As the Broncos prepare for free agency, they do so from a position that could hardly be more different than this time a year ago.
In early March 2024, coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton slashed and burned. They jettisoned Russell Wilson and his albatross contract. Captain Justin Simmons and top receiver Jerry Jeudy were sent away, too.
They had to move money around just to get cap compliant at the start of the new league year, let alone set the stage for a modest free agency shopping trip.
They had no answer at quarterback, the biggest dead salary cap hit in NFL history looming with Wilson’s release and the prospect of rebuilding a front seven that was porous against the run and anemic rushing the passer.
Exactly a year later, the opposite is true in nearly every regard. Denver has quarterback Bo Nix to build around. There’s a sizable $32 million of Wilson’s money still to account for in 2025, but light growing at the end of the tunnel. A defensive core that is largely under contract and intact coming off a franchise-record 63-sack season.
They’ve got more than $40 million in cap space to work with before any contractual moves that could create even more space.
And yet there is still work to be done.
The Broncos’ task of jumping from surprise playoff entrant to true contender in the AFC hits its next waypoint when the free agency negotiating period begins March 10.
Payton and Paton know the club has plenty of work to do still.
“There are still certain things that we have identified that we think are important,” Payton said late last month at the NFL combine. “Then the puzzle is with free agency and the draft trying to best meet those needs. We’ve had our front board meeting already with the draft. We’re seeing these guys now this week and then we’ve also had a good jump start in free agency, relative to the film study and the priorities.
“It’s good to be in that position, and we have to be able to take advantage of it.”
Before that, though, here are some players currently under contract for 2025 who could see their contracts touched in some way over the coming weeks or months. Denver’s in a situation where it doesn’t have to do anything quickly, but this is the time when teams tend to start getting their house in order for the coming league year.
Extension candidates
OLB Nik Bonitto
No big surprises on this list, least of all Bonitto. He blossomed into one of the NFL’s most dangerous pass-rushers in 2024. Now he enters the final year of his rookie contract poised to challenge Von Miller ($114.1 million) for the largest non-quarterback contract extension in franchise history.
DL Zach Allen
The veteran defensive lineman turned in the best year of his career. His three-year, $45.75 million deal signed in the spring of 2023 is one of Paton and Payton’s shrewdest moves and is due to be updated as early as this spring. Doing so should substantially reduce Allen’s $19.75 million cap hit for 2025.
DL John Franklin-Myers
Can the Broncos pay both Allen and his partner in crime long-term? That remains to be seen and they don’t have to decide now. But Denver could do much worse than having JFM around long term.
WR Courtland Sutton
Sutton, like left tackle Garett Bolles, appears to have played his way from limbo into the long-term picture. Payton and Paton both talked of extending him at the combine and now it’s about finding the right number. An extension would cut his $20.2 million cap number for 2025 — perhaps nearly in half.
Hold the line
RT Mike McGlinchey and LG Ben Powers
It’s easy to forget the Broncos restructured these two (and Allen) last year to create cap space. They could do so again this offseason after the offensive line became a true strength in 2024. Both should be counted on again as stalwarts in 2025. Beyond that, though? Denver is in position to avoid kicking more money down the road just to create cap flexibility, so holding the line with this pair and letting them play on what could end up being the two top cap numbers on the roster — an already team-high $23.775 million for McGlinchey and $17.425 million for Powers — would be a prudent long-term play. Each could well be part of the picture beyond 2025, but there’s no need to lock yourself into keeping both past this year. Hold the line, stay nimble, keep options open.
Restructure or cut candidates
CB Damarri Mathis
The Broncos don’t have to make any of these moves — and can make them at any point between now and August. Mathis is in the final year of his rookie deal. He bounced back some in 2024 and found a role in Vance Joseph’s defense. But Denver is deep and Kris Abrams-Draine played well as a rookie behind Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss and Ja’Quan McMillian. That could make Mathis’ $3.52 million cap number a bit high and $3.325 million in potential savings attractive.
ILB Alex Singleton
Singleton will likely be a key part of the 2025 team. But he carries a $6.91 million cap hit and has no guaranteed money left in the final year of a three-year deal. The 31-year-old should be an easy restructure at some point as opposed to cutting him once he passes a physical later in the summer. Then he just has to avoid the same fate as last year’s respected veteran in a similar situation — receiver Tim Patrick.
S P.J. Locke
Locke has a $5.19 million cap hit and no guaranteed money left. The Broncos will be looking to upgrade their overall talent and athleticism at safety. There’s plenty of room for an adjusted deal here and it’s not an overwhelming cap number in the first place, but Locke will likely enter 2025 in a position he’s quite accustomed to: Fighting for a job.
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