Former Husker Kenny Bell has signed a futures contract with the Denver Broncos.
Nebraska’s all-time leading receiver has not played in an NFL regular-season game since being selected by Tampa Bay in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He spent most of last season on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad.
Any player that wasn’t on an active roster to end the regular season is eligible to sign a futures contract. It allows teams to lock up a player they think has the potential to make the team, and doesn’t count against a team’s roster limit or salary cap until the start of that next season.
Bell will officially be added to Denver’s roster at the start of the league year March 14.
Bell is a native of Boulder, Colorado. His father, Ken Bell, spent his entire four-year NFL career with the Broncos and is second in franchise history with 104 kick returns for 2,218 yards.
This will be Kenny Bell’s third NFL team since entering the league. He spent his entire rookie season with Tampa Bay on injured reserve. The Buccaneers released him prior to the 2016 season, and he joined Baltimore’s practice squad in October of that year. Baltimore released him last summer, but he was added back to the practice squad a couple months later.
Bell would join three other former Huskers with the Broncos — linebacker Zaire Anderson, defensive end Jared Crick and fullback Andy Janovich.
Bell caught 181 passes during his Nebraska career with 2,689 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns.
Former Husker Brian Duensing agrees to $7 million contract with Chicago Cubs
Former Husker and Millard South graduate Brian Duensing has agreed to a new contract with the Chicago Cubs.
Duensing is expected to sign a two-year deal worth $7 million. He made $2 million last season, his first with the Cubs. The 34-year-old will be entering his 10th MLB season.
A person with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed the contract to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because it is pending a physical.
Duensing pitched in 68 games last year, logging 62-1/3 innings as a left-handed specialist in the Cubs’ bullpen. He finished with a 2.74 ERA, his lowest in the majors since 2010, and 61 strikeouts.
Duensing was a third-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2005. He spent seven seasons in Minnesota after making his MLB debut in 2009.
He opened the 2016 season in the minors with the Omaha Storm Chasers but was released from his contract by the Kansas City Royals that May. The Baltimore Orioles picked him up, and he appeared in 14 games with a 4.05 ERA.
The Cubs, coming off a World Series title, picked up Duensing in the offseason last year on a one-year, $2 million deal. He helped the Cubs repeat as division champions and made five postseason appearances last season, allowing one earned run in 5-1/3 innings.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Duensing said in an October interview with The World-Herald. “To go from the minor leagues last season to this is pretty crazy.”
Chicago’s bullpen faltered in the playoffs and it was eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series. All-Star closer Wade Davis then left in free agency, agreeing to a $52 million, three-year contract with Colorado, but the Cubs signed relievers Brandon Morrow and Steve Cishek before coming to an agreement with Duensing.
Duensing received All-Big 12 honorable mention as a senior at Nebraska in 2005. He recorded an 8-0 record and 3.00 ERA that season with the Huskers. He was a second-team All-Nebraska selection at Millard South in 2000 and ’01.
