The Denver Broncos cut linebacker Ronnie Perkins on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old former third-round draft pick of the New England Patriots will now receive waivers.
If he clears waivers, he will return to Denver’s injured reserve list after receiving an injured designation.
That would sideline him for the entire 2024 season unless the Broncos reach a deal.
Perkins was cut to make room for fellow linebacker Alec Mock, 22, on the 90-man roster.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Air Force product participated in rookie minicamp after going undrafted.
“I had a lot of fun while I was there for spring training,” Mock said. via the Denver Gazette.
“I needed to learn a lot. They have great coaches. They have a great team and, honestly, it’s a great organization in the way they treat the players in everything.
“It’s first class. It really is… I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
Perkins was drafted by the Patriots in 2021 but never played in a regular season game.
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He joined the Broncos as a free agent in 2022 and made 13 tackles in seven games last season.
The Broncos released their first unofficial depth chart ahead of their preseason matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
Jarrett Stidham was named the No. 1 quarterback, with Zach Wilson next in line and rookie Bo Nix third.
But Sean Payton moved to reassure fans, claiming he placed all the newcomers at the bottom of the table to save some time.
Teams are required to produce a detailed chart before preseason action, and Payton said he was just trying to avoid a long conversation with communications director Patrick Smyth.
“Just because it’s easy and I don’t have to send 40 minutes with Patrick,” Payton said to explain his decision.
“No. I’m not ready for a depth chart, but I need to get a depth chart.
“It’s easy to push underlined players [rookies] to the back of the line and then make sure that’s where we’re sitting now.
“That’s right. No, it’s a good question, but I’m not trying to send messages.”
Payton also revealed what he wants from his quarterbacks this weekend.
“You want your team to be efficient and smart. You want to address the things you are working on in relation to the scheme and what we are doing,” he said.
“It’s the first game of the preseason. The focus will obviously be more internal.
“We’ll get in sometime this week. Friday, we turn the page to Indianapolis.
“So we’re still in this training camp [mode]. We’re not working on the Colts right now.
“We are just working on ourselves and at the end of the week we will flip the script.
“Ultimately, you want to see a clean execution. You want to see the fundamentals that we’ve been practicing and then take to the field.”
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