ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --Four players the Broncos hosted for tryouts in December signed reserve-future contracts Monday as the team began cobbling together its roster for the coming year.
Wide receivers Jace Davis and DeVier Posey, running back Cyrus Gray and defensive back B.J. Lowery signed their deals with the Broncos. They will not officially join the team's roster until the offseason.
Davis, a 6-foot-2, 209-pound Northern Colorado product, spent time with the Houston Texans in last year's training camp before being waived. He worked out for the Broncos on Dec. 1. Davis was on the Ravens' practice squad for 16 days during the 2014 season -- when current Broncos Head Coach Gary Kubiak was their offensive coordinator -- before being released from it on Nov. 13, 2014.
Posey (6-foot-1, 206 pounds) is another familiar face to Kubiak, who was with the Texans when they drafted him with the No. 68 overall pick (Round 3) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Houston traded the former Ohio State standout to the Jets on May 1, but they eventually waived him. He didn't catch on with another team in the regular season, although he had four tryouts, including a Dec. 15 workout with the Broncos.
Posey grabbed 22 passes for 272 yards in 26 games over three years with the Texans. He was inactive for 15 games in the 2014 season after playing 25 games for Houston during Kubiak's final two years there.
Gray (5-foot-10, 206 pounds) was out of the NFL this year after being waived by the Chiefs on July 30. He carried the football 24 times for 99 yards and added 64 yards on nine catches during limited action with the Chiefs from 2012-14, but played more extensively on special teams, amassing 14 tackles and seeing some kickoff-return work.
A Texas A&M product, Gray suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament on Nov. 9, 2014 and has not played a regular-season game since then, but had four tryouts last year, including his Broncos workout on Dec. 15.
Lowery (5-foot-11, 193 pounds) will get his NFL shot after impressing the Broncos during a Dec. 8 tryout, when he was joined by 16 other defensive players. Lowery spent 2015 with the Cedar Rapids Titans of the Indoor Football League, for whom the Iowa alumnus intercepted two passes and broke up 12 others.
The Broncos will likely retain at least some practice-squad players via reserve-future contracts but those deals are not made until the team's postseason run concludes.
Last year, the Broncos signed 16 players to reserve-future contracts. Three of them ended up seeing playing time in the regular season: starting center Matt Paradis, wide receiver Bennie Fowler and running back Kapri Bibbs, who was active against Cleveland in Week 6.
