The Broncos took a closer look at the edge-rusher room on Thursday, but the workout list did not include Von Miller.
Per 9NEWS’ Mike Klis, Denver brought in former Raiders outside linebacker Andre Carter II and undrafted rookie outside linebacker Devean Deal as the team keeps sorting through options during training camp.
Carter entered the league undrafted in 2023 and has since made the rounds, with stops with the Vikings, Raiders, Dolphins, Lions, and most recently the Commanders.
At Army, the 6-foot-6, 256-pound defender put together a standout 2021 season and earned third-team All-American honors. He finished that year with 15.5 sacks, 18.5 tackles for loss, and four forced fumbles.
Before the draft, NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein gave Carter a projected fifth- to sixth-round grade and described him this way: "Long and rangy, Carter is currently best suited as a 3-4 rush linebacker on passing downs, but is likely to develop into an every-down player with additional growth both physically and technically," Zierlein wrote. "Carter needs to play with more skilled hands and inject a little more glass into his on-field diet in order to meet force with force when the run game comes downhill at him.
His explosive get-off and natural bend/agility at the top of the rush are enough to create early opportunities for himself as a quarterback hunter. Carter might need a longer runway to meet his potential, but if does his pass-rush homework, he could take a substantial leap forward as an odd or even front edge rusher by Year 3."
Denver’s decision to kick the tires on Carter and Deal looks like part of the usual camp process, especially with key reserve OLB Dondrea Tillman dealing with a minor injury and starter Nik Bonitto missing practice Wednesday before briefly returning Thursday.
Neither player ended up signing after the workout, which lines up with the Broncos’ current situation at the position. Edge rusher remains one of the deepest spots on the roster.
Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper sit at the top of the depth chart, with Tillman behind them, and then come two young players who have been turning heads in camp: Jonah Elliss and Que Robinson.
On Wednesday, Sean Payton pointed to Robinson’s technique and background, saying, “There were certain traits you saw on film. He’s a real good technician, and he’s one of those guys that we know has been coached hard," Payton said of Robinson on Wednesday.
"We felt coming into this defense from what he was playing in, there were some similarities to what we were going to ask him to do. I think that’s a help.”
Payton also explained his thinking on Elliss on Aug. 1: “All the cut-up tape, his production, his ball disruption, it just, for me, felt like, ‘Man, we’re taking a position that’s harder to find, and moving him to a position that we think might be a little bit easier to replace.’ That’s not to say that we can’t package a few things, but I think we felt like he’s really ascending as an edge player, and we didn’t want to disrupt that.”
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