Denver Broncos: Malik Jackson reunion a possibility this offseason

The Denver Broncos will need to add some players to the defensive line this offseason, and it just so happens Malik Jackson could be available.

After the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50, a number of big-name free agent players cashed in. Most of them have experienced varying levels of success with their new teams, but there’s no denying the talent that 2015 Broncos team had and players like Danny Trevathan and Malik Jackson have been very good since leaving Denver.

To this point, however, neither player has won a Super Bowl with their new teams, and it’s hard to believe that if the band had stuck together, those guys couldn’t have won a lot more games together.

That’s just the way things go in the NFL, though.

Jackson, specifically, was highly sought after as a free agent. The Broncos had a pretty tight cap situation that offseason, and while they probably would have loved to have kept Jackson around, they simply couldn’t afford his new price tag.

After scoring a touchdown in Super Bowl 50 and proving his worth all throughout the season as one of the best pass-rushing defensive linemen in the game, Jackson signed a six-year, $90 million deal with the Jaguars worth $42 million in guaranteed cash.

Not a bad payday at all.

But as we’ve seen from some other Broncos free agent departures in recent years (Brock Osweiler) the grass is not always greener on the other side, even if you can cover it up with a bunch of cash.

Jackson has been playing a backup role for the Jaguars this year and recently made some comments about his future with the team being murky at best. He has one sack this season and stated to the media that over the course of the next three games, he’s going to potentially be playing for ’31 other teams’. What he means by that is, what he puts on tape from here on out is an audition for the rest of the NFL.

Jackson is still under the age of 30 and had eight sacks in a Pro Bowl year last season. Rest assured, if he is cut by Jacksonville (a legit possibility given his $15 million cap hit and $4 million dead cap figure) he will have a market for his services.

That market should include the Denver Broncos, who have some money to work with this offseason and needs on the defensive line with a number of key pending free agents themselves.

I would love to see Jackson end up back with the Broncos, but the reality is there would be a number of teams trying to get him on their roster. He mentioned ’31’ other teams which would include the Broncos, who have proven they will rebuild certain bridges (Osweiler, again) if the need should arise.

Jackson would be such a great addition next to Bradley Chubb on the right side of the Broncos’ defense, rotating with run-stuffing specialist Adam Gotsis. If there’s a chance the Broncos can make this reunion happen, they’ve got to seriously look at it.