The Denver Broncos have a lot of work to do this week as they prepare for the new league year, which is set to kick off on March 13th at 2:00 p.m. MT. How will they become cap-compliant by the new league year?
Denver Broncos expected to begin roster moves this week
As it currently stands, the Broncos are around $27M over the cap, according to Spotrac. They’ll have to do some shuffling in order to become cap-compliant by the time the new league year rolls around next week.
So, what can Broncos fans potentially expect this week regarding roster maneuvering? This week could very well be the week Denver moves on from Russell Wilson, just two years after they traded for him.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton indicated last week at the NFL Scouting Combine that a decision would be coming fairly quickly.
“We go through the combine week here,” Payton said. “Next week—Tuesday or Wednesday—we’ll be in meetings with ownership, and I expect that we’re going to know fairly quickly. I said at the Super Bowl but I think more specifically, somewhere in the neighborhood of next week we’re going to [know]. There’s a couple of factors here. Obviously, the cap projections came out and we’re further down the road with the draft class and obviously the pro free agents. I would anticipate it being within the next two weeks.”
Payton and general manager George Paton’s meeting with ownership this week is likely to illustrate how the team plans to attack the offseason and of course discuss the financial ramifications of releasing Wilson, if that is in fact the path the team does decide to take.
Releasing Wilson would incur a massive dead cap hit to the Broncos, and it’s worth asking whether or not the team plans to incur the dead cap hit over the course of the next two years or eat all $85M in 2024.
If Denver chose the latter, it would give them more financial flexibility in 2025 and especially 2026 but would put them in a tough bind this season. The opportunity cost will be heavily factored into the equation, but the organization is up against the clock with the upcoming league year approaching next week.
Potential restructures the Broncos could make
One likely thing that Broncos fans can expect this week is to see several players contracts restructured with money being converted into a signing bonus that will allocate them some free cap space.
Players to keep an eye on include Mike McGlinchey, Courtland Sutton, Zach Allen, and Ben Powers.
Sutton has two years remaining on his deal, while McGlinchey, Allen, and Powers signed deals last year in free agency. The Broncos want Sutton back in the fold this year after his ten-touchdown season.
Denver wants Tim Patrick back this season, but he’s set to account for a $15M cap hit this season. The unfortunate aspect of Patrick’s situation is that he doesn’t have the necessary leverage from the business side of the NFL due to suffering back-to-back season-ending injuries in training camp.
There is a likely scenario that Denver releases him and then re-signs him to a one or two-year deal. The plans for Patrick inside of Payton’s offense were big heading into training camp, and his loss was felt significantly on the field this season.
He’s made tremendous progress in his recovery from Achilles surgery, and toward the end of Denver’s season, he was running sprints and doing fieldwork.
Garett Bolles is another name to keep an eye on as a potential cap casualty or extension candidate. Bolles is in the final year of his deal with Denver and accounts for $20M against the cap this year.
However, cutting Bolles would leave the Broncos with another massive hole on the offensive side of the ball at one of the league’s most important positions. If Denver is truly invested in adding a franchise QB in the NFL Draft, it would be handicapping that player by not having a solidified option at left tackle to protect him.
The logical move here would be for the Broncos to extend him, but it would have to be a deal that both sides would agree to.
Another extension candidate is Broncos captain and All-Pro Justin Simmons. He’s entering the final year of his contract with the Broncos and has arguably been their most important player alongside Patrick Surtain. Since 2016, he’s led the NFL in interceptions and has been the voice for Denver’s defense.
Simmons is a franchise cornerstone player, and the Walton-Penner Family Ownership group values his on-field play and the impact he has on Denver’s community away from the game. He’s an important piece to the franchise and could also find himself extended in the next week.
It’s unclear what moves the Broncos will officially make, but Paton and Payton have indicated they have a plan of attack to put them in a flexible position for this upcoming season.
