The Broncos’ Shelley Smith signing began with good intentions and ended Wednesday without him ever playing. The former Colorado State product was waived to make room on the 53-man roster for offensive lineman Sam Brenner.

The Broncos claimed Brenner of waivers on Wednesday afternoon. He played in three games for the Miami Dolphins this season. Undrafted from Utah, the 25-year-old, 310-pounder can play guard or center, though it’s unlikely he will be active for this Sunday’s game.

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Smith signed a two-year, $4.25-million deal in the offseason with a $1 million signing bonus. He will count $500,000 in dead cap money next season. Smith struggled to gain traction in training camp. Ben Garland and Max Garcia moved ahead of him on the depth chart, and any chance of Smith starting vanished when the Broncos signed Evan Mathis after the second preseason game.

Smith had appeared in 36 regular-season games in his previous five seasons with Houston, St. Louis, and Miami.

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