Colorado Rapids 2023 Season Preview

Tom Bogert

2023 Schedule

Strength: Their offseason maneuvering, along with a pinch of internal development, has put them in a place where they have a ton of depth (and with it a ton of flexibility). So once again Robin Fraser can toggle through formations.
Weakness: Unless somebody jumps a few levels, they just don’t have the type of top-end talent that can brute force a few regular-season wins of the sort that push you over the line and into the playoffs.

Gyasi Zardes: American forward Gyasi Zardes leaves after spending less than a year in Colorado, signing with Austin FC in free agency. Talented homegrown forward Darren Yapi could win some minutes behind starter Diego Rubio up top.
Lucas Esteves: The Rapids declined the purchase option on Brazilian left back Lucas Esteves, who was on loan from Palmeiras. The club have since signed Alex Gersbach from French Ligue 2 club Grenoble.

Andreas Masxø: The Rapids went to Europe to bring in a DP center back, signing Denmark international Andreas Maxsø from Brøndby IF. He looks the part of a new defensive anchor for the group that has missed Auston Trusty since he left last summer for Arsenal.
Kévin Cabral: Kévin Cabral spent the last two seasons with the LA Galaxy after a $5.9 million transfer from France, but struggled with his end product. Colorado traded for the dynamic attacker – another undervalued, young piece – to give Cabral a fresh start. He holds a DP tag.
Connor Ronan: Irish midfielder Connor Ronan arrives from Wolverhampton, reuniting with former teammate Jack Price. Ronan, a talented product of Wolves’ academy, spent the last half-decade on loan and couldn’t quite crack the Premier League rotation.
Full roster