Broncos keeping eyes open for 'upgrades' at the returner position off-roster

The Broncos' return game has been putrid this summer. Could there be an off-roster solution to uprade?

Vic Fangio tells it like it is. Sometimes, he might be a little too frank for comfort to the football execs upstairs. 

The Denver Broncos head coach is the epitome of transparent. With the deadline for final roster cuts barrelling down on Saturday, August 31, Fangio's decision points will soon come to a head. 

One of the key, unresolved positions? Punt and kick returner.

The Broncos have been the epitome of lackluster in the special teams return game. I'm not talking about carelessness with ball or muffing punts but rather, a collection of players rotating in who can't get a positive yard in edgewise after fielding the ball. 

On Saturday, more than 1,100 players will be dumped on the waiver wire when NFL teams make their cuts down to the final 53. Suffice to say, Fangio will be combing the wire looking for upgrades at the returner spot. 

“We possibly do, but like most positions, we’ll look to upgrade," Fangio said on Tuesday with regard to the returner spot. "If we have what we have, we’ll make it work.”

Fangio couched his remark inside the assumption that the Broncos are always looking to upgrade 'most positions'. While that's true in a philosophical sense, it's not always practical. 

The Broncos will look to upgrade their weak positions where they can. Returner just happens to be one of them at the moment.

If pressed into a regular season game tomorrow, the punt returner would likely be River Cracraft. Fangio likes what Cracraft has shown in terms of his reliability as a returner and he has the football IQ to play all wide receiver spots in the offense if called upon. 

“Since he’s come back from his injury, I think he’s been getting better and better," Fangio said about Cracraft. "He could be our punt returner. He fulfills a good role as a backup wideout in that he can play all the positions both mentally and physically, so he has given himself some versatility and some value.”

The current candidates in Denver for the returner jobs will get one last opportunity to make a case for themselves. The Broncos will host the Arizona Cardinals in the preseason finale on Thursday night. 

The roster cuts will probably begin the next day and the Broncos will have to be at 53 guys by 2 pm MDT. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.