5 current Broncos who might not be on the roster in 2021

4. A starting defensive lineman

Brace yourselves, Broncos fans — a starting defensive lineman might not be back for the 2021 season.

This will depend significantly on what the NFL’s salary cap comes in at in 2021. If it’s closer to the $176 million it was initially thought to be, then the Broncos could be in a position where they have to choose between one of Jurrell Casey or Shelby Harris.

If the cap stays closer to the $190-200 million range, this prediction could change drastically.

Shelby Harris is a free agent after the season. Just like 2019, it seems like Harris has priced himself out of the range the Broncos could reasonably afford to pay, but that’s what we all thought a year ago at this time.

The Broncos will need to prioritize keeping Justin Simmons around. Now that another year has gone by, the long-term value of Shelby Harris will have to be adjusted accordingly.

With Jurrell Casey landing on IR in his first season with the Broncos, the team will have to decide if they can justify a $12.281 million cap figure for 2021. The fact that Casey is under contract for two more years, though, is in the Broncos’ favor. He has no guaranteed money on his deal except a $500,000 roster bonus each of the next two seasons and a $100,000 workout bonus.

Casey might be amenable to a re-structure to stick around in Denver and Harris has certainly proven his value to the team time and time again.

Still, there exists a very real possibility that one of these guys will not be with the team in 2021. Ideally, you’d love to see both come back at a team-friendly price. We’ll see if the Broncos can make it happen.