Player movement between NFL franchises is such a common occurrence in the modern era that most fans no longer feel any sense of betrayal when a player they used to cheer for signs with a new team.

Younger fans likely will not be aware that in the mid 2000’s our beloved Broncos featured a Defensive Line made up almost entirely of former Cleveland Browns players. Based on the unusually large number of former Browns players in the defensive line up for Denver, some people began calling them the Denver Browncos.

During the 2004-2007 time frame, Denver acquired Courtney Brown, Ebenezer Ekuban, Darius Holland, Kenard Lang, Micheal Myers and Gerard Warren. All were D lineman that had been playing in Cleveland.

Maybe more notable former Cleveland players that shined as Denver Broncos are guys like TJ Ward, Reuben Droughns, and Tony Jones.

On the other side of the coin there were some fairly popular Denver players that ended up leaving Denver and playing in Cleveland. Lyle Alzado, Peyton Hillis, Andy Janovich, Dave Logan, Willis McGahee just to name a few.

Some of Denver’s greatest moments in franchise history, particularly during AFC Championship games have occurred while playing against Cleveland. Here’s to hoping we as Broncos fans are able to add a new pleasant memory based on a winning outcome for the game this weekend.