The Saints-Broncos pipeline remains active, as Sean Payton prepares for his second season in Denver. The longtime New Orleans HC will bring in one of his former defensive linemen.
Malcolm Roach is heading to Denver on a two-year deal worth up to $8MM, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The Broncos have two eight-figure-per-year contracts on their defensive line, but the team has some depth questions behind the Zach Allen–D.J. Jones duo. Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette notes Roach drew interest from the Rams, Cardinals, Bills and Bengals. Instead, he will continue playing under Payton.
Roach’s Saints role did not change much during his four-season Louisiana run. Starting five games in that time, Roach worked primarily as a rotational defensive lineman. Payton was in place when the Saints signed Roach as a UDFA; the Texas alum has only played for the Saints. Roach will join ex-college teammates Caden Sterns, P.J. Locke and Brandon Jones on Denver’s defense, with Payton also obviously being a familiar face.
Pro Football Focus viewed Roach as a lower-end D-tackle from 2020-22 but viewed him as an improved product last year, slotting the four-year veteran just outside the top 25 among interior D-linemen. Roach, 25, totaled a career-high 38 tackles (three for loss) last season while batting down three passes. Roach stands to help the Broncos in run defense, having logged those numbers last season despite missing five games. While skewed by a brutal start, the Broncos’ defense ranked 30th against the run last year.
Roach will join a Broncos team that saw 2022 starter Jonathan Harris hit free agency. Denver has Matt Henningsen still under contract, though 2022 fourth-rounder Eyioma Uwazurike‘s NFL future is in doubt after the gambling suspension he received last summer.