The Denver Broncos are expected to have a relatively quiet offseason in comparison to years past, but some of the biggest noise could be moves made from within. As Denver hopes to climb out of being nearly $25M over the salary cap, they might be forced to part ways with Garett Bolles.
Will Garett Bolles be a member of the Denver Broncos in 2024?
In the coming weeks, the Broncos will have to become cap-compliant and maneuver themselves out of being $24-25M over the cap. Just one glance at the Broncos overall contract landscape paints a tough financial picture.
Russell Wilson, Mike McGlinchey, Garett Bolles, Justin Simmons, and Courtland Sutton have the top five most expensive contracts on the roster. With the team appearing likely to part ways with Wilson, that will have significant salary cap ramifications and will dictate what the team does in free agency.
The team could convert some of McGlinchey’s 2024 salary into a signing bonus, extend or restructure Simmons contract, and potentially extend Sutton to create more wiggle room. Some have floated the idea that Simmons could be a salary cap casualty, but that is a wildly ridiculous stance and isn’t even in the team’s consideration.
Bolles is an interesting name to watch here because of his $20M salary cap hit in 2024. That’s a high price point for one of the most important positions in the league, but with Denver’s financial situation being as tricky as it is and Bolles being in the final year of his contract, they could look at either extending him or releasing him.
An extension would create some financial flexibility. Releasing Bolles this offseason would put the Broncos on the hook for only $4M in dead money and would save them $16M.
Releasing Bolles would create further holes for this Broncos team as they prepare to figure out the quarterback position. Not having a solidified left tackle is an obstacle for any team that is looking to acquire a new quarterback.
The team is high on undrafted rookie free agents Alex Palczewski and Demontrey Jacobs, but going from Bolles to an unknown commodity would be a substantially big risk for the Broncos. CEO Greg Penner has stated that he expects the team to win more than eight games in 2024, making the gamble of going with an undrafted player at left tackle an extreme risk.
In 2023, the NFL’s salary cap was set at $224.8M and could potentially increase to $240-243M this offseason, which would help the Broncos find flexibility with the cap.
Coming off of a major injury from 2022, Bolles had a pretty productive and impactful 2023 season and has stated that he’d love to remain a Bronco for life, but the business side of this league could prohibit that from happening.
It’s likely that Bolles’ future with the team will be decided in the next two or three weeks and is something that Broncos fans should keep their eyes on.
