Broncos cut Moss, sign Veikune; Ayers to return

Douglas Lee Nov 17, 2010 3:25 PM

The Broncos have cut LB Jarvis Moss, who had been their 1st-round pick in the 2007 Draft. In his four seasons with Denver, Moss tallied 29 tackles, 3.5 sacks and pass defensed in 34 games (29 starts). According to the Denver Post, the Broncos have signed LB David Veikune to replace Moss on the 53-man roster. Veikune had been a 2nd-round pick (52nd overall) out of Hawaii by the Cleveland Browns in 2009. Veikune was cut by the Browns on September 7th, 2010.

According to Andrew Mason of MaxDenver.com, Broncos LB Robert Ayers is expected to practice today. Ayers has missed Denver's last four games with a fractured foot.

Denver traded picks number 21, 86 and 198 of the 2007 Draft in exchange for the ability to select Moss 17th overall. Moss had played a key role in helping the Florida Gators to the BCS National Championship only months earlier but never found sustained success in Denver.

Here is Doc Bear's Broncography on Moss from September.

We'll update this page throughout the afternoon...

David Veikune Links:

Profile from Cleveland Browns' official website (click "More").
Wikipedia page
NFL.com profile and picture with porn-star moustache.
NFLDraftScout.com profile
Story from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer of when Veikune was cut in September.
Cleveland placed Veikune on IR last January.
Story/Interview with Veikune from Scout.com
YouTube clip of a news story on Veikune after his selection by Cleveland.
CBSSports.com draft profile.
NFL.com draft profile.
According to this post, Veikune scored a 28 on his Wonderlic, which is higher than your average offensive tackle earns.

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

Rosterbation • News

&#8221 - 4. John Hilton Nov 17, 2010 3:48 PM

He got hurt in Cleveland. He was placed on IR in Jan, 2010, then was released this September. I have a feeling that it was injury-related release, much like Darrell Reid and Marques Branson. He was known for high character and high performance in college, so I think the signing is suggestive of someone they were targeting in the 2009 draft but didnât get. - &#8220

///////////////////////////////////////////

We worked him out in a personal workout (either here or at his pro-day site) so we evaluated him up close and were interested, as we seem to have been with nearly all the personal workouts so far&#8212although we sometimes hide our intentions, as in the DeMaryius Thomas and Tebow workouts.

I think there have been a lot of &#8216this&#8217 type of player, i.e., high-motor DE, that we would have taken if we could. I&#8217ve said it many times&#8212we would have taken Koa Misi this year if he hadn&#8217t gone so quickly in the 2nd.

Posted by colinski on 2010-11-18 07:40:33

Re: pronunciation. Here&#8217s my best recollection&#8212vai- KUNE - ay

Rhymes with eye - tune - pay.

Posted by colinski on 2010-11-18 07:25:44

Re: Tongan from AK. He&#8217s a military brat, so his birthplace is the result of where his father was stationed, I presume.

Posted by colinski on 2010-11-18 07:21:05

Bradley, Tongan? Wasn&#8217t he born in Alaska?

Posted by jtomasik on 2010-11-18 04:10:17

He&#8217s Tongan. Tongans kick Samoan butt. (Tonga and Samoa are neighbors in the south Pacific).

Posted by bradley on 2010-11-18 01:11:22

Is he Samoan? If so then I like this move because Samoan&#8217s kick a**!

Posted by c_style on 2010-11-18 01:02:44

S&#8217long, Jarvis. Thanks for your effort. Still wonder what we might have had there had he not been injured right out of the gate. I know Josh valued his presence on the scout team, but he was clearly a liability when he wasn&#8217t able to contribute meaningfully to game days.

Posted by broncosmontana on 2010-11-18 00:37:08

I like it. Moss seemed like a fragile psyche based on his performance and give-up-moment.

Is the new LB pronounced &#8220Vay-Kune&#8221? Hate mis-pronouncing guys that may end up contributing&#8230hopefully soon. At least ST for now, and give Mays time off ST so he can focus on his starting assignment.

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2010-11-17 23:05:36

Interesting move at this point in the season.

Posted by bradley on 2010-11-17 22:28:58

Well, you know Josh wanted competition at all positions, so Kyle better look out&#8230

Joking obviously.

Posted by John Hilton on 2010-11-17 21:37:56

This guy might be a good pickup. I read where he sheds blocks pretty well. Might even get some work at one of the ILB spots - if he has sufficient speed to cover.

Glad to see the Moss era is over here and he is moving on. After Monday night&#8217s game, Shanny is probably looking for some answers. Here we go&#8230. Like Ralph W says&#8230.See # 2 above.

Posted by BlackKnight on 2010-11-17 21:31:53

If Ayers plays, what happens to Haggan? Goes back inside? Mays?

John H, Veikune scored like a QB on the Wonderlic test.

Posted by jtomasik on 2010-11-17 21:06:00

Everyone should read the comments section in that Cleveland-Plain Dealer article. What does that remind you of? Evidence that jerks/2nd guessers are everywhere and that EVERY team makes talent evaluation mistakes.

Posted by John Hilton on 2010-11-17 20:50:49

He got hurt in Cleveland. He was placed on IR in Jan, 2010, then was released this September. I have a feeling that it was injury-related release, much like Darrell Reid and Marques Branson. He was known for high character and high performance in college, so I think the signing is suggestive of someone they were targeting in the 2009 draft but didn&#8217t get.

Posted by John Hilton on 2010-11-17 20:48:24

Maybe he was misused in Cleveland. He was known as a pass rushing DE in college then they had him lose 20 pounds and put him inside as linebacker. I wonder if Denver will have him regain his weight and move him back outside.

Posted by sleepyteak on 2010-11-17 20:42:17

Jarvis will be signed by Shanny and will lead the league in sacks, followed by a barrage of people questioning McD&#8217s sanity. &#8220How could he NOT see the potential in Moss?&#8221

I will be the first to personally congratulate him if this happens.

Posted by RalphW on 2010-11-17 20:31:33

Oh well, sorry Jarvis. But the Broncos gave him every opportunity to stick. Not a great pick by Shanny and company, that one. Don&#8217t know much about Veikune. But I do know that I like Robert Ayers&#8212and that news!!

Posted by underdog on 2010-11-17 20:28:57

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