Since early May, the Denver Broncos have carried two long-snappers on their 90-player offseason roster, which is unusual in itself, never mind that Denver is relatively set at the spot with reliable veteran Mitchell Fraboni returning for a fifth season.

Not only that, but the Broncos have taken an extensive look at undrafted rookie Luke Basso throughout offseason practices and training camp. The results ... haven't been great, as Basso has notably mis-snapped a pair of balls, including in last week's preseason opener against the Falcons.

Speaking Tuesday, special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi explained the logic behind the decision to have a dual presence at the position.

“I think a couple of things. I think people wouldn’t realize, but wear and tear on the long snapper, a little competition never hurts either," Rizzi told reporters following training camp practice. "We always evaluate the long snappers. This long snapper class, this college class, I think I mentioned way back, was actually a little bit of a unicorn because there were a number of guys that actually ended up in camps. Some years there are zero, and this year I think there were five or six."

"So we saw something in [LS] Luke [Basso], but also if you look around the league, I think like four or five long snappers have already been injured here in the preseason. The team we’re playing this week, their long snapper got injured, a few others, so it’s a long process. I thought having another guy in the offseason, both for competition and not to take anything away from Luke, I really thought Luke did a heck of a job in his college career, and we saw some ability there. So it was a bunch of different reasons.”

Basso has maintained his roster spot as of this writing, and appears likely to again suit up when Denver hosts the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High on Friday evening.

Denver Needs to Call It ...

If this is a true "competition" as Rizzi stated, Basso undoubtedly is losing the battle — and through his own volition. While it's tough for any rookie to unseat a vet, it's even more difficult for an errant long snapper, whose name you're never supposed to hear during a game.

Fraboni inked a three-year extension in 2025 and, barring injury, his job security seems as good as anyone's. That being the case, the Broncos would probably be wise to end the Basso experiment sooner rather than later and use his roster slot in another area, though one of actual need.

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