The Denver Broncos have struggled with the injury bug all throughout training camp, and the inside linebackers have been hit the worst. Alex Singleton broke his thumb early on, an injury that required a procedure, Dre Greenlaw aggravated a leg muscle and Drew Sanders underwent foot surgery to fix a ligament issue. As a result, Levelle Bailey was seeing a lot of reps with the first-team defense all throughout training camp.
On Tuesday, the Broncos waived Bailey ahead of the 53-man roster deadline in a move that was surprising to many.
Surprise. Broncos have waived ILB Levelle Bailey per source. Had worked with 1s most of camp and preseason with injuries to Greenlaw and Singleton.
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) August 26, 2025
Bailey, 24, led the Broncos defense in tackles this preseason with 12. He seemed to be making plays that were going to keep him around as a backup throughout the season, but Sean Payton and the rest of the Broncos brass had other thoughts. Denver picked him up as an undrafted free agent in the spring after he put up a solid career at Fresno State in which he recorded 277 tackles in 58 games.
Greenlaw and Singleton and Justin Strnad are likely going to be the top-three among the group when the cuts are all said and done this afternoon (2:00 p.m.). With Sanders likely going to the IR to start the season, that means that the door is now open for Karene Reid to take the last inside linebacker spot on the roster. Among the undrafted rookies that the Broncos picked up earlier in the offseason, Reid had the second-highest guarantee ($249,000). He has posted eight total tackles and an interception so far in the preseason.
The Broncos have made plenty of moves ahead of the roster deadline, but still have a handful of tough decisions to make in the final hours. Stay up to date with all the Broncos’ moves at DenverSports.com.