Wide receiver Brandon Johnson, one of the last players remaining in the locker room Sunday after the Denver Broncos' preseason finale win over the Arizona Cardinals, faced a largely empty room, his matter-of-fact expression cloaking whatever nerves he had about what the near-future might hold.
"It can be stressful, but it is what you make of it," Johnson said. "... Whatever's going to happen is going to happen."
Johnson knew how things could play out at wide receiver and running back when it was time to reduce the Broncos' roster from 91 players to 53 by Tuesday's deadline. It wasn't exactly a coded, encrypted message.
Broncos coach Sean Payton had issued warning after warning, basically from Memorial Day on, that the team's decisions at those positions were going to be "very, very difficult." And they were, with several familiar names caught in the jetwash of Payton's makeover heading into his second season in Denver.
When the dust of the decisions had cleared, four of the nine wide receivers and running backs were rookies -- with two others entering their second season -- set to play alongside another rookie in quarterback Bo Nix.
"Sean has said it a number of times, we're young and hungry, and that was before the cuts," general manager George Paton said earlier this week.
Wide receiver Tim Patrick, who missed back-to-back seasons with injuries and was one of the team's most important veteran voices, was released to end a Broncos career that started in 2018. Also released were fellow receivers Lil'Jordan Humphrey, who played 40% of the team's offensive snaps last season, and Johnson, who finished second on the team in touchdown receptions in 2023.
"On behalf of everyone in the organization, I just can't say enough great things about the type of player, the person, Tim Patrick while he has been a Bronco for the past seven seasons," Paton said. "... They've all produced at different times in camp and the offseason, we thought one through 12 [at receiver] could play in a game, so how do you get down to five? ... it's hard."
Running back Samaje Perine, who was often the Broncos' back of choice in the two-minute drill because of his ability to pass protect and catch passes out of the backfield, was also let go. League sources said Monday the Broncos had tried to trade both Patrick and Perine before the cut-down deadline -- they had received some interest in Patrick, in particular -- but couldn't find a trade partner for either.
The two position groups also serve a window into a concerted effort by the Broncos to get younger at most positions. While the defensive line added veterans such as John Franklin-Myers (trade with the Jets) and Malcolm Roach (free agency), youth dictated many of Denver's roster decisions, especially at the skill positions.
The Broncos used two picks in this past April's draft on wide receivers: Troy Franklin in the fourth round and Devaughn Vele in the seventh. Both players made the roster, with Vele forcing his way on after a particularly strong training camp. Since the Broncos only kept five receivers at the cut to 53, there were only three spots available to veterans.
Those spots were spoken for pretty early, as the Broncos signed Josh Reynolds in free agency to add to leading receiver Courtland Sutton and second-year man Marvin Mims Jr., who made the Pro Bowl as a returner last season.
"It's hard, they've all got their different skillset, and I know we'd like to keep more than we're going to be able to keep," said offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi last week. "... You become attached to some of these guys. You see how hard they're working and that they're playing well. They say it's a good problem to have, but it's still a problem figuring out who you're going to keep."
The Broncos kept four running backs -- Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime and Blake Watson. Perine, who played 360 snaps on offense last season for the Broncos (36% of the team's total), found himself out after the Broncos chose two rookies in Estime and the undrafted Watson. Estime, a fifth-round pick whom Payton has said was the Broncos' most highly rated after-contact runner on the draft board, is on track to get plenty of work if the Broncos are as productive running the ball as Payton wants them to be.
Since the offseason program opened in April, Payton has said he expected to have a young team when the Broncos exited the preseason. And with the regular-season opener at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 8 the next item on the docket, the Broncos will enter with a youthful wave of skill-position talent.
"We're just trying to put together our best 53 and win, regardless of youth," Paton said. "... But we don't mind young players, that's for sure."