Denver Broncos: Teams will likely be interested in trading for pass rush

The Denver Broncos have enviable depth off the edge, which means other teams will be calling asking to make a potential trade.

The closer we get to the NFL regular season, the more trade rumors are going to heat up. Though the NFL doesn’t have as many ‘star’ players traded like pro baseball or basketball, there are always intriguing moves made prior to the start of the season and the Denver Broncos could be involved.

Specifically, the Broncos’ pass rushers could be of interest to other teams.

We know Von Miller and Bradley Chubb aren’t going anywhere, but John Elway has some very interesting pieces to work with in Shane Ray and Shaquil Barrett, two pass rushers who each have one year left on their contract with the team.

If the Broncos were to trade Ray, they would take on a roughly $1.2 million cap hit with about $1.7 million in cap savings.

If the team trades Shaquil Barrett, it would create $2.914 million in cap space as his restricted free agent tender is a fully guaranteed figure with no bonuses.

There are teams in the NFL  that will likely be willing to pay these guys about five times the amount they are making this year or more next offseason, so getting them for a season at this kind of discounted rate is a very attractive option.

The Broncos are very fortunate to have the kind of depth they do.

What would be Denver’s motivation to make a deal?

If they can get a third-round draft pick or better for either guy in the 2019 NFL Draft, they might just do it.

They would otherwise have to wait until the 2020 NFL Draft for a possible compensatory pick, but with so many expiring contracts this coming offseason and more potential roster changes on the horizon, there’s no guarantee the Broncos would be able to get a third-round compensatory selection for either Ray or Barrett.

The Broncos don’t have many pressing needs on their roster right now, but they would probably be very open to upgrading their 2019 NFL Draft bounty, which already includes an additional fifth-round pick courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings.

With rumors swirling that the New York Jets are pretty openly calling teams about their pass rushers, it’s safe to assume the Broncos will at least receive some calls about their players.

The reason the Broncos could be motivated to do a deal is their faith in undrafted rookie Jeff Holland, whose pass rush skills were definitely good enough to get him drafted, but for some reason, he slipped out.

Holland has been impressing since OTAs and if the Broncos can get a premium draft pick from a team like, say, the Jets who will probably be pretty bad this season, that’s perhaps a trade worth making.

In the case of Ray, specifically, the Broncos are risking getting nothing in return for him at the end of the season.

This is a situation worth monitoring over the course of the next few weeks.