Last year the Patriots traded tight end A.J. Derby to the Broncos just before the trade deadline. That netted New England a fifth-round draft pick, which they used to get running back Mike Gillislee from the Bills.
Now Derby is done in Denver.
The Broncos announced today that they have released Derby, who has 19 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns this season. To take Derby’s spot on the roster spot, the Broncos brought up tight end Austin Traylor from the practice squad.
If Traylor gets on the field for the Broncos, he might find himself catching passes from Paxton Lynch soon: Mike Klis of 9News.com reports that Lynch has been promoted to No. 2 on the Broncos’ quarterback depth chart, and Trevor Siemian will be inactive tomorrow against the Bengals. Brock Osweiler remains the starter, but with Lynch getting healthier and the Broncos needing to try anything to spark the offense, it won’t be surprising to see Lynch getting a shot at running the offense soon.