Karene Reid keeps impressive streak going for the Denver Broncos

Travis Wakeman

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Karene Reid keeps impressive streak going for the Denver Broncos image

The Denver Broncos, almost inexplicably, had an undrafted free agent make the final 53-man roster in 20 of the last 21 years. On Tuesday, Karene Reid made that 21 of the last 22. 

Reid, signed by the Broncos out of Utah, was seen as one of the top undrafted players in this year's class for the team and given a good chance to make the final roster. He made good on that when the Broncos somewhat surprisingly chose him over Levelle Bailey to add depth at the inside linebacker position. 

Reid played well during the preseason and began to stand out more following a big interception in the team's preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers, picking off this throw by Carter Bradley. 

In three preseason games, he had eight total tackles (one tackle for loss), one hit on the quarterback, one interception and a fumble recovery. Despite Bailey getting more time with the starters, it was Reid the team felt it couldn't part with. Head coach Sean Payton indicated he knew the team wouldn't have a chance to get Reid back on the practice squad and that factored into the decision to keep him. 

Dating back to the early 2000s, the Broncos have been one of the best teams in the league to sign undrafted players who end up making the team. Chris Harris Jr., C.J. Anderson and Phillip Lindsay are just a few of the names on that impressive list, and Reid now joins them. 

READ: Broncos encouraged to trade former third-round pick to NFC East team

The Broncos will have Reid provide depth behind starting inside linebackers Dre Greenlaw and Alex Singleton, but he could also be a key member of the special teams unit as well. 

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Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.