With roster wiggle room and desire to create competition, the Broncos made several moves Tuesday.

The Broncos claimed Tampa Bay receiver/returner Solomon Patton and Jacksonville tight end Marcel Jensen off waivers. They followed it by signing guard Andre Davis and wide receiver David Porter, both undrafted rookies.

The Broncos feature openings on special teams, specifically on punt returns. Last season’s primary punt returner, Isaiah Burse, finished on the practice squad after failing to show explosiveness. And Wes Welker, who took over in the final weeks of the season, remains a free agent. Jordan Norwood remains in the mix as he recovers from a knee injury suffered during training camp last summer.

Patton, who played collegiately at Florida, saw spot duty on special teams for the Buccaneers last season as a rookie, returning 10 punts for 113 yards (long of 33) and 18 kickoffs for 416 yards.

Jensen, 25, played one game for the Jacksonville Jaguars in his rookie year last season, catching one pass for 8 yards. He provides insurance.

The same can be said for Davis and Porter. Davis, 6-foot-4, 314 pounds, played guard for the University of Buffalo after originally manning a defensive tackle position early in his college career. Listed at 5-11, 205 pounds, Porter finished at Texas Christian with 74 receptions and 10 touchdowns. Both tried out for other NFL teams recently before the Broncos landed them.

The Broncos’ lost a key member at the tight end position Saturday when third-round pick Jeff Heuerman suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Coach Gary Kubiak had designs on integrating Heuerman into the offense even with Owen Daniels and Virgil Green ahead of him on the depth chart. Heuerman injured his left knee running down the field during a special-teams drill, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament as he planted to cut.

“Very tough. I wish that it was me,” Kubiak said. “It was such an unfortunate situation. We are going to miss him.”

Heuerman’s injury left fullback/tight end hybrids James Casey and Joe Don Duncan and blocking specialist Dominique Jones as reserves.

Troy E. Renck: trenck@denverpost.com or twitter.com/troyrenck