By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos are in their bye week. They return to action on November 13th when they hit the road to face the Tennessee Titans. The Denver Broncos’ front office was busy as they made a few trades before the NFL trade deadline which was yesterday at 2 PM Mountain Time.
The Broncos sent Bradly Chubb to Miami. The Broncos received a 1st-round pick and running back Chase Edmonds. Chubb has been with the Denver Broncos since 2018. He was the Broncos’ first-round pick that year, 5th overall. In his rookie season, Chubb totaled 60 tackles and 12 sacks. Going into 2019, the Broncos were anticipating his numbers would improve.
Unfortunately, 2019, was a year to forget for Chubb. He appeared in a career low 4 games. Chubb missed 12 games because he tore his ACL. He wasn’t as productive with 21 tackles and 1 sack. 2020, Chubb recovered from the torn ACL and looked like his old self. He was able to put pressure on the quarterbacks to take them down for sacks and disrupt the opponents’ running game as well. Chubb had 42 tackles and 7.5 sacks.
Last year Chubb only played in 7 games. He was out most of the year because he had surgery to repair a bone spur in his left ankle. Even so, he was not the same player. Chubb totaled 21 tackles and didn’t have a sack. This was the only time in his career to this point Chubb didn’t bring a quarterback down.
This season, Chubb knew he was in a contract year. He needed to prove he could be the player he was in 2018. Chubb has 26 tackles and 5.5 sacks so far. At the trade deadline, the Broncos had a choice, either trade Chubb to get some value or risk losing him in free agency.
The Broncos decided to ship Chubb to the Dolphins for a 1st round pick and running back Chase Edmonds. According to NFL.com, Denver Broncos’ General Manager George Patton said, “We just felt the value was too good, we believe in our young depth, and we believe in our defense. Moving forward, we have other holes to fill on the offensive side of the ball. We would have made this trade regardless.”
The Broncos didn’t have a first round pick before this trade. They let that go when they acquired quarterback Russell Wilson from Seattle. At least they have a 1st-round pick in the upcoming draft. The Broncos are hoping when Randy Gregory is back, his production will be just as good as Chubb’s. Gregory has been out dealing with a knee injury but is expected to be back when Denver travels to Tennessee.
The Broncos also received running back Chase Edmonds in the deal. The Broncos are thin at running back. Jonvate Williams is out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL. Mike Boone may not be back until week 13 when Denver faces the Baltimore Ravens. Boone is dealing with an ankle injury leaving Denver with Latavius Murray and Melvin Gordon as the only running backs on the active roster.
Edmonds is most likely going to be the 3rd running back behind Murray and Gordon. He should see some playing time. This season with the Dolphins, Edmonds touched the ball 42 times, rushing for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns. At least the Broncos have another running back with NFL experience. This is Edmonds’ 5th year in the NFL.
Denver also made a puzzling move. In a trade with the New York Jets Denver received defensive end Jacob Martin and a 5th round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Denver sent the Jets a 4th round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Broncos knew they had a void to fill with Chubb leaving. Martin isn’t the same player Chubb is. Martin has 15 sacks in his career. Chubb has more at 26. Martin is not a pass rusher though. Denver wanted him because of his ability to stop the run. He has totaled 71 tackles in his career.
The Broncos sit at 3-5. They still have a shot at the playoffs. The Broncos are expecting these moves will pay off. They aren’t waving the white flag just yet. There is still time to turn their season around.
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