ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Broncos waived third-year tight end Greg Dulcich on Monday, bringing an unceremonious end to his disappointing tenure in Denver.

Dulcich was dogged by hamstring injuries in each of his first two seasons. He caught 33 passes for 411 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie. But he caught just three passes for 25 yards in two games in his second season and had five receptions for 28 yards this year before being a healthy scratch the last eight weeks.

Dulcich showed signs in training camp of being the playmaker the Broncos expected when they drafted him in the third round out of UCLA in 2021. But by Week 5, he’d been bumped in favor of Lucas Kroll.

Earlier this month, coach Sean Payton said Dulcich was handling his demotion well and had improved his play at practice but was not playing as well as Kroll, Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins to bump one of them from the dress list on game days.

Dulcich’s departure opens a spot for the return to the 53-man roster this week of either linebacker Drew Sanders (Achilles tendon) or receiver Josh Reynolds (finger).

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