The Denver Broncos released fourth-year safety Caden Sterns on Monday and he has been claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers.
The Broncos made a surprise move to release Sterns, likely due to his past with injuries, but making an already weak safety position even weaker. It speaks well for Sterns that the Panthers, the team sitting at No. 1 in the waiver wire order, grabbed him.
The #Panthers, which is first in the waiver order, has claimed former #Broncos DB Caden Sterns off of waivers.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 6, 2024
Sterns was a fifth-round pick of the Broncos in 2021 and had worked his way into a starting position. But a torn patellar tendon in Week 1 last year forced him to miss the rest of the season. The Broncos' starting safeties from the beginning of last season, Sterns and Justin Simmons, are now both gone.
Broncos will turn to younger players at safety
Sterns will now join a Panthers roster where, as long as he's healthy, he should be able to compete for playing time immediately. Xavier Woods and Jordan Fuller are the team's projected starters so Sterns could quickly work his way into a big role.
As for the Broncos, they will likely start the season with Brandon Jones and P.J. Locke as their starters. Delarrin Turner-Yell and JL Skinner could be in for more snaps and undrafted safety Omar Brown could also make a big push for the 53-man roster.
Simmons, considered by many to be one of the league's best safeties even now, is still waiting for the right opportunity to come his way with a new team.
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