The Denver Broncos did wonders in 2024 with an offense led by a rookie quarterback almost no one expected anything out of in Bo Nix and a ragtag group of skill players outside of veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton.
Somehow, the Broncos went 10-7 and made the AFC playoffs for the first time since 2015 — made even more incredible considering Denver was operating with $53 million in dead cap space thanks to the disastrous Russell Wilson contract.
In 2025 the Broncos will only have $32 million in dead cap space because of Wilson — the last year they’ll deal with that financial burden – and can start making moves conducive to building a contender around Nix and head coach Sean Payton.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine thinks one bold move the Broncos could make is trading for embattled Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, who is still in the wake of a nightmare AFC Divisional Round loss to the Buffalo Bills in which he lost a fumble in the fourth quarter and dropped a pass on what would have been a game-tying 2-point conversion.
“The (tight end) free-agent class isn’t really strong, and a pass-catching tight end is one thing that could really add a new element to the offense,” Ballentine wrote on February 3. “Calling the Ravens about Mark Andrews wouldn’t be a bad idea, as they already have Isaiah Likely and stand to free up cap room by trading him.”
Andrews One of NFL’s Elite Tight Ends
Despite Andrews’ failings in the playoff loss to the Bills — for which his teammates quickly came to his defense — we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact he’s been one of the NFL’s elite tight ends over the last 7 seasons and is a 3-time Pro Bowler.
Andrews, 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top collegiate tight end at Oklahoma in 2017 and was selected by the Ravens in the third round (No. 86 overall) in the 2018 NFL draft — the same year they drafted 2-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson in the first round.
Andrews made his first Pro Bowl in 2018 with 64 receptions for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns and had one of the best single seasons for a tight end in NFL history in 2021 with 107 receptions for 1,361 yards and 9 touchdowns on the way to being named NFL All-Pro.
Financially, Andrews wouldn’t be too much of a risk for the Broncos — he only has 1 season left on the 4-year, $56 million contract extension he signed in September 2021.
Broncos’ Tight Ends Underperformed in 2024
It’s hard to call the production the Broncos got out of a rotating group of tight ends in 2024 as anything but underwhelming — Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull and Nate Adkins combined for 46 receptions for 455 yards and 5 touchdowns.
That is essentially less than half of the production of both of 2 other starting tight ends in their own division with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (97 receptions, 823 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Las Vegas Raiders tight end and NFL All-Pro Brock Bowers, who set NFL records for rookie tight ends with 112 receptions for 1,194 yards and 5 touchdowns.
It’s also about equal to the production of Los Angeles Chargers tight end Will Dissly (50 receptions, 481 yards, 2 touchdowns).
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