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Broncos To Re-Sign Lil’Jordan Humphrey
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Broncos let Lil’Jordan Humphrey walk in free agency last year, and the Sean Payton favorite joined the Giants in free agency. But he made his way back to Denver via an in-season return. The veteran Payton charge will be the latest Bronco to re-sign this offseason.

Denver is retaining Humphrey, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. With the Broncos losing Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant in the playoffs, Humphrey was needed as a regular on offense. He came through against the Bills, hauling in a long touchdown pass at the end of the first half. This will be Humphrey’s fourth season in Denver.

Humphrey, 28 in April, played for Payton in New Orleans before joining him in Denver in 2023. The three-year Saint worked mostly as a backup in New Orleans and has contributed more in Denver as a blocking wideout. He did play an auxiliary role in Bo Nix‘s rookie-year success, totaling career highs in catches (31) and yards (293).

The Giants stashed Humphrey on their practice squad after cutting him last August, and the Broncos ended up signing him off the New York P-squad in November. Playing in only three games for the 4-13 Giants, Humphrey saw action in seven for the 14-3 Broncos. He caught a regular-season touchdown pass against the Packers, and after dropping a would-be touchdown early in the Bills divisional-round matchup, the 6-foot-4 pass catcher came through with a 29-yard TD pass in the final minute of the first half during the No. 1 seed’s overtime win.

The Broncos have not yet signed an outside free agent, but they have been busy retaining their own. Although John Franklin-Myers and P.J. Locke have departed, Denver has brought back Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, J.K. Dobbins, Adam Trautman and Sam Ehlinger over the past few days. The team also retained Ben Powers after the veteran guard was mentioned as a trade candidate. It would seem the Broncos will add outside UFAs soon, but last year’s AFC West champs are submitting a continuity-focused approach thus far.

Added to that list of re-signings: tight end Lucas Krull. The team announced the reserve tight end, nontendered as an RFA last week, is staying. As the RFA tender numbers keep rising, teams have increasingly opted to nontender these players and bring them back at reduced rates. After a 152-yard 2024 season, Krull played in just four games last year and caught only two passes.

Krull joins Trautman, Nate Adkins and Evan Engram in the Broncos’ tight end room. Engram did not impress regularly last season and is a logical cut candidate, but the 31-year-old pass catcher has nearly half his 2026 base salary guaranteed. Denver already used one of his early post-June 1 designations on Dre Greenlaw.

This article first appeared on Pro Football Rumors and was syndicated with permission.

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