Ready, set, tamper.
The NFL’s two-day free agent negotiating window — also known as the legal tampering window – opened at 10 a.m., marking the unofficial start of the 2025 season.
The Broncos and the league’s 31 other teams can speak with agents for perspective free agents and come to agreement on contract terms starting this morning. Deals cannot be formally executed or announced until the 2025 league year officially begins at 2 p.m. Wednesday, but for all intents and purposes, free agency begins now.
For Denver coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton, that means a window of substantial opportunity. Before any extensions or roster moves, the Broncos are sitting near the middle of the league with more than $40 million in cap space. They could create much more if they want to or as they get contract extensions done this offseason for the likes of defensive tackle Zach Allen and wide receiver Courtland Sutton. Last year, they had to move on from several veterans and re-structure several deals just to get to $29 million in space.
That sets the club up to be as aggressive as they want to be in the coming days and weeks. Paton said last month the team will show restraint, but also left the door open for a splash or two.
The Broncos know what their needs are and, critically, what they are not. They’ve done their homework on running backs and tight ends — the search for a “Joker” is in full gear — and they’re committed to improving up the middle of the defense.
Around the league, teams have been rushing to get their own players back and clearing cap space by releasing veterans with expensive contracts. Denver got in on the action Sunday, too, agreeing to bring back defensive tackle D.J. Jones on a three-year deal worth around $39 million, back-up quarterback Jarrett Stidham on a two-year, $12 million deal and long snapper Mitch Fraboni with a three-year deal. They could also aim to bring back any of several several other role players from 2024’s roster among their 11 remaining impending unrestricted free agents.
Either way, the Broncos are armed with cap space and a full suite of draft picks. Payton likes to say that free agency and next month’s draft fit together like a puzzle.
Now comes the starting point: Securing the pieces to add.
NFL free agency updates
10:15 a.m.: One thing to watch this morning: Would not be a surprise at all if the Broncos are in the mix for former San Francisco ILB Dre Greenlaw.
Greenlaw is coming off injury, but when he’s healthy he’s one of the best middle-of-the-field defenders in the business. He was expected to have a strong market in the first place and it’s only strengthened in recent days as top-of-the-board linebackers like Zach Baun, Jamien Sherwood and Nick Bolton have signed deals to return to their former teams. — Parker Gabriel
10:05 a.m.: One random thought after Carolina signed CB Jaycee Horn to a record $25 million per year contract: Pat Surtain II is already a bargain. — Parker Gabriel
8:30 a.m.: Denver didn’t even have to wait for the negotiating window to open to potentially address one of its foremost needs.
The Broncos had former Jacksonville and New York Giants tight end Evan Engram in Denver on Monday, a source confirmed to The Post, for a free agent visit. Because Engram was released by Jacksonville last week, he’s free to sign anywhere as soon as he wants and isn’t governed by the limitations set by the NFL for the negotiating period.
Engram, 30, dealt with injury issues in 2024 that limited him to nine games. First a hamstring problem and then a labrum injury in December that ended his season.
When he is healthy, though, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end delivers something the Broncos have sorely missed in recent seasons: A vertical threat and a tight end that has to be accounted for regularly in the passing game.
Engram caught 114 passes for 963 yards and four touchdowns in 2023 and posted 700-plus receiving yards three times total in his first seven pro seasons. Last year he finished with 47 catches and 365 yards.
The visit, among other things, allows Denver to get a good sense of Engram’s health. As the negotiating window kicks off today, they can also start talking with the agents for pass-catchers like former New Orleans tight end Juwan Johnson and others. — Parker Gabriel
8:00 a.m.: As teams cannonballed head-on into offseason moves before Monday’s free-agency negotiating window ever opened, making splash after splash in signing cut-for-cost vets and trading for disgruntled stars, the Broncos swung mightily on … their backup quarterback and long snapper.
Both were priorities, certainly. Agreeing to re-sign Jarrett Stidham stabilizes a solid backup for Bo Nix, and Mitchell Fraboni was named a Pro Bowl alternate for his work as a long snapper in 2024. But Monday’s available market has thinned considerably across the past week.
Stud receiver Davante Adams, released by the Jets for cap relief, signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams. Running back Aaron Jones, theorized as a fit for Denver due to his versatility on the ground and through the air, re-upped with the Minnesota Vikings. Linebacker Nick Bolton, one of the top ILBs potentially available come Monday and a definite target for the Broncos, inked a three-year extension with Kansas City.
As the Broncos still look for potential help at the skill positions, linebacker and in the secondary, there isn’t a wide stable of big-name upgrades left to pick from. But plenty of intrigue remains. Tight ends Evan Engram and Juwan Johnson could give Sean Payton a serious Joker, and former San Francisco 49ers staple Dre Greenlaw, as well as a handful of other linebackers, still dangle in the mix. — Luca Evans
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