Broncos waive fifth-round rookie Joly

Cook joins starter Malik Willis and recent acquisition Kyle McCord in the pecking order at quarterback for the Dolphins, with the assumption that McCord will serve as the primary backup on game days during the regular season. Either way, Cook now gets a fresh start after four starts across five appearances for the Jets during his rookie season. Tight end Justin Joly also joins the Dolphins after being released by the Broncos. The team kept four tight ends through final cuts, making the path to a roster spot more muddied, but he lands on his feet after being forced to contemplate a potential practice squad spot in Denver. Also claimed were DB Marcellus Dial, T Chukwuebuka Godrick, T Jarrett Kingston, DB Reese Taylor, and DB Julius Wood.

Joly earned first-team All-ACC honors while leading NC State with 49 receptions and seven receiving touchdowns last year. It will be tough for him to earn snaps in year one, with veteran TE Evan Engram in-house, but Joly could compete for a starting role in the long run.

Joly (6’4/241) spent two years at UConn, breaking out in the second with a 52/578/2 receiving line. He then transferred to NC State and upped the ante again with 661 yards and four scores on 43 catches as a junior. Joly’s efficiency plummeted in 2025 and he turned six extra catches into 172 fewer yards, though he did score a career-high seven times. Joly doesn’t have one trait that sticks out as elite, but he can do a lot of things well. He navigates traffic after the catch well but is also aggressive at the catch point, having brought down 66 percent of his career contested targets. The Broncos add Joly as a potential long-term starter in a busy tight end room.

Ravens team reporter Ryan Mink adds that although TE Mark Andrews posted a career-low 422 receiving yards last season, “the Ravens see a rebound in 2026.” DeCosta’s comments could indicate otherwise, though the team lost TEs Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar in free agency. Mink also notes that the Ravens have picked two tight ends in the same draft four times in franchise history: 2022, 2018, 2015 and 2010. DeCosta has been with the Ravens for his whole career, dating back to 1996, and the strategy has worked well for the organization. Mink believes replacing Likely with a receiving tight end could be viewed as a need in the short term. He lists 10 potential draftees, including Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq, Ohio State TE Max Klare, Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers, Baylor TE Michael Trigg and NC State TE Justin Joly.

He will meet with the Panthers today and the other two teams next week. Joly has already had top-30 visits with the Bills, Broncos and Chiefs. Joly, 21, was an efficient player at both UConn (2022-2023) and NC State (2024-2025). He caught 47-of-66 targets for 468 yards and seven touchdowns last year, leading his team in both targets and receptions. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranks him fifth in the 2026 rookie class, positionally.

The Broncos’ endless quest to find a Joker tight end for head coach Sean Payton continues. Joly, 21, caught 47-of-66 targets for 468 yards and seven touchdowns in his final college season. He played for UConn from 2022 to 2023 before transferring to NC State in 2024. Joly intriguingly demonstrated remarkable consistency on a per-route basis, averaging between 1.80 and 1.93 yards per route run in regular season play each year. Denver Post’s Luca Evans notes that the Broncos are “doing work” on the incoming tight end class.