Where will the Denver Broncos’ top in-house free agents land in free agency since the team doesn’t appear in a rush to re-sign any of them?
The Denver Broncos have acquired veteran cornerback AJ Bouye in a trade that will not become official until March 18, and they have officially placed the franchise tag on safety Justin Simmons.
Other than those two players, the Broncos have not made any sort of attempt to sign their top in-house free agents, which is surprising considering the big names on their list.
Players like Chris Harris Jr., Derek Wolfe, Shelby Harris, Will Parks, Connor McGovern, and Ron Leary.
Although only Harris and Wolfe helped contribute to the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 team, it’s still going to be odd to see some of these players, who have been key contributors in this tough stretch of Broncos football, leave for other teams.
Where will they wind up? What will their price ranges be? Are they going to try to stick it to the Broncos?
Let’s try to predict what could happen over the course of the next week or so and guess where the Broncos’ top in-house free agents will land if they don’t wind up signing back with Denver.
Derek Wolfe, Defensive End: Baltimore Ravens
According to Benjamin Allbright, Derek Wolfe has visits lined up with four teams ahead of the 2020 free agent signing period:
AZ, NE, Bal, Cin
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) March 3, 2020
All four of those teams are intriguing fits.
With the Cardinals, Wolfe would be re-joined by former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph, who is Arizona’s defensive coordinator. Ultimately, I’m not so sure that’s the reunion Wolfe would want to leave his situation in Denver for.
The Patriots have the cap space to sign Wolfe, but they also have a lot of pressing issues of their own to deal with.
Namely — Tom Brady.
The Bengals are an intriguing option considering Cincinnati is where Wolfe played his college ball and he’s an Ohio native. The Bengals will also be getting Joe Burrow and should be a lot better this coming season than they were in 2019, but does Wolfe want to leave Denver for another rebuilding project?
The most established team on his to-do list is the Baltimore Ravens. Wolfe wants to be paid fairly and appropriately, and the Ravens can do that for him, and he’s exactly the type of player who fits their culture and system at the defensive end position.
For the Ravens, Wolfe would be a ‘win-now’ move and they are a win-now team.
Wolfe expects to get at least $9.75 per year on his next contract.
Chris Harris Jr., Cornerback: Kansas City Chiefs
As difficult as this is to project, it really feels like an inevitability.
Although Harris will be pursued by a wide variety of teams, the Kansas City Chiefs make a lot of sense for him for a variety of reasons.
First and foremost, the Chiefs are losing their top three cornerbacks this offseason, so they have a desperate need for cornerback help.
Second of all, Harris has openly discussed the potential of playing alongside Tyrann Mathieu, who was a key addition for the Chiefs last year during their Super Bowl run.
Third, Harris played his college ball just a short drive away for the Kansas Jayhawks.
Fourth, if the Broncos aren’t willing to pay Harris what he wants, he would probably be up for the opportunity to play against the Broncos.
Fifth, the Chiefs are an attractive destination for veteran free agents despite their lack of cap space because of Patrick Mahomes and the fact that they just won the Super Bowl. They may only be able to make one big splash move this offseason, and Harris would be a tremendous pickup.
It would also not be surprising to see Harris sign with the Las Vegas Raiders, who have more cap space (and an income tax-free state) even though they don’t have as favorable of a situation.
Harris is undoubtedly hoping for a deal that puts him north of $13-14 million per season and he should get it.
Shelby Harris, Defensive Line: Cincinnati Bengals
Shelby Harris should have a nice bidding war for his services.
He could be heavily pursued by teams like the Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, and a number of others.
The Bengals, however, have both a pressing need on the defensive line as well as a ton of cap space (over $45 million right now).
Cincinnati is expected to be a bit more aggressive in free agency this offseason and Harris is aggressively seeking the biggest contract he can possibly get.
A team like the Bengals may have to overpay to get Harris out of Denver and away from other teams in pursuit, but the thought of he and a healthy Geno Atkins is a fun one on the inside.
Harris is certainly capable of playing both the run and pass, but he’s a uniquely gifted player who can bat down passes, block kicks, rack up sacks, and pile up TFLs. The main reason the Broncos are probably not bringing him back at his price range is his fit in the Fangio defense combined with his age — he will be 29 this season.
Will Parks, defensive back: Philadelphia Eagles
Although the New England Patriots would also be a great fit for Will Parks, he may have a better long-term future with the Philadelphia Eagles, who are slated to lose some key pieces in their secondary in the 2020 offseason.
Parks, known on social media as ‘Philly Will’, is obviously a Philadelphia native and it seems too obvious to connect these dots considering the Eagles are losing players in the secondary and Parks would probably be motivated to play at home.
With the Broncos, Parks has been a tremendously versatile piece. He can play safety, of course, but he also showed this past season that he can play the nickel position extremely well, and he can also be an asset on special teams.
Parks is an awesome locker room guy and an asset in the community, and he obviously loves and is proud of his home city.
Playing for the Eagles would probably be a dream come true for Parks, but it would also give him a platform to make a difference in a community that is understandably very close to his heart.
Offensive Linemen
Connor McGovern, Center: New York Jets
The Jets will be prioritizing the offensive line in free agency, so for the second straight offseason, I’m projecting the Broncos’ starting center to land there.
New York legitimately has to fill or upgrade all five spots on the line, and McGovern would be a solid piece to add along with someone like Tennessee right tackle Jack Conklin.
As deep as this year’s draft class is on the offensive line, I could see a team like the Jets prying McGovern away from the Broncos. Of the players on this list, it feels like McGovern may be the most likely to re-sign with Denver.
Ron Leary, Guard: Dallas Cowboys
Leary was hurt for a good chunk of the last three seasons after leaving the Dallas Cowboys to come play for the Denver Broncos.
Now that the Broncos aren’t bringing him back, I think Leary would be more than open to a reunion in Dallas where he could compete with Connor Williams for the starting left guard spot.