The Denver Broncos held a rookie minicamp from May 8-10 to get acquainted with their new rookie draft picks and unsigned free agents. But in the process, the Broncos brought in a handful of veterans and unsigned rookie free agents on a tryout basis.
Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Michael Woods II did enough to impress the coaching staff to earn himself a contract and a spot on the 90-man roster.
Woods played at Arkansas and Oklahoma during his college career before being taken in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by Cleveland. He spent two seasons there, catching 12 passes for 110 yards. After being waived by the Browns last July with an injury settlement, he spent about a month on the practice squad of the Green Bay Packers.
The 6-foot-1 wide receiver made the most of his tryout opportunity, becoming the 13th wide receiver on the Broncos' 90-man roster. That might be the number the team wanted all along, as rookie free agent Sean Brown out of Charlotte initially agreed to a contract, but those plans later changed when it was deemed that Brown hadn't recovered fully from a foot injury.
Woods caught 118 passes for 1,648 yards and 12 touchdowns during his college career. With the Broncos deep at the wide receiver position, he will have a tough time climbing the ladder this preseason, but he could be a player the team stashes on the practice squad to further develop.
Broncos also add defensive back Paul Manning
In addition to signing Woods, the Broncos awarded a contract to former Henderson State defensive back Paul Manning.
Henderson State is a Division II school and Manning will be joining a deep group at the cornerback position. Manning has good size at 6-foot-1 and now joins one of the better secondaries in the NFL.
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The Broncos will now need to release two players to get back down to the 90-man roster limit. If the team looks to drop players at the same positions, undrafted wide receivers Dane Key, Kolbe Katsis, Joseph Manjack and Cam Ross would be the top candidates and at cornerback, Ahmari Harvey, Brent Austin and William Wright were also brought in as undrafted signees.
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