Broncos Sign C Javon Patterson & OLB Pita Taumoepenu to Practice Squad

It's Christmas Day but don't expect the Denver Broncos to be enjoying it with their families as the team traveled to take on the Las Vegas Raiders for their second and final meeting this season. 

Late in the season though it may be, Broncos GM George Paton continues to churn the bottom of the roster to keep this team from entering a game with a glaring hole. With starting center Lloyd Cushenberry landing on the reserve/COVID list on Thursday, there's no way to know exactly how long it'll take for him to present enough negative test results in consecutive days to get back on the field. 

And so, the Broncos are improvising, hedging against the possibility of Cushenberry missing more than just one game. On Saturday, the Broncos announced the signing of two players to the practice squad — center Javon Patterson and rush linebacker Pita Taumoepenu. 

The Broncos also announced that offensive tackle Quinn Bailey has been 'elevated' from the practice squad to the gameday roster. An intriguing move considering that top swing tackle, Calvin Anderson, was just activated off injured reserve. It's a sign that Anderson, after spending a few weeks on ice, isn't quite ready for live bullets. 

The last time Bailey was pressed into action, though, he played admirably, seeing 39 offensive snaps in relief of Anderson, who was playing in relief of Garett Bolles, at left tackle in Week 12's win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Patterson (6-foot-3, 305 pounds) is a second-year player out of Ole Miss and this is his second stint with the Broncos after spending Weeks 4-7 on the practice squad. Originally Indianapolis'seventh-round (246th overall) draft pick in 2019, he's got just one NFL game under his belt as a pro. 

Taumoepenu (6-foot-1, 245 pounds) has had multiple stints with the Broncos this year competing on the practice squad. He has appeared in one game with the Broncos this season spending the majority of his time in the Orange and Blue on the practice squad. 

Taumoepenu was San Francisco's sixth-round draft pick back in 2017 out of the University of Utah. He joined the Broncos this past May and provides Vic Fangio with a young, eager body to get after the quarterback and set the edge — if called upon — and Taumoepenu knows the scheme.