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Broncos had 3 eligible first-year players at rookie minicamp (here's why)
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- Broncos had 3 eligible first-year players at rookie minicamp (here's why)
The Denver Broncos had 60 players at rookie minicamp last weekend, including three eligible "first-year" players who were invited to get more reps ahead of organized team activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamp in June.
The three designated first-year players were guard Nash Jones , tight end Caleb Lohner and defensive lineman Jordan Miller . To have an accrued season in the NFL, a player needs to spend at least six games on an active roster, injured reserve or PUP list. Jones, Lohner and Miller do not meet that criteria, so the league lists them as first-year players.
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"It's really a league rule based on pension credits," coach Sean Payton explained on Saturday . "So every year, I'll get the list: here are the five eligible [players]. We may have all five of them invited. I think we have three or four."
Jones entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Texas State last year and spent part of his rookie season on Denver's practice squad. Lohner is a former basketball player who was picked by the Broncos in the seventh round of last year's NFL draft out of Utah. Lohner spent last season on the practice squad. Miller signed with Denver as a UDFA out of SMU in 2024, spending the last two years on the team's practice squad.
"[T]hey're generally Year 1 guys without a pension credit, so they've been here nine workouts," Payton said. "In a normal rookie camp, it'd probably be more like 15 [workouts], but we pushed it back. So look, it's just more exposure for them, more reps for them to steal before we get the whole 90-man [roster] together. So those snaps are invaluable for those guys."
After getting extra reps at the rookie minicamp, Jones, Lohner and Miller will now look to carry their momentum into the summer while fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Denver Broncos: 3 first-year players attended rookie minicamp
