The Denver Broncos shored up some depth at linebacker after placing Josey Jewell on injured reserve by signing Micah Kiser off the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad.
The Rams selected Kiser in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He emerged as a contributor on special teams as a rookie but was sidelined for the entire 2019 campaign due to a pectoral injury.
Kiser was seemingly poised for a bounce-back year in 2020 when he established himself as a starter in training camp. He even earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in Week 2 after recording a team-high 16 tackles and a forced fumble.
Unfortunately, Kiser was forced to miss another large chunk of the season due to injuries and wound up finishing the year with 77 total tackles, three passes defensed and a forced fumble while starting in nine games.
Despite his injury, Kiser’s experience made him a candidate to pick up where he left off on the inside leading up to the 2021 NFL season. Instead, he was among the most surprising snubs left off the final 53-man roster, being quickly brought back on the practice squad.
However, Kiser’s time in L.A. has now officially come to an end and he will have an opportunity to make an impact on a Denver linebacker corps that has struggled to stay healthy thus far.
Aside from Jewell, the Broncos have also placed outside linebacker Bradley Chubb on IR following his ankle surgery. Even if he is expected back at some point later in the season, this defense will need players to step up in his absence.
Kiser does have some familiarity with head coach Vic Fangio’s scheme thanks to his time under former Broncos linebacker coach Brandon Staley, who served as the Rams’ defensive coordinator last season before becoming head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
