Report: Broncos agree to terms with DT Malcolm Roach on a two-year deal

The Broncos have added some much needed depth to their defensive line,

According to NFL Network’s analyst Tom Peliserro, the Denver Broncos have agreed to terms with former New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Malcolm Roach on a two-year deal worth up to $8 million dollars. The Broncos get some much-needed depth along their defensive line with this move.

Roach is a 6-3, 290-pound is entering his 5th NFL season, and is only 25 years old. He is a former undrafted free agent who signed with the New Orleans Saints back in 2020 at the conclusion of the NFL Draft. Since then, he has played his entire career with the Saints and now will reunite with Sean Payton in Denver.

During his four-year stint with the Saints, Roach was primarily a backup/rotational player who played in 41 games during his career which includes 5 starts. During his four seasons with the Saints, Roach totaled 90 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 7 quarterback hits, 1 sack, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception. This past season for the Saints, Roach played in 12 games and totaled 38 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, and 1 quarterback hit.

While this is not a flashy signing, it does help give the Broncos some much-needed depth along their defensive line. They clearly struggled in run defense last season and Jonathan Harris and Mike Purcell are currently free agents so Roach likely takes over one of their roles moving forward.

As Andrew Mason notes in the tweet above, Roach ranked number one in the NFL in run-stop percentage in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus. If he can continue doing that with the Broncos, this signing might end up being a steal for them moving forward. Their run defense was terrible so adding players like Roach makes sense.

Roach joins P.J. Locke, Caden Sterns, and the recently signed Brandon Jones as former Texas Longhorns teammates currently on the Broncos roster.

Overall, I like this move. Roach is a pretty good run defender and that is exactly what the Broncos need. It’s a cheap deal, he likely will slot in as a rotational piece and hopefully help improve the Broncos run defense moving forward.