Jeff Heuerman

27-year-old Heuerman was clearly on the outside looking in after the team drafted fourth-round specimen Albert Okwuegbunam to play behind last year's No. 20 overall pick Noah Fant. Heuerman totaled 63/678/5 in 51 games with the Broncos the past four seasons. Releasing him saves $3.9 million in cap space.

Heuerman, not surprisingly, saw a drop-off in production with the rise of rookie first-round pick Noah Fant. Heuerman's 114 receiving yards were a career low despite him tying a career high with 14 games played. The Ohio State product had a couple of nice outings as a short, underneath target -- Week 2 against the Bears and Week 13 against the Chargers come to mind -- but his production was capped thanks to just one reception of 12 or more yards all season and one target inside the 10-yard line. He's a much-needed veteran presence in a young tight end room and may benefit from tight end enthusiast Pat Shurmur taking over as offensive coordinator in 2020. The question will be whether he can stave off young reserve tight ends including Andrew Beck, Troy Fumagalli and Austin Fort.

Heuerman caught multiple passes for just the second time since Week 3. The veteran tight end has had a little more production with Drew Lock under center -- 1.5 catches for nine yards per game -- than Denver's veteran passers -- one catch for 8.7 yards per game, but even the improved stats don't inspire much excitement. The Buckeye ends the season against an Oakland defense that kept him catchless in Week 1.

Despite not being targeted, Heuerman saw the field on 24 offensive snaps -- 41% of Denver's total. It's hard to read too much into Sunday's game given the Broncos' recent history against the Chiefs and the blustery conditions. Expect for him to return to his role as a decent underneath target and occasional red-zone target for rookie passer Drew Lock. Sunday brings a matchup against Detroit's 31st-ranked pass defense.