Broncos make final cuts; Jarvis Moss one of lone surprises to avoid the ax

There were no major surprises in the remaining 12 cuts Saturday as the Denver Broncos reached its 53-man roster.

But the Broncos did add veteran defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday and trimmed three more players from the Mike Shanahan era. Defensive lineman Tim Crowder and Nic Clemons and safety Vernon Fox were among the final cuts. Crowder was a second-round pick in 2007 by Shanahan, while Clemons started all 16 games a year ago. Holliday, a 6-foot-5, 288-pound defensive tackle-end, fits the profile to play in Denver's new 3-4 defense. He also will be an insurance policy for defensive end Le Kevin Smith, who suffered a knee injury. Holliday has played for the Green Bay Packers (1998-2002), Kansas City and Miami.

Holliday's agent, Cary Fabrikant, told The Denver Post his client has stayed in shape although he was in no team's training camp this summer. "He's versatile so he can play wherever the team decides to play him," said Fabrikant. "He's an extremely talented football player who's been a starter for long periods of time. He's familiar with the defense."
 

Perhaps the biggest surprise was defensive end Jarvis Moss made the team. The former first-round pick in the 2007 draft left training camp this summer, saying he was considering retirement and

returning after a three-day absence. 
 

Moss had perhaps his game as a Bronco Thursday in the preseason finale, a 19-0 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Moss had a sack and forced a fumble against Arizona as Denver finished 1-3 in the preseason.

Shanahan moved up to the 17th spot in the 2007 draft to pick Moss, who had an unspectacular first two years in the NFL. Moss has just 3.5 sacks and 39 tackles in an injury-riddled career.

After Thursday's game, Moss told The Associated Press he wouldn't worry about the impending cuts. "That's something I'm not going to do, I refuse to do," he said. "I can't control it. I don't know if I did enough. I'm not really too concerned. I went out there and played hard — that's what I did."

Eager for a pass rush, the Broncos traded up to the 17th spot in 2007 to snare Moss. He's had just 3 1/2 sacks and 39 tackles in his injury-marred career.

The Broncos also can reclaim eight players for the practice squad Sunday. Running back Darrius Walker, who was the most impressive player in the preseason running attack, is likely one of the candidates to be reclaimed. Veteran LaMont Jordan is recovering from an injury, as is top draft pick Knowshon Moreno, so reclaiming Walker could be a top priority.

The Broncos are expected to add suspended wide receiver Brandon Marshall back to the roster Sunday, so another cut will have to be made to reach the 53-play limit. The Broncos made nine cuts on Friday of the 22 it needed to trim the 75-player roster to 53. Offensive lineman Kory Lichtensteiger, a Shanahan draft choice in 2008, was one the nine cut.

53-man Denver Broncos roster

Offense (26)
QBs (3): Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, Tom Brandstater
RBs (4): Correll Buckhalter, LaMont Jordan, Peyton Hillis, Knowshon Moreno
TEs (3): Daniel Graham, Tony Scheffler, Richard Quinn
WRs (7): Brandon Marshall*, Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokley, Jabar Gaffney, Chad Jackson, Kenny McKinley, Brandon Lloyd

OL (9): Ryan Clady, Ben Hamilton, Casey Wiegmann, Chris Kuper, Ryan Harris, Seth Olsen, Tyler Polumbus, Russ Hochstein, Brandon Gorin
*-Marshall will have to be added to the roster today when his suspension is lifted. That means another player will have to be cut by the Broncos to reach the 53-player limit.

Defense (25)
DE (5): Vonnie Holliday, Ryan McBean, Kenny Peterson, Le Kevin Smith, Marcus Thomas 
NT (2): Ronald Fields, Chris Baker
OLB (5): Mario Haggan, Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, Darrell Reid, Jarvis Moss 
ILB (4): D.J. Williams, Andra Davis, Wesley Woodyard, Spencer Larsen
CB (4): Champ Bailey, Andre Goodman, Alphonso Smith, Jack Williams
S (5): Renaldo Hill, Brian Dawkins, David Bruton, Josh Barrett, Darcel McBath

Special teams (3)
K: Matt Prater
P: Brett Kern
LS: Lonie Paxton