Elway has expanded his presence in Colorado with four different restaurants across the state. Getty)
It looks like the Denver Broncos won’t be bringing back their former punter after all.
Not long after the Cleveland Browns surprisingly released Britton Colquitt, there was immediately speculation that the Broncos could be in play to add their former starting punter of six years.
However, Woody Paige of the Colorado Springs Gazette ruled out any possibility of a return — despite the fact that the Broncos have an open roster spot.
“A bunch of ex-Broncos have been thrust into the open market, but Elway won’t revisit first-round draft picks Paxton Lynch and Shane Ray, or Brandon Marshall, Kayvon Webster, De’Angelo Henderson, Britton Colquitt and A.J. Derby. Marshall might be a popular choice, except to those who questioned his National Anthem kneeing. Brock Osweiler is not coming back for a third stint.”
Colquitt was released by the Browns after losing the starting punter job to Jamie Gillan — an undrafted rookie free agent from Scotland.
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Britton Colquitt Was One of the League’s Top Punters
Although he had played for the Browns the past three seasons, Colquitt originally starred for the Broncos from 2010 until 2015, initially being signed as a no-name free agent towards the end of the 2009 season. The University of Tennessee product ended up emerging as one of the league’s top punters in Denver and established franchise records along the way, including yards per punt (45.17), single season (47.36 in 2011) and in a single game (55.83 in 2011).
The 34-year-old Colquitt was a member of the Broncos squad that won Super Bowl 50.
Despite poor play from the special teams unit throughout the preseason, it looks as if the Broncos are committed to Colby Wadman as their punter. Wadman was originally the team’s practice squad punter before he was promoted to the active roster after replacing Pro Bowler Marquette King just a few weeks into the 2018 season.
The 24-year-old Wadman ranked just 29th in the NFL among all qualifying punters in net average (37.9) and his punting average ranked just 22nd (44.7) in the league. Furthermore, just 33.8 percent of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard-line — ranking 20th in the league. He also had 20.8 percent of his punts go in for touchbacks — fourth in the NFL, showing a lack of ability to pinpoint punts before reaching the end zone.
With all of that said, Wadman is earning just $570,000 for the season — ranking 23rd in the league. By comparison, Colquitt was due to earn $2.7 million — the sixth-highest salary for any punter in the NFL this season.
It’s safe to say that president of football operations John Elway is choosing to be thrifty — rather than productive — with his punters.
Broncos Bringing Back Another Former Player to Fill Out Roster
The player that is likely to fill out the last spot on the Broncos’ 53-man roster is none other than former special teams player Corey Nelson. Nelson was a member of the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 squad and actually had a special teams tackle in the victory over the Carolina Panthers. The 27-year-old Nelson will visit with the Broncos, as confirmed by Elway.
Due to an injury to starting linebacker Todd Davis, the Broncos have some needed depth at the linebacker position. Nelson entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft selection in 2014 and totaled 104 tackles during his four seasons in Denver. He had a breakthrough season in 2016 when he racked up a career-high 67 tackles while starting five games.
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