
As is customary at season's end, the Denver Broncos inked several players to reserve/futures contracts following Sunday's loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
The team announced Monday it has signed linebacker Levelle Bailey, defensive tackle Jordan Miller, tight end Caleb Lohner, offensive lineman Calvin Throckmorton, and running backs Deuce Vaughn and Cody Schrader.
We've signed six players to future contracts.
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 26, 2026
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Throckmorton (10 games) and Bailey (4) are the only players of the bunch to have made appearances for the Broncos this season, operating as backups at their respective positions. Both also contributed on special teams.
Vaughn and Schrader joined Denver later in the year following the season-ending injury to starting RB J.K. Dobbins, who's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
Lohner was the club's seventh-round pick in last April's draft. Despite a collegiate background in which he converted every career reception (4) into a touchdown, the 6-foot-7 former Utah standout was not promoted to the active roster during the regular season.
Monday was supposed to be Day 1 of prep for the Super Bowl. Instead it was locker room cleanout day at Broncos Park — players collecting their belongings in what officially signals the start of the offseason.
One of those players was J.K. Dobbins, who admitted he was thisclose to suiting up against the Patriots after practicing on a limited basis in the lead-up to the title contest. Dobbins last played in Week 10 after suffering a Lisfranc injury amid Denver's victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Formally unsigned, he also expressed a deep-rooted interest in returning to the organization next season — and why he's now a "Bronco for life."
“It starts with the ownership," Dobbins told reporters. "They get us everything that we need to be successful here. It starts with like the hyperbaric chamber. I was able to get back on the practice field 2.5 months. Right? I think he said 2.5 months, and it’s because they gave me everything I needed. There were things I would ask Mr. [CEO & Owner Greg] Penner, and he would get it to us. He would get it to me. Then my man [Head] Coach Sean Payton, I love him to death. He’s one of my favorite coaches ever. Then [Running Backs] Coach Lou Ayeni, too. It has been a great process with everyone here. Then the offensive line, and just like everybody, the brothers, and like the defense. I even felt like I was part of the defense because they wanted me here. [Defensive Coordinator] Coach ‘V.J.’ (Vance Joseph) wanted me here. So it’s just been a great time here in my short time. I think that I’ll be here. Hopefully, I will. I think I’m a Bronco for life. So yes.”
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