The Denver Broncos have made their first free agency move of the offseason during the legal negotiating period. After the team re-signed safety P.J. Locke, the Broncos added another safety to help solidify the backend of their secondary.

Denver Broncos sign former Dolphins safety Brandon Jones to three-year deal

With P.J. Locke set to be one of the Broncos envisioned starters at safety replacing former team captain and veteran All-Pro Justin Simmons, Denver is adding former Miami Dolphins safety Brandon Jones on a three-year deal as first reported by Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.

The deal will become official at 2:00 p.m. MT on Wednesday when the new league year officially goes into effect. Reports indicate the deal is three years with a base value of $20M, $12.5M guaranteed, worth up to $22.5M.

Jones will enter his fifth season in the NFL, where he’s accumulated 238 career tackles, eight sacks, three fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and three career interceptions. Two of his three career interceptions came last season as a member of the Dolphins, where he appeared in 16 games and started six under Vic Fangio.

This move and the pricetag mean that he’ll likely be the other starting safety next to P.J. Locke. Ideally, this move means that Locke will remain as the roll-down play-in-the-box safety role, and Jones will likely be the middle post safety on the backend of the secondary.

How does this impact Caden Sterns? As the veteran safety continues to make great progress in his recovery from patellar tendon surgery, there will still be a role for him inside of the defense.

There could still be competition between him, Jones, and Locke, but his current vision is more likely to be a feature role in the Broncos dime package. It could feature him in the slot opposite of nickel cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian or it could allow him and Jones to be the two players on the backend of the secondary in a two-high shell while Locke plays in the box or slot where he accumulated three sacks last season.

As of now, the Broncos overall safety depth includes Jones, Locke, Sterns, JL Skinner, and Delarrin Turner-Yell. Turner-Yell isn’t expected to be ready for the start of the regular season after having ACL surgery last month, which opens up the door for Devon Key to compete for a roster spot in training camp.