Quality Control Coach". Denver Broncos. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- Dilalla, Aric (January 3, 2021). "'I got to work with the all-time greatest Bronco': After announcing retirement, Matt Russell reflects on working alongside John Elway". Denver Broncos. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- Dilalla, Aric (January 4, 2021). "John Elway announces changes to Broncos football operations". Denver Broncos. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- Dilalla, Aric (January 13, 2021). "Broncos agree to terms with George Paton to become general manager". Denver Broncos. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
- DiLalla, Aric (January 4, 2021). "Broncos sign 10 players to future contracts". Denver Broncos. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- DiLalla, Aric (February 2, 2021). "Broncos waive five players". Denver Broncos. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- DiLalla, Aric (January 5, 2021). "Broncos sign OL Patrick Morris to future contract". Denver Broncos. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- Heath, Jon (January 10, 2021). "Broncos will add a linebacker to roster after the Super Bowl". USA Today. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- Legwold, Jeff (December 9, 2020). "Denver Broncos' A.J. Bouye suspended 6 games over PEDs". ESPN. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- O'Halloran, Ryan (March 18, 2020). "Broncos lose center Connor McGovern (Jets), will be trading fullback Andy Janovich (Browns)". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- DiLalla, Aric (September 2, 2020). "Broncos agree to trade CB Isaac Yiadom to Giants". Denver Broncos. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- DiLalla, Aric (January 3, 2021). "Broncos 2021 opponents finalized". Denver Broncos. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
External links
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