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The Denver Broncos could be looking to add more depth to their pass-rushing unit after hosting a handful of free agents for workouts on Thursday.
According to the NFL’s official transaction wire for August 3, the Broncos worked out former Kansas City Chiefs second-round defensive end Breeland Speaks, outside linebackers Chris Garrett and Olasunkanmi “Ola” Adeniyi and inside linebacker Austin Ajiake — the last of whom was officially signed to their 90-man roster later in the day.
The Broncos added the rookie Ajiake to their roster on the same day they were forced to place veteran inside linebacker Jonas Griffith on season-ending injured reserve. According to head coach Sean Payton, the 26-year-old sustained an ACL injury after stepping on another player’s foot during special teams drills on Tuesday, August 2.
Now, they will pivot to molding a new rookie, one who recorded 132 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions in his final collegiate season for UNLV.
“We liked him,” Payton said of Ajiake on Friday. “We felt like he had good athletic traits. We felt like he could help us in the kicking game. We brought him back for a workout with the other guys, and we thought he did pretty well.”
It remains to be seen if the Broncos will sign anyone else from Thursday’s workout group; although any of the remaining three would simply be additions for depth.
Breeland Speaks Was Top 50 Pick for Chiefs in 2018
Speaks is easily the most notable among the other workout players. He was the No. 46 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft and played in all 16 games as a rookie, generating 24 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries despite playing out of position at outside linebacker for the Chiefs. A rough follow-up year marred by weight issues, injuries and a four-game suspension kept Speaks from playing in 2019, though.
Despite his high draft selection, Speaks was placed on the waivers at the conclusion of his third training camp with the Chiefs after failing to make the 53-man roster cut. He has since spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills, but the only playing time he has received came with his recent stint with the USFL Michigan Panthers, for whom he notched three sacks and seven tackles.
The Broncos might be interested in seeing whether there is any untapped potential left in Speaks even with his failures to launch in his previous NFL tries. While they beefed up their defensive end room with the offseason signings of Zach Allen and Frank Clark, they could still use more depth vying for spots in the rotation, especially after losing Eyioma Uwazurike for at least a year to an indefinite suspension linked to gambling.
Olasunkanmi Adeniyi Had 2.5 Sacks for Titans in 2021
If the Broncos are also interested in adding to their outside linebacker room, Adeniyi could potentially have some developmental appeal to them as a pass rusher.
Adeniyi is well-traveled for an outside linebacker who is still just 25. He has mostly been a special teams player for the bulk of his 51 career games, but he did have a small breakthrough during his 2021 season with the Tennessee Titans, recording 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits and 21 total tackles over 16 games.
Alas, Adeniyi was unable to replicate that success in 2022, getting undercut by a midseason neck injury before getting waived from the roster in mid-December.
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