Denver Broncos move on from tight end after signing veteran linebacker

Travis Wakeman

•
Denver Broncos move on from tight end after signing veteran linebacker image

On the final day of the team's minicamp, the Denver Broncos signed a linebacker who was brought in for a tryout. Andre Smith, a seventh-round pick in 2018, has been brought in to give the team another pass-rushing option to evaluate this summer as well as another special teams guy.  

Smith played at North Carolina in college and has already spent time with four other NFL teams. Last season, he was a member of the Atlanta Falcons where he played in 11 games with one start, the first of his career. 

He has 52 career tackles with two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He will get a chance to provide a lift as an edge rusher but his main path to the 53-man roster will be through special teams. 

Broncos sign Andre Smith, waive Dylan Leonard

To make room on the 90-man roster, the Broncos have waived undrafted free agent Dylan Leonard, a tight end out of Georgia Tech. 

Leonard caught 41 passes for 387 yards and one touchdown during his college career at Georgia Tech. He was facing long odds to make the roster in Denver as there are five other tight ends in competing for what will likely be three or four roster spots. 

Those tight ends are Adam Trautman, Greg Dulcich, Lucas Krull, Nate Adkins, and fellow undrafted free agent Thomas Yassmin. Tight end is not necessarily a strength for the Broncos but they likely felt they didn't have the time to get Leonard up to speed with a lingering injury so he was likely looking at the practice squad as a best bet anyway. 

This move gives the Broncos another experienced defender who can potentially become a standout on special teams. 

Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman Photo

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.