Cut Traded Fired Retired

He set receiving records at Colorado State University and eventually landed in their Athletics Hall of Fame. Not bad for a guy who didn’t have the size of a “typical” wide receiver in the early 2000’s. These days, David Anderson would fit right in.  

Davis grew up in California and played at Thousand Oaks High School, a hot bed for college recruiting. Despite having numerous D1 scouts and coaches at his games and dominating at wide receiver, David’s first scholarship offer came in the late fall of his senior year. During his visit to Fort Collins, he committed to play for Sonny Lubick.  

After a stellar career at CSU, he was selected by the Houston Texans with the 4th to last pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. Like Sonny Lubick, Gary Kubiak had an eye for hidden talent. David played 9 games as a rookie and stayed with the Texans until he was cut in the summer of 2011. He got picked up by the Broncos for training camp, then cut again. From there he bounced back to Houston, had a short stop with Mike Shanahan in Washington, another quick stint in Seattle and called it a career.  

After his playing days, David went back to school to get his MBA and venture into the business world. Eventually, his love for math and communications led to a startup called Breakaway Data where he is currently the CEO. David is also a husband and father to three young children who keep him plenty busy.  

Listen to David’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Growing up in California, Nate Jackson spent all his time in the swimming pool… because he wasn’t allowed to play football until high school. He excelled in the pool and figured out how to compete. Once he started high school, his football experience began as a running back. Nate had to catch up quickly with guys who had been playing for a while… and had hit puberty.  

He caught up and moved to wide receiver, however in a run-first offense, Nate didn’t get enough exposure to earn a college football scholarship. He decided he would try to walk on somewhere and settled on Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The football coach told him all the walk-on spots were full and he should come back in the spring. When he came back in the spring, Nate and the other walk-ons were put aside. So, he transferred to Division III Menlo College.  

At Menlo, Nate set records at wide receiver, earned NCAA Division III Offensive Player of the Year his senior year and is now in their Hall of Fame. He went undrafted after graduation and was able to catch on with the 49er’s. From there the ups and downs of pro football started: injury, cut, resigned, traded to the Broncos, NFL Europe, cut by Josh McDaniels, more injuries and a final try with the Las Vegas Locomotives.  

Nate’s body had enough. He retired, started a family and embarked on many missions: published a book, wrote numerous articles and became a radio talk show host. Today, he’s working with Guerrilla Sports and is the NFL’s Uniform Inspector on the Broncos sidelines during home games.  

Listen to Nate’s story and conversation with @susiewargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. Links to listen on your favorite podcast platforms in the @ctfrpodcast bio!

He grew up in St Louis and played a number of sports, except football. Jay Leeuwenburg’s dad wanted to make sure he was coached properly, so he had to wait until high school to hit the gridiron. In the meantime, Jay dealt with a setback: being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in middle school.  

The diabetes diagnosis meant one thing: how to manage it and play sports. Jay figured it out with the proper nutrition and became stronger… real strong. He excelled on the offensive line at his high school and got noticed by Gary Barnett, who was recruiting for the University of Colorado under Bill McCartney.  

Jay took a scholarship at CU and found himself once again making a name for himself on the offensive line as a center. He helped the Buffs win a National Championship in 1990 and was a unanimous First Team All American the following season. There was talk about being a high draft pick, but that ended when he was chosen by the Chiefs in the 9th round of the 1992 draft.  

The Chiefs didn’t keep him after training camp his rookie season, but the Bears claimed him off wires and he thrived in Chicago, starting every game from 1993-1995. He was a free agent in 1996 and signed with the Colts and eventually became Peyton Manning’s center. After stops in Cincinnati, Washington and Denver (very briefly), Jay retired and settled in Colorado with his family.  
He dabbled in radio and TV and also got his teaching license. He’s been teaching 3rd grade at Colorado Academy now for 23 years.

Growing up in California, he wanted to be like his favorite Raider’s player, Howie Long. Coincidentally, Travis Kirschke paralleled Howie’s NFL position (defensive end) and longevity in the league (13 years). Howie stayed with the same team and won one Super Bowl. Travis made 3 stops in the NFL, with the final one providing him two Super Bowl rings.  

Travis was a standout high school player in The Golden State, earning a California Player of the Year Award and the Glenn Davis Award for the best high school player in the Los Angeles area. His career at UCLA wasn’t nearly as illustrious as he endured a few coaching changes and injuries. The result was being undrafted in 1997.  

He stuck with his goal, however, and got on with the Detroit Lions where he became a starter his 3rd year and stayed for 6 seasons. From there he moved on (by choice) to the 49’ers and had one of his best seasons, starting nearly every game and racking up 43 tackles. After San Fransisco, he was courted by the Saints and Steelers and felt Pittsburgh was the best fit. Smart move. Travis helped build a solid defense with names like Polamalu and Porter and won two Super Bowls.   After 13 seasons, Travis knew his time had come.

He had moved to Colorado during his NFL career with his wife and three kids and returned there to start the next chapter. In retirement, he has stayed busy as an assistant football coach at Valor High School and being dad to three athletes. Currently his two youngest sons are college student athletes with Gabe playing football at Colorado State and Blake playing lacrosse at the University of Denver.

It was the event Nuggets fans had been waiting for since pro basketball came to Denver: a Championship Parade. On June 13, 2023, an estimated 750,000 people flocked to downtown Denver to celebrate their team who had just beat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.  

The parade was like previous parades for the Broncos and the Avalanche with players and coaches on top of fire trucks, traveling slowly through the streets of Denver. The final truck was the main attraction, carrying fan favorites Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray and the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. The crowds got closer and closer to the truck as items were being tossed up, autographed and tossed back down.  

Denver Police and SWAT team members initially had a comfortable security perimeter around the truck but began to lose their space as the crowd swelled.  SWAT Sergeant Justin Dodge was on the passenger side of the 80,000-pound truck and next to a wheel well as he worked to keep parade goers safe while the truck turned at 13th & Cherokee.  

But when the truck turned, the wheel came out of the well 3 feet, catching Justin off guard and finding himself pinned by his leg under the wheel. His story about those vital seconds and what followed is incredible. Even more amazing: he returned to his SWAT team less than a year after losing his lower leg.

Between high school, college and the NFL, he played with two future Pro Football Hall of Famers and one Heisman Trophy winner. Of course Kenny Bell had no idea when he played for Greenwich High School that his quarterback Steve Young would go on to be a 3-time Super Bowl Champion and wear a gold jacket. However, they did win a LOT of games and Kenny played a big role in that success. He was inducted into his high school’s Hall of Fame in 2015.  

Kenny also didn’t know when he chose Boston College that his quarterback, Doug Flutie, would be a Heisman Trophy winner and have incredible success in both the Canadian Football League as well as the NFL. Kenny just kept playing, only missing one of his 48 games with the Eagles and honing his skills as a return specialist.  

He also had no idea when he made the Broncos roster as an undrafted free agent in 1986, that his quarterback John Elway would be a 2-time Super Bowl champion and have his bust in Canton. Kenny just kept doing what he did well on special teams. Coaches adored him and teammates loved his style.  

He went to three Super Bowls during his tenure in orange and blue. Unfortunately, he never saw a win in the big game before retiring from the game. After football Kenny dabbled in the restaurant business, then got into management in health care and later hospitality. Today, he can be found managing employees at the Denver Convention Center.

As the son of a Naval pilot, Bucky Dilts moved around a lot growing. At one point his family was based in Hawaii where he learned to surf and play football, specifically punting. He’d kick a football (with his left foot) over anything high that he could find.  

Next came a move to Atlanta. Surfing wasn’t an option, so Bucky went 100% into football during high school. He went on to punt for the University of Georgia as a walk-on. His reverse spin, directional punting and hang time became a problem for opponents.  

Despite his collegiate success, Bucky went undrafted in 1977 and while a number of teams offered him a spot in training camp, he went with the Broncos who had a lot of competition at the punting position. Fully confident, Bucky came to camp and won the position.  

His rookie season included a trip to the Super Bowl and a spot on the All-Rookie Team. He’d stay with Denver for another year before being traded to the then-Baltimore Colts. After a rough year with the Colts and pricing himself out of the market contract wise, Bucky was done with the NFL.  

After retirement, Bucky hit the business world and endured some personal setbacks and challenges with his family. Today he’s helping people (and himself) become healthier versions of themselves.

His roots are in Illinois, along with most of his 12 seasons in the NFL. However, Emery Moorehead’s football career went through Colorado twice.  

Emery had his choice of colleges as a star athlete out of Evanston and opted to head to Boulder and play for the Buffs. He played both running back and wide receiver and was a captain his senior year when CU won the Big 8 Conference Championship.  

He got noticed by NFL Scouts and was picked by the Giants in the 6th round of the 1977 draft. After two head coaches and three seasons, he was traded to the Broncos for the 1980 season. His teammates included names like Watson, Upchurch, Wright, Egloff and Morton on offense and Gradishar, Foley, TJ, BT and Chavous on defense. He only spent one year in Denver, but quickly became part of the Broncos family.  

He was cut by the Broncos in 1981 and his former Buffs teammate Dave Williams suggested to the Bear that they bring Emery in.  They did and he stuck around for the next 8 years playing wherever and whenever… and winning a Super Bowl ring.  

After retirement, Emery was a real estate agent in Illinois for 28 years and today is fully retired, splitting his time between Illinois and Colorado.

His first trip to Colorado came when the Broncos drafted him 31st overall in 1983.  Prior to that, Mark Cooper had spent nearly his entire life in Florida, growing up playing football and excelling on the offensive line at the University of Miami. When Coop got to Denver, he was reunited with a guy he met briefly a few months earlier when both played in the East-West Shrine Bowl: John Elway.   

Mark’s four years with the Broncos weren’t as successful as he would have liked, he often found himself in the training room with an injury and then fighting to get his job back.  He did start many games, however, including Super Bowl 21.   

In 1987, Mark was ready to move on. After a little game of “let’s try to trade you rather than release you,” the Broncos set the price tag too high for a trade and nobody took the bait. Mark was released and signed with Tampa Bay where he played the next few seasons before retiring.  

After he retired, Mark returned to Denver. He had fallen in love with the Mile High City and got into some business ventures. He also got his real estate license, which worked out very well for him: more than 30 years later, he’s still helping clients buy and sell in both Colorado and Florida.

Orlando Franklin’s unconventional path to the NFL started in Jamaica. He was born to a single mom who wanted a better life for her and her sons. She applied for Visa’s in three countries and only one accepted her: Canada. So, Orlando’s path went north.  

His mom married, but then widowed when her husband tragically passed away. That life change put Orlando and his family in a women’s homeless shelter for a year. Next was Section 8 housing. Then he found football and loved it.  

Not only did Orlando find football, he found trouble. He ran with a crowd that made some bad choices and was arrested for the first time when he was 12. The second time he was arrested, his mom told him she wouldn’t bail him out unless he made a contract with her to turn his life around. He did and she still has that contract.  

Big O and his mom moved to Florida soon after. He got letters from over 70 colleges, and he chose the Miami Hurricanes. From there, he was the Broncos 2nd round draft pick in 2011. Over the next four years, he started 70 of 71 games. In 2015, he thought Denver was going to resign him, but they never called. Begrudgingly, he went to San Diego and Washington over the next few seasons. He called it quits in 2018 to be a very present father to his kids, something he didn’t have growing up.  

Listen to Orlando’s story and conversation with @susiewargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. Links to listen on your favorite podcast platforms in the @ctfrpodcast bio!