Denver Broncos: 5 free agents who won’t be with the team in 2021

Denver Broncos: 5 free agents who won’t be with the team in 2021.

The Denver Broncos have a number of big-name free agents in 2021 and a handful of other players with important club options.

Among the Broncos’ biggest free agents are safety Justin Simmons, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and left tackle Garett Bolles, among others.

As is the case just about every year, it’s going to be very difficult for the Broncos to keep every player with an expiring contract they want to bring back, even players who are worthy of returning.

Unless the Broncos make sacrifices elsewhere on the roster, there is a decent chance at least one of those big-name players listed above will be on a new team in 2021, and there are certainly other players with expiring contracts who won’t be around beyond the 2020 season, either.

One player that gets talked about a lot whose status may need some clarification for the purposes of this article is running back Phillip Lindsay. Yes, Lindsay is a free agent in 2021 — a restricted free agent.

That means that the Broncos have the option to extend Lindsay a restricted free agent ‘tender’ offer, a pre-set value usually just north of $3 million for a 2nd-round tender value. If the Broncos give Lindsay that high of a tender (an absolute no-brainer), then they would have the opportunity to match any offer Lindsay receives in free agency or be compensated a second-round pick for him.

No other NFL team is likely to give up a second-round pick for Phillip Lindsay, as tremendous as he has been for the Broncos.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at five 2021 free agents who aren’t likely to be back with the Broncos next season.