The Denver Broncos are heading into the offseason with what might be their most challenging roster and salary cap situation in recent memory. They are still not a playoff-caliber team as is evident by an eighth straight playoff-less season, but they are also about to face significant cap issues with their impending decision to move on from quarterback Russell Wilson just two years after signing him to a mega $250 million deal.
Heading into 2024 free agency, the Broncos have 17 total free agents. 14 of them are unrestricted and three are restricted. A healthy number of every down starters are among those unrestricted free agents too.
Mike Purcell
DL
33
UFA
K’Waun Williams
CB
33
UFA
Cameron Fleming
OT
32
UFA
Michael Burton
FB
32
UFA
Josey Jewell
ILB
30
UFA
Wil Lutz
K
30
UFA
Fabian Moreau
CB
30
UFA
Dwayne Washington
RB
30
UFA
Quinn Bailey
OT
29
RFA
Ben Niemann
LB
29
UFA
Jonathan Harris
DL
28
RFA
Justin Strnad
LB
28
UFA
P.J. Locke
S
27
UFA
Lloyd Cushenberry
C
27
UFA
Adam Trautman
TE
27
UFA
Jonas Griffith
LB
27
RFA
Lil’Jordan Humphrey
WR
26
UFA
This list has a lot of age to it and the Broncos are one of the older teams in the NFL, so we might see a shift to a much younger roster in Denver in 2024. In fact, the salary cap likely dictates that move. Of the ‘over 30’ crowd on this list, I would guess that kicker Wil Lutz and maybe running back Dwayne Washington return on cap-friendly deals.
The only name on this list that I really hope to see Denver bring back next year would be safety P.J. Locke. In all honesty, the Broncos are not losing any players here who I would consider an elite tier starter. I like a lot of these guys, but Denver can probably find sufficient replacements and only suffer marginal decline in performance on the field there.
These are all tough decisions that the Broncos will have to make when they get out from under Wilson’s contract. General Manager George Paton straight out said that the ramifications of such a move would take Denver out of any first wave free agents this season.
“It will give us the flexibility to do what we need to do anyway,” Paton said this week. “We’re not going to participate in the first wave of free agency like we did last year. You can’t do it every year. We will be very strategic and specific about the positions and which players we will be looking to sign. Obviously we have to follow the design. We take the top one and there are six options. We can have more. We like elections. We’ll go from there.”That’s because if Wilson is released, Denver will be pushed back by salary cap space. It’s already over $20 million, and it will take several roster changes and/or re-contracting to get back to that number. Wilson’s max shot would likely beat them in dead money shots from 2024-26. The hood lights are scheduled to be released in large quantities starting in 2026 and into 2027. That means some additional senior veterans will be moving as well. We’ve seen some restructured players like Garrett Bolles and Tim Patrick. What do you think the Broncos need to do in 2024 to get out of this very difficult situation? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Leave a Reply