TE · DEN · 24 yrs · exp 1 · Utah
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The Denver Broncos have an exciting group of rookies entering training camp. While many will be vying for practice squad spots, some have the potential to challenge for starting roles. Tight end Justin Joly is highlighted as a player who, despite not likely unseating starters Adam Trautman or Evan Engram, could earn significant playing time and a spot on the depth chart
Broncos tight end Caleb Lohner will miss the rest of the offseason program after a cleanup surgery, Mike Klis of 9News reports. The body part is specified only as lower body. Lohner is expected to be ready for training camp. The Broncos made him a seventh-round pick in 2025. He was primarily a basketball player before transitioning to football in 2024 when he caught four touchdowns for Utah. Lohner spent last season on Denver’s practice squad but did not play in the regular season. The Broncos elevated him to the game-day roster for the divisional round game against the Bills, but he ended up being inactive. The Broncos have Evan Engram, Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins on the depth chart ahead of Lohner, and the team drafted Justin Joy, so Lohner has his work cut out for him to make the roster
Broncos tight end Caleb Lohner will miss the rest of the offseason program after a cleanup surgery, Mike Klis of 9News reports. The body part is specified only as lower body. Lohner is expected to be ready for training camp. The Broncos made him a seventh-round pick in 2025. He was primarily a basketball player before transitioning to football in 2024 when he caught four touchdowns for Utah. Lohner spent last season on Denver 's practice squad but did not play in the regular season. The Broncos elevated him to the game-day roster for the divisional round game against the Bills, but he ended up being inactive. The Broncos have Evan Engram , Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins on the depth chart ahead of Lohner, and the team drafted Justin Joy, so Lohner has his work cut out for him to make the roster
According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, Broncos tight end Caleb Lohner underwent a routine lower-body procedure and will miss the next two weeks of OTA and minicamp practices. However, Klis notes that Lohner is expected to be full-go by the start of training camp. Multiple media members who attended last week’s practice noted that Lohner was among the players not participating, and some were speculating whether he suffered an injury or not. Well, now we know he underwent a lower-body procedure and will be sidelined until the start of training camp. This is a small setback for Lohner, who drew praise from head coach Sean Payton earlier this spring when he, out of the blue, went out of his way to praise Lohner and his development. This put the former 7th-round developmental tight end on the radar of players who could have breakout performances this spring/summer, but this is certainly a step in the wrong direction. Lohner needs all the snaps and reps he can get, so missing out on two weeks of practice and development isn’t great. With that said, he still has all of training camp and the preseason to continue making his case for a roster spot and obviously already has the attention of the head coach. So, all is not lost for Lohner and his quest for a spot on the Broncos’ 53-man roster. With Lohner sidelined, all eyes will be on the two Broncos rookie tight ends, Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley. Both are competing for roles and potentially a roster spot(Joly is probably a lock) and are competing with Caleb Lohner for a role and roster spot with the Broncos. These two weeks will give them a chance to possibly separate themselves from Lohner before he eventually returns for the start of training camp. The competition behind veteran tight ends Evan Engram and Adam Trautman is going to be one of the more intriguing aspects of Broncos training camp. You have a developmental project in Lohner, two rookies in Joly and Bentley, a blocking specialist in Nate Adkins , and Lucas Krull . We’ll see how it all shakes out moving forward, but in the short-term, Caleb Lohner will be sidelined these next few weeks but will be ready for the start of training camp later next month
Sleeper status change for Caleb Lohner (12735). Before: status=Active, injury_status=—. After: status=Active, injury_status=Questionable
The Denver Broncos selected Utah tight end Caleb Lohner with their 241st overall selection in the 7th round of the 2025 NFL Draft. However, this was not your ordinary 7th-round pick. Lohner is a former basketball player transitioning to football, and he played just one year of college football at Utah. He would be entering the NFL with limited snaps and only four career catches, all of which were for touchdowns. So, he was viewed as a long-term project for Sean Payton and the Broncos . As expected, Lohner did not make much noise throughout the summer and would eventually land on the Broncos’ practice squad, where he would stay for the entire year. However, he was elevated to the active roster for the Divisional Round game vs. the Buffalo Bills , but he would be among their inactives. We would later learn from Head Coach Sean Payton that they did this as a thank you to Lohner, who had an opportunity to play for another team last season, but decided to stick with the Broncos. 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis wrote that late last season, he had a chance to play for another team (signed to an opposing team’s 53-man roster), but decided to stay in Denver simply because he did not want to leave. “It was in the works but I told them don’t even bother. Jack(his agent) was the one who started it all (the decision to stay). I want to be here. You’ve got a veteran coach here (in Sean Payton). I was in his offensive system for almost a full year. Plus, I didn’t want to leave a team that was going for the Super Bowl and is going for the Super Bowl. Everyone in here all have the same goal. Win the Super Bowl. That’s what you play for. I didn’t want to leave that.” Now, Lohner enters an important year two for him, where he will need to start showing some development if he wants a future with the Broncos. I say this because the Broncos drafted two tight ends, Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley, in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the competition in the tight end room figures to be tough. As of this writing, the Broncos have not begun their offseason program, but Lohner did participate in the team’s rookie minicamp in early May and impressed Payton with his performance. He told reporters that “Lohner looks entirely different in this camp. Now he was here in this camp a year ago as a draft pick, but he stood out.” Payton was then asked what Lohner is doing better this year compared to last year. He simply said “everything”. “Everything. In fairness to him, remember [he] was a basketball prospect that had limited snaps of a year. So one year into the program, and how he’s moving, what he’s doing, everything looks entirely different. That learning curve and growth curve was greater for someone who had far less experience maybe than others, if that makes sense. It’s entirely noticeable, and he’s in great shape. You see his athleticism. I would say the one thing that you don’t know is… [Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach] Bill [Parcells] used to say, ‘If they don’t bite when they’re puppies, they’re probably never going to bite.’ There’s a physical aspect to the way he plays. Even on look team last season, he’d play an outside linebacker rushing our tackles. He’s 6’7”, 265 pounds and he’s not afraid of the contact. So it’s been good to see him in Year 2. You knew there was going to be a developmental upside, but that was encouraging.” Payton wasn’t done hyping up Lohner. He was later asked about Lohner’s learning curve and where he stands compared to the rest of the young tight ends in the NFL. He added that Lohner is a “very physical player” and then told the media, “You will see him in June,” and ended with “Yes, he has been impressive”. “That’s a great question. You just start with total reps in the bank in football, and there was just a lot less. You’re drafting traits at that point in the draft. We’ve done that before, and sometimes you’re drafting traits [and] you see a receiving tight end. The one thing I know watching him is he’ll be plenty and very physi [... truncated ...]
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