Broncos Promote CB Kevin Toliver II, Officially Place TE Jake Butt on IR

The Broncos made a quick decision to promote Kevin Toliver II to the active roster after an outside team threatened to sign him away.

On Thursday, the Denver Broncos made a trio of roster moves. As we reported on Wednesday, veteran tight end Jake Butt was placed on injured reserve, which opened up a spot on the 53-man roster. 

To fill that spot, the Broncos promoted cornerback Kevin Toliver II from the practice squad. Toliver joined the Broncos' practice squad back on September 8 and he was 'elevated' to the gameday roster for the team's Week 3 bout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

As is the rule with gameday 'elevations', Toliver was sent back down to the practice squad the next day, where he's remained since. At 6-foot-2, 199 pounds, he's a third-year corner out of LSU who went undrafted in 2018. 

Toliver signed with the Chicago Bears as a college free agent, where he spent some time under the wing of then-defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and secondary coach Ed Donatell. Fast forward to 2020, when the Broncos needed some depth at corner, the Broncos pounced. 

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Toliver had been waived by the Bears three days prior, and bringing him to Denver made a lot sense. Although he's young and relatively untested, he had at least a base familiarity with Fanigo's scheme and the coaching staff was familiar with his strengths and weaknesses as a player. 

After a perusal of his 2019 tape, it confirmed the Broncos' evaluation of the young corner. Toliver has two NFL starts under his belt and considering his relative inexperience and exposure, he's been productive when his number's been called.

In 27 career games with Chicao, Toliver has totaled 27 tackles (23 solo), four passes defensed, and two special-teams stops. With No. 1 corner A.J. Bouye's status for Week 9 up in the air, the Broncos wanted a little insurance and Toliver can provide that, though he'll be the low man on the totem pole. 

According to 9NEWS' Mike Klis, one of the mitigating factors to the Broncos' decision to promote Toliver was the interest the corner was garnering from at least one outside team. Denver promoted him to avoid losing him.

Bouye is currently in concussion protocol and all eyes will be on Friday's practice. If he's on the field, it's a good indication that he's on-schedule with regard to emerging from the protocol in time to play, but keep in mind, that process is governed by independent doctors who don't answer to the team. 

If Bouye can't go, expect Bryce Callahan and Michael Ojemudia to continue to get a heavy workload, with rookie Essang Bassey likely to be the next corner tapped to take the field when the Broncos are in nickel and dime sub-packages. It'll be worth monitoring, if it comes to that, whether Fangio will give Davontae Harris a shot to play on defense, or even Duke Dawson. 

I would at least expect Harris to get a swing at the plate before Toliver is tapped. Bassey exceeded expectations early on this season when called to play the nickel but he quickly got exposed by NFL QBs and the Broncos recognized the vulnerability and adjusted by removing him from the rotation. 

Since then, the depth chart math has changed as De'Vante Bausby was waived, only to be signed away by the Arizona Cardinals. With how prolific the Atlanta Falcons' passing attack can be with veteran QB Matt Ryan and proven wideouts like Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, expect the Broncos' corners to be tested early and often in Week 9's tilt. 

Despite the turnover at corner, the Broncos are ranked No. 16 against the pass, relinquishing an average of 236.6 yards through the air per game through the first two quarters of the season. 

In other roster news, the Broncos re-signed rookie wideout Kendall Hinton to the practice squad on Wednesday per multiple reports. Hinton went undrafted out of Wake Forest this past spring and spent all year and training camp with the Broncos before being waived on the doorstep of the season-opener. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.