The Denver Broncos have added another experienced piece to an already crowded secondary, reportedly signing veteran safety Taylor Rapp.
It’s a move that quietly solves a problem the team was going to have to confront anyway: the depth behind the starters at safety was thin. With PJ Locke gone to the Dallas Cowboys in free agency, the Broncos were left with questions in a group that didn’t have much proven insurance beyond the top names. Rapp changes that.
Before the preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons, Denver had already worked Rapp out to see whether he could fit. Roughly a week later, he’s on the roster.
That timing says plenty. Whatever the Broncos were evaluating in camp got reinforced in the preseason game against Atlanta, and the team responded by bringing in a veteran who has real starting experience.
Devon Key appears to have inherited the third safety job behind Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones, but Key’s value on special teams is hard to ignore. He’s a 1st-team All-Pro in that phase, which makes him too important to be treated like a pure backup if injuries hit.
Denver also has Tycen Anderson, the veteran special teamer brought over from the Bengals as the team’s lone free agent addition earlier this offseason. So far, though, Anderson hasn’t made a strong case as a backup safety. The Broncos also spent a seventh-round pick on Illinois safety Miles Scott, a player with upside but still a longer development path ahead of him.
That’s where Rapp fits. He gives the Broncos a more stable option if the depth chart gets tested, and that matters with both Hufanga and Jones carrying injury histories. Jones missed time last year with a pectoral injury, and Hufanga has missed significant time over the course of his career.
Rapp brings a lot of game experience with him. He started 17 games for the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in 2021, then spent the past two seasons as a full-time starter for the Buffalo Bills when healthy. He also dealt with an injury last August, played through it for nearly two months, and then was shut down for the rest of the season.
Now healthy, he gives Denver a proven option on the back end.
His career line tells the story too: 488 tackles, 12 interceptions, and three playoff games. In his most recent postseason appearance, a tight win over the Baltimore Ravens in the 2024-25 playoffs, he grabbed an interception.
For a Broncos team already loaded in the secondary, this is the kind of move that strengthens the room without forcing anyone out of place. It also means 53-man roster projections will need another look.
In Other News...
Broncos Have A Real Super Bowl Shot But Two Risks Loom
The Broncos enter the 2026 season with a far different kind of ceiling than they had during the Russell Wilson dead-cap drag, and that alone changes the conversation around what this roster can become. With the financial burden finally gone and a strong group in place, Denver can legitimately talk about contending in a way that felt out of reach not long ago.
Even so, the path to a Super Bowl is rarely clean, especially in a conference that still figures to run through familiar heavyweights like Kansas City, Baltimore and Cincinnati. Denver also has to prove last years string of close wins was more than a good run of fortune, and there is still some unknown attached to Davis Webbs first season calling the offense. The pieces are there for a real push, but the Broncos still have to show they can handle the pressure points that usually decide these seasons. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Have Several Roster Fights That May Be Decided This Week
The Broncos are moving into a stretch where preseason snaps carry a little more weight than usual, with their second exhibition game against the Packers coming at the same time the roster cutdown deadline starts to loom. Several spots still look unsettled, and the next few practices and game reps should go a long way toward sorting out who sticks on the 53-man roster and who gets pushed into the practice squad conversation.
At quarterback, Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger are still vying for position, while the back end of the roster remains open at running back, tight end, linebacker and safety. Denver also has to factor in the recent addition of Taylor Rapp at safety and a linebacker group dealing with an injury, which only adds to the pressure on players trying to make their case in these final preseason games. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Still Have One Unsettling Question About Jahdae Barron
Jahdae Barron has already given the Broncos a glimpse of why he was their top pick in 2025, but the early path to a defined role has not been simple. With Riley Moss and JaQuan McMillian also in the mix, Barron is battling for snaps in a secondary that suddenly has more answers than openings, and that has made his fit one of the more interesting issues hanging over Denvers defense.
Vance Joseph has talked about Barron in terms of versatility, with the rookie working at multiple spots in the back end rather than locking into one lane. Sean Payton has also pushed back on any notion of shifting him to safety, which keeps the focus on how the Broncos sort out their corners now and later, especially with future contract decisions looming for Moss and McMillian. Chris Harris Jr. has weighed in on Barrons development, but the bigger question remains whether Denver can turn all that flexibility into a clear starting job soon. [Read more 🡒]