Free agent defensive back Tycen Anderson is signing a one-year deal with the Broncos, James Rapien of SI.com reports.
Anderson, 26, has spent his career with the Bengals since they made him a fifth-round pick in 2022.
He missed his rookie season with a hamstring injury and saw the next season end prematurely with a knee injury in Week 8. But Anderson has played all 34 possible games the past two seasons.
Anderson is a core special teams player, with 64 career defensive snaps and 850 on special teams.
He has 42 career tackles.
Anderson is the first external free agent to agree to terms with the Broncos, who traded with the Dolphins for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle earlier this week.
They arrived in the NFL together, five years ago and three picks apart. Now, receiver Jaylen Waddle and cornerback Patrick Surtain II will join forces in Denver.
Like they always hoped to do.
“We talked about this earlier in our careers, we wanted to get together and play with each other,” Waddle told reporters after his trade to the Broncos became official on Wednesday. “Just seeing it happen, it’s special.”
Waddle, taken sixth overall by Miami in 2021 with Surtain picked at No. 9, said he’s kept in contact with Surtain during coach Sean Payton’s time with the Broncos. “He’s been keeping me in the loop without even knowing,” Waddle said regarding Surtain.
And while it appears Waddle arrives as the new top receiver in Denver’s offense, he downplayed that label.
“I don’t think there are No. 1s,” Waddle said. “Everyone is here to make plays and try to win. That’s ultimately the goal for the team and for the organization.”
Waddle did acknowledge, however, that his flexibility will make a difference.
"[O]ver my time, I got a chance to play all over the place,” Waddle said. “So I think that helps just knowing the offense inside and out, being able to put me in different spots. I think that’s always helpful, just being able to go around and play different positions.”
He’ll be wearing a different uniform for the first time in his five-year NFL career. And, in 2026, he’ll face the Dolphins once and former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel twice, since McDaniel is now the Chargers’ offensive coordinator.
Maxx Crosby’s trip to Baltimore last week offered a reminder that no NFL trade is done until both sides officially sign off on it and that has now happened for the swap involving wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
The Broncos and Dolphins both announced that the trade has been completed on Wednesday. The announcement means the Broncos have signed off on Waddle’s physical and officially added him to their roster.
Miami will receive the 30th, 94th, and 130th picks in this year’s draft in exchange for Waddle and the 111th overall selection. Waddle is due $17.24 million this year and is under contract through 2028.
Waddle will join Courtland Sutton at the top of the Broncos’ wide receiver group and the hope in Denver is that he adds another gear to an offense that was good enough to help the Broncos get to the AFC Championship Game last season. The Dolphins will use the picks as part of a rebuild that has included parting ways with a number of veteran players over the last few weeks.
As Sean Payton enters his fourth year as head coach of the Broncos, he’ll have something he’s yet to have in Denver.
A top-flight, clear-cut, No. 1 receiver who can become the centerpiece of the passing game.
Payton last had that in Michael Thomas, who had a historic stretch from 2017 through 2019 as the player Payton routinely schemed open, and who would catch accurate passes thrown to him by Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees.
Thomas had 104 catches in 2017 and 125 in 2018. In 2019, he set a single-season record with 149 receptions.
Waddle had 104 catches as a rookie in 2021, the last year before Tyreek Hill showed up. Even with Hill as WR1, Waddle had a pair of 1,000-yard seasons.
Courtland Sutton has had a pair of 1,000-yard seasons in 2024 and 2025, under Payton. But the Broncos and Payton still needed a true No. 1 option in the passing game.
Which explains the decision to give up a first-round pick and a third-round pick for Waddle. (The Broncos and Dolphins also flipped fourth-round picks.)
Waddle’s contract is also very attractive. The Broncos will pay him only $17.24 million this year, well below the current top of the market.
Our guess, as explained during Wednesday’s PFT Live, is that the Broncos will sit tight on his deal for 2026, with a wink-nod that if he delivers this season they’ll adjust the deal in 2027, when he’ll be 28 and entering his seventh season.
For a team that won the top seed in 2025, they’re not standing pat. They’re addressing their weaknesses while retaining their strengths. At a time when plenty of other AFC contenders are in flux, the Broncos could be in position to finish the job in 2026.
In addition to draft compensation, the Dolphins have gained some salary cap relief by trading receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos.
Denver will absorb and pay all of Waddle’s contract for 2026 and beyond, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to PFT.
Waddle was set to count $11.6 million against the cap for Miami in 2026 with a $1.215 million base salary and $16.631 million in guarantees.
Waddle is under contract through 2028. He is owed $15.203 million guaranteed in 2027 but has no guaranteed money in 2028.
The Broncos can re-work Waddle’s deal or sign him to an extension to reduce his cap number and keep him with the team going forward.
Waddle, 27, caught 64 passes for 910 yards with six touchdowns for the Dolphins in 2025. He has 373 receptions for 4,039 yards with 26 TDs since Miami selected him at No. 6 overall in 2021.
