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Riley Moss

AFC West Notes: Moss, Raiders, Chargers

December 5th, 2024 at 3:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Broncos were able to contain Jerry Jeudy when they opted to use All-Pro Patrick Surtain on their former receiver, the first-year Browns contributor otherwise preyed on the team’s primary Riley Moss replacement during a dominant Monday-night showing. Free agency addition Levi Wallace struggled mightily, leading to a late-game benching and exposing an issue for a Broncos defense that had entered the game as one of the NFL’s best. The Broncos have seen Moss deliver quality play in his first season as a starter, but an MCL sprain sidelined him for Week 13. It is not certain Moss will be ready to return after Denver’s bye week.

The 2023 third-round pick is slated to need “a couple” weeks to return, with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler pointing to a re-emergence against the Colts next week being in play but perhaps not a certainty. A two-week absence from an MCL sprain would be on the short end as far as recoveries go. A long-term lens reveals the Broncos nabbing an important contributor in Moss, given the looks the team’s non-Surtain corners see, but a woeful coverage effort Monday exposes a short-term issue for the wild-card contender. Denver used fifth-round rookie Kris Abrams-Draine, making his season debut, late in the game, playing him ahead of third-year cog Damarri Mathis.

Here is the latest from the AFC West:

  • When Antonio Pierce fired OC Luke Getsy, the Raiders installed Scott Turner as the interim play-caller. They also brought veteran Norv Turner out of retirement, with Scott indicating (via ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez) he spearheaded that effort. Norv, a three-time HC and Super Bowl-winning OC, had been out of the NFL since 2020. The 72-year-old coach is currently staying with his son in Las Vegas, as the Raiders attempt to find solutions on offense amid a rough season.
  • Norv Turner makes three former HCs on Pierce’s Vegas staff, joining Joe Philbin and Marvin Lewis. The Raiders also kept DC Patrick Graham around from Josh McDaniels‘ brief HC run while adding Getsy — the team’s second choice for OC after Kliff Kingsbury backed out during negotiations — as the top voice on offense. Getsy’s quick firing and how Pierce pieced his first staff together has drawn some internal pessimism, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. Not having much NFL coaching experience nor possessing any college HC seasoning made Pierce a historic outlier in terms of NFL HCs, and it limited his coaching tree’s reach. Pierce leaned on his former Giants HC, Tom Coughlin, for guidance in assembling his first staff. Thus far, the Raiders are 2-10, having lost eight straight. Regardless of players’ push to have Pierce move to HC, Mark Davis is likely considering making the former interim boss a one-and-done as the full-time leader.
  • Ladd McConkey is battling two sprains presently. The blossoming Chargers rookie has been playing through an AC joint sprain, with Fowler adding he picked up a knee sprain against the Falcons. Jim Harbaugh was vague about the second-round wideout’s status for Sunday’s Chiefs rematch, but McConkey did log a limited practice Wednesday. McConkey, whom the team traded up for in April, has 401 more receiving yards (815) than the next-closest Charger.
  • J.K. Dobbins will not be part of the Chargers-Chiefs rematch, being placed on IR due to a sprained knee. Prior to going down, however, the resurgent running back picked up a $150K bonus by clearing 600 rushing yards for the season, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The injury-prone RB signed a one-year, $1.61MM deal this offseason. The team has Gus Edwards, tied to a more lucrative deal, and sixth-round rookie Kimani Vidal as its top backs on the 53-man roster.

Broncos CB Damarri Mathis Generating Trade Interest

August 26th, 2024 at 6:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Broncos veterans are coming up in trades talks, as Sean Payton is set to move on from Tim Patrick and Samaje Perine. Another position group has attracted some interest as well.

The team went through a cornerback competition in training camp — to see who would start on the boundary opposite Patrick Surtain. This battle would not have been necessary had Damarri Mathis, who started for most of 2022 in place of an injured Ronald Darby, held onto the job last season. But Vance Joseph benched the 2022 fourth-rounder, leading to a competition forming this offseason.

Denver, which did not re-sign primary 2023 CB2 starter Fabian Moreau, has nevertheless received trade calls on Mathis, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. It does not look like the third-year corner is going anywhere, however. The Broncos are planning to keep the Pittsburgh alum, per Fowler, with an injury intervening as well. Mathis sustained a high ankle sprain against the Cardinals on Sunday, 9News’ Mike Klis adds.

Mathis was set to make Denver’s 53-man roster, Klis adds, though this would have come as a backup. Riley Moss has primarily worked as the Broncos’ starter as of late; the 2023 third-rounder had been viewed as the frontrunner going into camp. Denver also signed ex-Bills and Steelers starter Levi Wallace as veteran insurance. He is expected to make the 53-man roster, with fifth-round rookie Kris Abrams-Draine also set to earn a spot.

The Broncos had Darby in place as their primary Surtain complementary piece in 2022, but a season-ending injury led to Mathis making 11 starts that season. After Mathis had held his own under Ejiro Evero in 2022, Denver benched Mathis six games into last season. Pro Football Focus rated the 5-foot-11 defender as the league’s second-worst CB regular in 2023, though teams still appeared curious about his potential. Two years remain on Mathis’ rookie deal.

As of now, the Broncos are likely to roll out a Surtain-Moss-Ja’Quan McMillian trio at corner. It remains to be seen if the team will carry Mathis onto its 53-man roster or use one of its two early IR-return slots. If the Broncos place Mathis on IR before finalizing their 53-man roster, they would lose one of their eight IR activations before the season starts.

Zach Wilson Losing Ground In Broncos’ QB Competition

August 1st, 2024 at 6:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

This week of Broncos practices has revealed a separation in the team’s quarterback competition. One member of the three-man battle is losing ground to the point his place in it is now in question.

The team’s recent workouts included Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix receiving their turns with the first-string offense, but Zach Wilson saw his turn with the 1s skipped. For the time being, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold, this appears a two-man competition. Sean Payton said recently the Broncos would eliminate a member from the competition during the first two weeks of padded practices. It looks like Wilson will be the one dropped, putting his roster spot in question.

[RELATED: Offseason In Review: Denver Broncos]

Payton indicated today the current makeup of Denver’s QB competition is not “etched in stone,” and SI.com’s Albert Breer adds it has been communicated to the former Jets No. 2 overall pick he is not yet out of this race. But Wilson entered training camp with ground to cover to win even the backup job. Early camp work is continuing this storyline.

No plans to stash Nix as a developmental third-stringer are in place, and Breer adds the No. 12 overall pick is swiftly picking up Payton’s offense. That said, Legwold indicates Stidham has spent most of this week with Denver’s first-stringers. Stidham, who has moved into a starting role after two teams have sat their starters (Russell Wilson, Derek Carr) due to injury guarantees, has the most experience of the trio in Payton’s offense, as he signed a two-year, $10MM deal with the Broncos last March.

Stidham, 28 next week, would appear a placeholder at best. Nix being 24 and having set the record for most starts by a Division I-FBS quarterback (61) points to him making his starter debut early in the season — if not in Week 1. The preseason will be telling regarding the Oregon- and Auburn-developed prospect’s chances of winning this job — though, a midsummer report indicated it is likely his to lose — but Stidham should not be expected to hold him off for too long.

The Broncos would take on $2.73MM in dead money by releasing Zach Wilson and $2MM by cutting Stidham. Payton typically keeps two QBs on his active roster. Wilson would need to clear waivers to factor into any Broncos practice squad/emergency QB3 plans.

Elsewhere in Broncos camp, Breer notes the team’s No. 2 cornerback competition looks to be down to Riley Moss and Damarri Mathis. The team signed Levi Wallace and used a fifth-round pick on Kris Abrams-Draine, but this competition appeared Moss’ to lose entering camp.

The 2023 third-rounder, for whom the Broncos sent the Seahawks a 2024 third-rounder to acquire, played a special teams role after a core muscle injury set his development back last summer. Mathis, a 2022 fourth-rounder who replaced Ronald Darby as Denver’s outside CB starter opposite Patrick Surtain in 2022, struggled to start last season and was benched for Fabian Moreau. Wallace is the veteran of this group, with Moreau signing with the Vikings this week, but he was unable to hold a Steelers starting gig last season. The Broncos, who have Mathis signed through 2025 and Moss through 2026, only guaranteed Wallace $668K.

Broncos’ Riley Moss ‘Firmly In Mix’ To Start

June 20th, 2024 at 6:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos have identified a star cornerback in Patrick Surtain; the fourth-year player is a clear extension candidate. Last season also featured the emergence of slot defender Ja’Quan McMillian. With two regular spots locked down, Denver will still go into training camp with uncertainty at the position.

After Week 1 starter Damarri Mathis did not pan out in DC Vance Joseph‘s first season back with the team, the Broncos received better play from replacement Fabian Moreau. The latter is no longer on the roster, opening the door to a CB2 battle featuring a host of players. While none appears a true frontrunner, the team’s investment in Riley Moss remains notable.

Denver sent Seattle a 2024 third-round pick to trade up for the Iowa corner in the 2023 third round, but an offseason injury — requiring sports hernia surgery — sidetracked the rookie’s season. Moss played only 23 defensive snaps last year, but he is a clear candidate to man the boundary spot opposite Surtain. Moss is “firmly in the mix” for the job, per the Denver Post’s Troy Renck, with colleague Parker Gabriel indicating the second-year CB will be given every chance to land the gig after an impressive offseason.

Moss’ primary competitors appear to be Mathis and free agency addition Levi Wallace. Mathis replaced an injured Ronald Darby in Denver’s lineup early in the 2022 season but could not sustain his momentum last year. The former fourth-round pick did not exceed nine defensive snaps in any game following his Week 7 benching, playing zero snaps in six of the team’s final seven contests.

Wallace, who turned 29 last week, spent the past two seasons with the Steelers. An ex-Bills starter, Wallace also saw his role change in-season. The former UDFA shifted to a backup role midseason and did not return to starter duty until injuries affected Pittsburgh’s depth chart in late December. Pro Football Focus rated Wallace 88th among CBs last season, and despite a reduced workload, the six-year veteran allowed six touchdown passes as the closest defender.

The Broncos will give the 6-foot defender a chance to bounce back, though they only authorized a one-year deal worth $1.29MM ($668K guaranteed). Denver also drafted Missouri’s Kris Abrams-Draine in the fifth round, but he may not be thrown into the mix immediately.

The team’s positional makeup ahead of camp points to Moss being the preferred option. He was drafted under Sean Payton — whereas Mathis arrived during the Nathaniel Hackett-Ejiro Evero year — to play in Joseph’s scheme. The Broncos moved up 25 draft slots to acquire Moss, giving up one of their 2024 third-round picks — they received another from the Saints in the swap for Payton’s rights — to obtain him.

A former Iowa high school 110-meter hurdles champion, Moss moved from two-star recruit to Hawkeyes regular. The 6-foot defender intercepted 11 passes in his five college seasons, playing alongside Eagles second-round pick Cooper DeJean. Moss earned first-team All-Big Ten acclaim in 2021 and ’22.

Moss will obviously be attempting to break norms as a white NFL cornerback; no team has started a white corner since the Bengals’ Kevin Kaesviharn in 2003, Renck adds. Kaesviharn moved to safety soon after, spending much of his nine-year career there. Jason Sehorn, a Giants starter from 1996-2002, resides as the NFL’s last long-term white CB.

Whomever the Broncos decide to use as their primary CB2 starter will certainly be tested regularly, as teams will undoubtedly target the to-be-determined player with Surtain patrolling the other side. Moss showing he can stick at the position would give the Broncos a low-cost answer opposite Surtain, who could make a case to become the NFL’s highest-paid CB by a wide margin — considering the current gap between the wide receiver ceiling and the top CB number ($21MM AAV presently) — this offseason or in 2025.

If this competition underwhelms, the Broncos would have some options — should they seek more outside help. Adoree’ Jackson remains unsigned, as do Xavien Howard, Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson and likely Hall of Famer Patrick Peterson. Though, Peterson and Gilmore will each turn 34 soon. It stands to reason most of this lot will find jobs soon. Considering the Broncos’ situation, it would not exactly surprise to see them connected to one of them.

Broncos’ Jerry Jeudy To Return In Week 2

September 15th, 2023 at 3:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos will have their top wide receiver available in Week 2. Jerry Jeudy faced a return timetable of “several weeks” upon suffering a hamstring injury on Aug. 24, but he will make it back after missing just one regular-season game.

Sean Payton said Jeudy is good to go for Sunday’s Commanders-Broncos game. This will help a team that finished its opener without three of its top four pass catchers. Tim Patrick is set to miss another full season, and tight end Greg Dulcich suffered a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out multiple weeks.

Jeudy is going into his fourth NFL season. While the former first-round pick has missed the fewest number of games, Jeudy setbacks have been part of an injury-prone pass-catching cast’s health history. The Broncos have seen Patrick suffer multiple season-ending maladies during training camp and Sutton go down with an ACL tear in Week 2 of the 2020 season. KJ Hamler sustained an ACL tear in Week 3 of the 2021 campaign and missed much of last season as well. A Hamler heart issue led the Broncos to waive the former second-round pick, with the prospect of a reunion in play, during camp this year.

The No. 15 overall pick in 2020, Jeudy missed much of the 2021 season because of a high ankle sprain. He showed progress down the stretch of last year’s abysmal Broncos season. The shifty route runner totaled 67 receptions for 972 yards and six touchdowns last year, putting together a strong finish to provide a glimmer of hope after the Broncos’ Russell Wilson–Nathaniel Hackett season ended with the team dropping to last place in scoring.

Denver picked up Jeudy’s $12.99MM fifth-year option in May, doing so after dangling him in trades. With Patrick out of the picture, both Jeudy and fellow offseason trade chip Courtland Sutton will be needed. Denver needed to use the likes of Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Brandon Johnson and Phillip Dorsett alongside Sutton and second-round rookie Marvin Mims against the Raiders. Jeudy returning should provide a boost to the 0-1 team, which did present a more respectable passing attack in Week 1. The Broncos’ progress stalled in the second half, however.

In addition to Jeudy, third-round rookie Riley Moss will make his season debut in Week 2. The Broncos traded up for the Iowa cornerback in April, sending the Seahawks a 2024 third-round pick to climb up for Moss at No. 83. The 6-foot-1 defender, who underwent core muscle surgery this summer, will join a Broncos cornerback corps missing slot defender K’Waun Williams. While All-Pro Patrick Surtain anchors this group, the Broncos have questions at their other corner spots.

NFL Injury Updates: Kupp, Moss, Anderson

August 2nd, 2023 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

Last night, the Rams suffered a scare as former All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp left a Tuesday night practice early with a hamstring injury, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The veteran underwent an MRI to determine the extent of the damage early this morning.

While many players who talked with the media didn’t see the injury occur, it’s believed that he was forced to pull up while running a redzone route, leading to concern as a non-contact injury. Without details being released, a spokesperson for the team confirmed the injury.

Kupp’s presence in the Rams’ offense is vital. A year after winning the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, Kupp once again led the team in receiving yards last season. What’s amazing about that is that, this time, he did it despite missing eight games due to injury. If he had continued to play the remainder of the season and produce at the same pace, he would have finished the season with the third-most receiving yards in the league last year, behind only Justin Jefferson and Tyreek Hill.

After Kupp missed the back half of the season last year with a high ankle sprain, the team is going to be delicate with any injury situation heading into the preseason. They will be cautious with Kupp moving forward, but Los Angeles does expect that he may be able to return “for scrimmages in a few weeks.”

Here are a couple of other updates on injuries from around the league:

  • One of Denver’s newest young cornerbacks will be cutting it close to play in Week 1 of his rookie season, according to Troy Renck of Denver7. The Broncos‘ second of two third-round picks, former Iowa cornerback Riley Moss underwent “core/sports hernia surgery” this week in Philadelphia. The recovery is expected to take around four weeks, which will have Moss back just in time to debut for the regular season if he can avoid any setbacks.
  • The Patriots were really hoping to see former Broncos offensive tackle Calvin Anderson step up and compete for a starting tackle job on their offensive line this summer. Unfortunately, Anderson began camp on the non-football illness list with an undisclosed illness. When asked about a timeline for Anderson’s return, head coach Bill Belichick gave the noncommittal response of, “We’ll see how it goes,” telling reporters that he doesn’t have a crystal ball. It’s unclear what form of illness could be holding Anderson out for such a long period of time without hope for reprieve, but based on Belichick’s answer, New England may need to start looking at other options in their tackle competition.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/12/23

May 12th, 2023 at 9:09pm CST by Ely Allen

Rookie minicamps started today and more rookies put the names on the dotted line of their four-year contracts. Here are the mid- to late-round picks who signed today:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

Broncos Trade 2024 Third-Rounder To Move Into Seahawks’ No. 83 Slot

April 28th, 2023 at 9:17pm CST by Ely Allen

The Broncos and Seahawks are trading again. While this is not a pick Seattle obtained in the Russell Wilson trade, the NFC West team will send it to Denver.

With the newly obtained choice, the Broncos are taking Iowa defensive back Riley Moss. The Broncos are paying up to make this move. They will send the Seahawks No. 108 this year and a 2024 third-round pick, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Moss was a two-star recruit who chose local Iowa for college. He made an immediate impact in the Hawkeyes’ secondary making 24 tackles, two interceptions, and five passes defensed as a freshman. As a four-year starter, Moss played way beyond his high school rankings. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors this year and was a first-team All-American in 2021. Over five years in Iowa City, Moss totaled 11 interceptions and 37 passes defensed. He added physicality with four tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in his last two years.

Moss is electric after making an interception. He’s top 19 in school history in interceptions but top two in interception return yards. He’s a true hustler not only on defense but as a huge special teams contributor, as well. He does have a little injury history in his hip and left knee, but Moss only missed seven games over five years. Some pundits pegged him as a safety at the next level, but after five years at Iowa as a true outside cornerback, it’s hard to imagine Moss settling for anything less.

More realistically, Moss provides Denver with true defensive back depth. All-Pro Patrick Surtain leads the Broncos’ cornerback contingent. Damarri Mathis filled in for Ronald Darby after his October ACL tear; the team cut Darby last month. After seeing oft-used backup safety Caden Sterns miss 12 games last year with injury, the Broncos may hope to see Moss in a role at safety, but Moss has the ability to play at any position in the secondary. Regardless, the Broncos are getting a hard worker who truly prides himself on proving he can do what others think he can’t.