Broncos Work Out S Taylor Rapp

Rapp resurfaced in the NFL news cycle Wednesday, however, with KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson noting the Broncos conducted an audition with the former Rams second-round pick.

A 72-game starter, Rapp had joined the Bills as a slightly overqualified backup during the final year of the Micah Hyde–Jordan Poyer pairing (2023). The Bills then released Poyer and gave Rapp a three-year, $10.63MM deal. Rapp spent the full 2024 season as a Buffalo starter and opened the ’25 slate in that role alongside Cole Bishop. But a midseason knee surgery felled the veteran defender, leading the reacquired Poyer back into Buffalo’s lineup. The Bills then bailed on the final year of Rapp’s contract.

Pro Football Focus ranked Rapp as one of the league’s worst safeties before his IR move last season, and the advanced metrics site slotted him outside the top 70 at the position in 2023 and ’24 with Buffalo. PFF ranked Rapp as a top-15 safety during his final Rams season, however. He also worked as a full-time starter for the 2021 Rams squad that won Super Bowl LVI, though a late-season injury prevented him from playing in that game.

In a retention-heavy offseason, the Broncos retained their starting safeties — Talanoa Hufanga, Brandon Jones — but lost P.J. Locke in free agency. The former starter, who closed the season in that role after Jones’ season-ending pectoral injury, signed with the Cowboys in March. Denver does not feature much experience behind the Hufanga-Jones duo presently.

All-Pro special-teamer Devon Key joins free agency ST addition Tycen Anderson as notable backups, with JL Skinner (zero starts in three seasons) and seventh-round pick Miles Scott also added to the equation. While the Broncos return the bulk of a roster that went 14-3 last season, they appear thin at both safety and inside linebacker. Rapp, 28, would seemingly profile as a Locke replacement behind the Hufanga-Jones tandem.