Denver Broncos now have urgency to re-sign Shaquil Barrett

The Denver Broncos have declined their fifth-year option on edge rusher Shane Ray, making their need to re-sign Shaquil Barrett more urgent…

The Denver Broncos must feel confident about their ability to re-sign either Shaquil Barrett or Shane Ray.

In the two years since the team’s Super Bowl 50 run, the overall lack of depth off the edge has put too much pressure on Von Miller to produce at a ridiculous level, and as a result, the Broncos’ sack totals have dramatically decreased since the team’s epic run in 2015:

2015: 52 (regular season)
2016: 42
2017: 33

That’s a ridiculous difference over the course of two seasons, but the loss of DeMarcus Ware combined with the departure of Malik Jackson has been more of a detriment to the Broncos than expected.

That’s why, when the team drafted Bradley Chubb, Von Miller reacted accordingly:

The Broncos have made the front seven on defense a priority ever since John Elway came aboard in 2011.

Elway’s first pick with the Broncos was Miller, and every year except 2014 he’s used a pick in either the first or second round on a defensive front seven player.

That doesn’t include picks like Danny Trevathan or Malik Jackson, or even undrafted pickups like Barrett, or any other free agent acquisitions this team has made up front defensively.

This team values pass rush, and Elway seemed especially giddy when thinking about the idea of having Miller, Chubb, Barrett, and another former first round pick in Shane Ray.

But with the team choosing not to pick up Ray’s fifth-year option, the heat is turned up on them re-signing Barrett, who has been with the team since 2014 and arguably has been the team’s best edge defender outside of Miller the past two seasons.

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I specifically say ‘edge defender’ instead of ‘pass rusher’ because I think Ray is the better player in that regard. It isn’t Ray’s fault he suffered what should have been a season-ending wrist injury last year, and wasn’t able to do really any of what he does best as a result.

Barrett has proven himself durable, consistent, a great run defender, tough, and very good on special teams. He deserves a second contract, and the Broncos need to get one done before both he and Ray are able to test the waters of unrestricted free agency.

Up to this point, Barrett’s production in terms of sacks has not been anything that will cause double takes, but Broncos fans who watch this team week in and week out understand how valuable he is to this team.

If Denver can get him locked in on a multi-year extension worth around $7-8 million per season, it will justify the team’s choice to decline Shane Ray’s fifth-year option.

If they wait until season’s end to re-sign Barrett, they are taking a really unnecessary risk that they took in 2015 when they let Malik Jackson play out his contract year instead of offering him a multi-year deal that would have been well below what he eventually got from the Jaguars.

They can’t make that same mistake again.