Mike Purcell has a great Cinderalla story in the NFL and he's already outkicked his coverage if we're being honest. But the last 18 months of his tenure with the Denver Broncos have been utterly forgettable.
Purcell stormed onto the stage in 2019 as an ex-Vic Fangio acolyte from the coach's San Francisco defense and earned a place on the roster, which soon saw him playing starter's snaps on the defensive line. Purcell was so good in 2019 that the Broncos earmarked him for an in-season extension in 2020, provided he maintained that level of play.
That's exactly what happened and Purcell was rewarded with a three-year, $14.8 million extension in the first quarter of the 2020 campaign. Alas, no sooner than the ink was dry on that contract did Purcell suffer a lisfranc injury that ended his season.
Frankly, he wasn't the same player when he returned from injury in 2021. While the Broncos need as many healthy, competent veterans as they can get on the D-line, Purcell's combination of salary-cap burden and lackluster play could see him pushed off the roster by an up-and-comer.
Throw into that mix the arrival of two rookie D-linemen drafted by GM George Paton — fourth-rounder Eyioma Uwazurike and sixth-rounder Matt Henningsen. The Broncos also re-signed DeShawn Williams on the relative cheap and have the third-year McTelvin Agim, a former third-round pick, waiting in the wings.
Denver has plenty of young bodies on the D-line which puts pressure on Purcell. What Purcell has that they don't, however, is experience.
The Broncos are under new leadership. Paton is now in his second year at the helm and is coming off his first-ever head-coach hiring cycle.
Nathaniel Hackett became the Broncos' 18th head coach all-time and as he's settled into the job, he's had more than a passing opportunity to survey the roster. Hackett already has a gut feel for which holdovers from the previous regime, even the favorites, have a place on his squad. And the head coach knows whose days are numbered, too.
Of course, any player that might currently reside on the bubble in the mind's eye of Paton and Hackett will get the opportunity to reverse his fortune during training camp and the preseason. Purcell will get the chance to prove he belongs but the $3.5 million the Broncos can save by cutting him post-June 1 is like a sword hovering over his head.
More must-reads: