Head coach Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos made two notable additions to the 53-man roster after cutdowns. They added former Green Bay Packers special teamer Kristian Welch and ex-Los Angeles Chargers tight end Donald Parham in free agency.
Both players are depth options, but the Broncos felt strong enough about bringing in that Payton and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi recruited them.
The Broncos signed Welch to the active roster.
“Sean reached out and we had some good conversations, so I just felt like this was the right place at the right time,’’ the 26-year-old linebacker, Welch, said, per The Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson on September 5.
The Broncos waived undrafted rookie free agent Levelle Bailey to make room for Welch. They brought Bailey back on the practice squad.
A former undrafted free agent out of Iowa in 2020, Welch has appeared in 54 career games.
He broke through with the Baltimore Ravens as a rookie in 2020. Welch spent the first three seasons of his career there before joining the Packers’ practice squad in 2023. He has been a core special teamer for most of his career, which could be informative of his role in Denver.
Welch recorded 6 tackles and 1 interception in the Packers’ 27-2 loss to the Broncos in the preseason and believed the showing “certainly didn’t hurt.”