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

5. A prominent member of the secondary

Could a prominent member of the Broncos’ secondary be gone in 2021?

The current starting unit — when everyone is healthy — is made up of safeties Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson as well as cornerbacks Bryce Callahan, AJ Bouye, and prior to injury, Essang Bassey in the slot.

Michael Ojemudia has started plenty for the Broncos in 2020 as an injury replacement to both Bouye and now Callahan.

Justin Simmons is the Broncos’ biggest free agent in 2021. He is playing this season on the franchise tag and he’s done nothing but confirm what everyone already knows to be true — the Denver Broncos must make Simmons part of the long-term plan.

Until a deal happens, however, Simmons’ future with the Broncos is unclear. They do have the option of franchise tagging him again but that would take a large percentage of the 2021 salary cap, and is not a preferable option.

Kareem Jackson is entering the third year of his three-year deal with the Denver Broncos, and that contract was somewhat back-loaded. The highest cap hit of his deal is actually this season, but Jackson is set to count just under $13 million against the salary cap in 2021 with a base salary of $10 million. At 32, Jackson is still playing great football, but entering his age 33 season, you have to wonder if the Broncos will consider re-visiting that number at all.

AJ Bouye will be 30 next season, hardly reaching an expiration date by any means, but will count $13.5 million against the salary cap with a base salary of $13 million.

Broncos keep building around Drew Lock in 2021 7-round mock draft

The Denver Broncos keep building around Drew Lock in this seven-round 2021 mock draft scenario. Who will they add to take the next step?

Will the Broncos pay that many defensive backs eight-figure salaries again in 2021? It’s very possible, but there is always a chance that one of them could become a cap casualty. Because of the players behind them and injury history, it would seem that Bouye would be the most likely cap cut if anyone, but if the salary cap stays closer to $200 million than $175 million, the Broncos might be content to run it back with this entire group and add to it through the 2021 NFL Draft.