According to ESPN’s lead NFL insider, Adam Schefter, the Denver Broncos are signing wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey off the New York Giants practice squad and on to their 53-man roster. He adds that Humphrey is expected to be active and play during Sunday’s pivotal matchup vs. the Chiefs.
As we know, Humphrey played for the Broncos the past two seasons and is very familiar with Sean Payton’s offense. He signed with the New York Giants this offseason, but with him being on their practice squad, the Broncos decided to bring him back and insert him back into their offense.
While he may not be the flashiest wide receiver, he does do a lot of the dirty work that Payton likes from his receiver. One of those things is blocking, which has not been the greatest for the Broncos recently. The team signed veteran Trent Sherfield Sr. to replace Humphrey, but that apparently has not been working out. With Schefter saying he’ll be active on Sunday, I anticipate we’ll see him out there as a blocker, play some special teams, and produce as a pass-catcher on occasion.
Hopefully, he can help the Broncos’ screen game come back to life.
It will be interesting to see how the wide receiver room shakes out after this addition. Courtland Sutton will be unbothered by this, but we have seen Franklin, Mims, and rookie Pat Bryant all receive snaps throughout the year. If Humphrey returns to the role he had previously, someone is going to lose some snaps. Remember, he had a 50% snap share last season for the Broncos, so it’ll be interesting to see how he’ll be used moving forward.
At the end of the day, I don’t hate this addition. Humphrey has made some plays during his time with the Broncos, but most importantly, you know what you’re getting as a blocker. Too many of the Broncos’ screen plays have been blown up due to poor blocking, so hopefully, Lil’Jordan can help with that.
