ENGLEWOOD – The lights were on late Monday night at Broncos Park and presumably the coffee maker was working overtime.

With Sean Payton entering his third season as head coach, the Broncos’ roster has become much deeper. That was reflected in the meeting Denver decision makers held the night before teams had to cut down Tuesday to 53 players their initial roster for the regular season.

“(Monday) night was closer to six hours,’’ said Payton, who said last year’s meeting the night before final cuts were made was between one and two hours. “There was a lot of discussion, film. It was very evident that we’re deeper.”

In other words, there were some difficult decisions that had to be made after the Broncos started the week with 90 players on the roster. The biggest surprise Tuesday was the Broncos waiving inside linebacker Levelle Bailey, who had made the initial 53-man roster last year as an undrafted rookie and had looked good in the preseason. He did end up being sent down to the practice squad for the first month of last season but he was re-signed to the 53-man roster on Oct. 8, and remained there the rest of the year.

In letting Bailey go, the Broncos opted to keep inside linebacker Karene Reid, an undrafted rookie from Utah. That makes it 21 of the past 22 years the Broncos have had an undrafted rookie on the initial 53-man roster, and Payton now has had eight in his three Denver seasons.

“We saw a draftable player,’’ said Payton, who said he spent a lot of time with Reid on the phone convincing him to sign with the Broncos after he went undrafted and being eyed by some other teams. “Everyone can say, ‘(Rookie) free agents have a great shot at making our team,’ and yet we have a history.”

A source said the Broncos want to sign Bailey to the practice squad if he clears waivers Wednesday.

Another difficult decision was keeping two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster and not third-stringer Sam Ehlinger, who was released after looking good in the preseason. Payton emphasized that the Broncos want Ehlinger on the practice squad and in the quarterback room along with starter Bo Nix and backup Jarrett Stidham.

“Sam’s a guy that we want back,’’ Payton said.

Payton said the decision to keep two or three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster often comes down to “other components of the roster.” So if Ehlinger had been kept, another player would have had to be let go.

Ehlinger is a vested veteran so he doesn’t have to go through waivers. He can either join Denver’s practice squad or sign somewhere else, if he finds an offer to his liking.

It was a bit of surprise Tuesday when Denver released veteran safety and special teams ace Sam Franklin, whose 2025 contract was guaranteed for $1.17 million, although that money from that deal would be offset if he joins another team. The Broncos kept five safeties in starters Brandon Jones and Talanoa Hufanga and reserves P.J. Locke, Devon Key and J.L. Skinner.

The Broncos on Tuesday also waived raw tight end Caleb Lohner, taken in the seventh round of the draft in April, and they hope to sign him to the practice squad. That move was not a surprise since Lohner had played five years of basketball in college but only one year of football.

Entering the final cuts, much of the speculation had been on what Denver would do at running back. But that drama was mostly settled Monday when the Broncos informed Audric Estime and Blake Watson that they would be waived. That left four running backs making the 53-man roster in J.K. Dobbins, rookie RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie.

“It was difficult and it was still a sum total,’’ Payton said of evaluating what the backs had done in training camp and the preseason.

Estime was let go after being taken in the fifth round of the 2024 draft and rushing for 310 yards as a rookie.

“I had a long visit with him (Tuesday),’’ Payton said. “His career is not by any chance over, and so that’s not really uncommon for a fifth-round selection (to be waived). And yet there’s also a credit to Badie’s experience but also some of his versatility. Clearly when you add the ability to sign a J.K. Dobbins and draft a Harvey, that room changed immediately and the competition changed immediately.”

Dobbins was signed as a free agent in June, Harvey was taken in the second round of the draft in April and Badie has mostly was on the practice squad the past three years. McLaughlin is entering his third straight season on the 53-man roster after being undrafted. He has had a good stretch lately with his partner recently having a baby girl, which is why he sat out last Saturday’s 29-18 win over New Orleans in the preseason finale.

The Broncos did not keep a fullback on the 53-man roster. Payton said Michael Burton, their fullback the past two seasons, was placed on season-ending injured reserve due to having hamstring surgery. And the Broncos released fullback Adam Prentice, who played at Colorado State and South Carolina.

A source said Prentice, a vested veteran, is a candidate for Denver’s practice squad. Payton said the fullback situation will be sorted out although he did not give details.

The Broncos also placed linebacker Drew Sanders on short-term injured reserve after he recently underwent foot surgery. He must miss at least the first four games of the regular season, which gets underway Sept. 7 against Tennessee at Empower Field at Mile High.

The Broncos opted to keep seven defensive linemen, a lot for a team that plays a 3-4. That meant that they kept former Air Force star Jordan Jackson and Eyioma Uwazurike, who both had been on the roster bubble.

Other players released Tuesday by the Broncos who don’t have to go through waivers were guard Calvin Throckmorton and linebacker Garret Wallow. Other players waived Tuesday were tight end Caden Prieskorn, linebacker Jordan Turner, wide receivers A.T. Perry, Michael Bandy and Courtney Jackson, cornerbacks Reece Taylor, Jaden Robinson and Quinton Newsome, offensive linemen Will Sherman and Joe Michalski, safeties Keidron Smith and Delarrin Turner-Yell and defensive linemen Jordan Miller and Kristian Williams, the latter with an injury designation.

The Broncos will sort out their 16-man practice squad Wednesday, with most or all the players being ones they let go this week. Some waived players could be claimed by other teams and some players let go could make a decision to go elsewhere.

“There’s a number of our guys that are waiting out this period, that we have a great vision for on the practice squad,’’ Payton said.

Even decisions for the practice squad could be difficult for the Broncos. They certainly were in trimming down the 53-man roster.

“Sean said it (Tuesday) morning, the first year that he was here he said these meetings were a little easier, the second year was a lot harder, and then last night there were hours and hours and hours of deliberation of who stays, who goes, how they can work the roster,’’ said tackle Mike McGlinchey. “That’s a testament to the work that’s been done here over the last three years of identifying players and putting them in positions to be successful and developing the talent that we have.”

Here is the Broncos’ 53-man roster and players on injured reserve: 

OFFENSE

Quarterback

Bo Nix

Jarrett Stidham

Running back

J.K. Dobbins

RJ Harvey

Jaleel McLaughlin

Tyler Badie

Tight end

Evan Engram

Adam Trautman

Nate Adkins

Lucas Krull

Wide receiver

Courtland Sutton

Marvin Mims

Troy Franklin

Pat Bryant

Trent Sherfield

Offensive line

Mike McGlinchey

Quinn Meinerz

Luke Wattenberg

Ben Powers

Garett Bolles

Matt Peart

Alex Palczewski

Alex Forsyth

Frank Crum

Specialists

Wil Lutz

Jeremy Crawshaw

Mitchell Fraboni

DEFENSE

Defensive line

Zach Allen

D.J. Jones

John Franklin-Myers

Malcolm Roach

Sai’vion Jones

Jordan Jackson

Eyioma Uwazurike

Inside linebacker

Dre Greenlaw

Alex Singleton

Justin Strnad

Karene Reid

Outside linebacker

Nik Bonitto

Jonathon Cooper

Jonah Elliss

Dondrea Tillman

Que Robinson

Cornerback

Pat Surtain II

Riley Moss

Ja’Quan McMillian

Jahdae Barron

Kris Abrams-Draine

Safety

Brandon Jones

Talanoa Hufanga

PJ Locke

Devon Key

JL Skinner

Injured reserve (out for season)

Fullback Michael Burton

Injured reserve (must miss at least the first four games)

Linebacker Drew Sanders