WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. >> Tyler Badie’s on the rise.

Up the depth chart, yes, and now from the Broncos’ practice squad to the 53-man roster.

The team signed Badie to the active roster Wednesday, giving him the spot that opened when inside linebacker Alex Singleton went on injured reserve with a torn ACL.

“I’m just grateful,” Badie told reporters Wednesday. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity and the biggest thing is I just want to win games. Just help the team win. That’s what I’m here to do.”

It’s a move that signals what has already become obvious: Badie is forcing his way into the offensive game plan for Denver after he rushed for 70 yards on nine carries in a 26-7 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday.

Badie’s 43-yard carry in the fourth quarter was the longest run by a Broncos player this season. On that carry, the 5-foot-9, 197-pound running back, hit 20.99 miles per hour according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

That was the second-fasted by a ball-carrier in Week 4 and among the fastest in the league this season.

Badie on Wednesday laughed when apprised of that number.

“I’m very fast, but I mean, shoot, I wish I would have scored,” Badie said. “I got a little tight. My legs were a little tight, but I pride myself on being fast.”

He also confirmed that he now pronounces his name “Bidet,” as the Sunday broadcast said. It’s a recent change that Badie initiated.

“I actually changed it myself,” he said. “There’s some other things going on, some family things that I’ll talk about later on. Right now I’m just trying to focus on football.”

He’s certainly doing that well, but the former Missouri running back is no stranger to production. He set the school record as a senior by rushing for 1,604 yards in 2021. Then he got drafted in the sixth round of the 2022 draft by Baltimore, waived and put on the practice squad. The Broncos signed him late in 2022 and he scored a touchdown on his first career touch, a 24-yard reception against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18.

From there, though, the wait got long. He’s been waived at the roster cutdown each of the past two summers, even when this year he played well throughout camp.

“I feel like I had a great camp and I did everything I could do,” Badie said. “When things don’t go your way, you’ve just got to always be prepared. And I was prepared. …

“When I was out there, I was ready to play.”

He said he just kept believing a chance would come.

“My process has always been the same,” Badie said. “I always felt like I could play. Any opportunity I got, I was ready to show that and that’s what I did.”

Against the Steelers, Badie only had one carry for 16 yards but saw his production increase in Week 3 and provided much-needed juice to Denver’s run game, which ranks 22nd in the league in yards per game (99.7).

He has 10 carries for 86 yards while averaging 8.6 yards per attempt.Badie has more rushing yards than starter Javonte Williams (24 carries, 52 yards) despite having less than half as many carries. Rookie Audric Estime (ankle) is first eligible to return off of injured reserve Week 6.

There could be more machinations ahead, then, at the position.

“(Badie)’s been real decisive, he’s had some big runs for us,” Payton said. “He’s smart, he knows the system. He’s good in the passing game. He brings a lot.”

Linebacker additions

Denver signed Kwon Alexander and Zach Cunningham to its practice squad. Both were on hand for Wednesday’s practice.

Alexander most recently played nine games in 2023 for Pittsburgh, but his season ended in November when he ruptured his Achilles for the second time in his career.

Alexander, a Pro Bowler in 2017, spent the first four years of his career in Tampa before playing for San Francisco, New Orleans, the New York Jets and then the Steelers.

He has familiarity with Broncos head coach Sean Payton and some of the staffers because he played for Payton with the Saints in 2020 and 2021.

Alexander is healthy now after the Achilles injury last fall and has been working out for teams in recent weeks including Atlanta and Minnesota.

Cunningham, 29, has played in 95 career games, most recently starting 10 games for Philadelphia last year. He played for Tennessee for parts of 2021 and then 2022 after spending the first four-plus years of his NFL career as a regular starter in Houston.

From the infirmary

Elsewhere on the injury front Wednesday, JL Skinner (ankle) did not practice, while TE Nate Adkins (shoulder) and WR Josh Reynolds (Achilles) were limited.