Story update: The Jacksonville Jaguars claimed Josh Reynolds off waivers on Wednesday. See our original post below.
The Denver Broncos waived veteran wide receiver Josh Reynolds on Tuesday, a move that will allow him to play elsewhere down the stretch.
The deadline to activate Reynolds (finger) from injured reserve was Wednesday and if the Broncos did not activate him to the 53-man roster or cut him, he would have spent the rest of the 2024 season on IR.
It was a surprising move to see Denver part ways with the receiver, but coach Sean Payton is clearly happy with Courtland Sutton, Devaughn Vele, Marvin Mims, Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Troy Franklin at receiver. Reynolds will now get a chance to catch on elsewhere instead of being shelved.
The move will also save the Broncos salary cap space in 2025.
Reynolds received a $2 million signing bonus that was prorated as $1 million cap hits over two years when he signed this spring. So he will have a $1 million “dead money” salary cap hit in 2025, but his $3,990,000 base salary and $510,000 roster bonus will not count against the team’s books.
That will give Denver a net savings of $4.5 million in extra salary cap space next spring, according to OverTheCap.com. Given that Reynolds will turn 30 in February, it was probably an easy decision for the Broncos.
Sutton remains the team’s WR1 and rookies Vele and Franklin have shown promise this season while Mims has seen his role increase in Year 2. Expect the team to add reinforcements in 2025 as the youth movement continues.
