The Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only teams left standing.
With one game left in the 2020 NFL season, two teams are preparing to battle for the Lombardi Trophy while the other 30 are already busy working on a strategy for the 2021 season. That usually starts with free agency.
Like all teams, both the Chiefs and Bucs will have several in-house free agents they must decide what to do with. As the best in each of their respective conferences, other teams from around the league could swarm in and see if some of that success can rub off on their franchise.
For the Denver Broncos, there are players from each of these teams that the front office could have some interest in, and in the case of the Chiefs, they could be poaching a player or two from a division rival.
With Shelby Harris and DeMarcus Walker both set to become unrestricted free agents for the Broncos, the team could need some more help along the defensive line.
While the preferred route would be to re-sign Harris, Tanoh Kpassagnon of the Chiefs could be a viable option should another team be able to lure Harris away.
Kpassagnon is a former second-round pick who has developed nicely for the Chiefs, earning a role as a starter on a very good defensive line. Though he plays in a 4-3 scheme in Kansas City, he is a great fit as a defensive end in a 3-4.
Kpassagnon has seven career sacks but much of what he does goes unnoticed in the box score. He gets pressure on the passer at a good rate and he is a solid run defender. He could come into Denver and compete for a starting role right away.
He made just $1.3 million in 2020 and could be an affordable option (or replacement) as well.
Now in his second year with the Chiefs, Bashaud Breeland is one of the team’s starting cornerbacks and looking to get his second Super Bowl ring. He would most likely prefer to stay where he is due to that success, but since leaving Washington, the team that drafted him, Breeland has signed a series of one-year contracts in each of the last three seasons.
The Chiefs also have young corners on the roster such as L’Jarius Sneed and Rashad Fenton that they could give more playing time to in the case they moved on from the veteran Breeland.
In Denver, Breeland could come in and compete for one of the starting cornerback spots or at the very least, be useful in some of the team’s sub-packages. He had a cap number of $2.7 million this past season so he wouldn’t command nearly as much as some of the bigger-name corners on this year’s market.
Breeland has 14 career interceptions to go with an impressive 81 passes defended.
Breeland has had some off-the-field issues, but as long as he’s in line and focused, he could be a solid veteran addition to a secondary that clearly needs to get better. He’s a physical cornerback who welcomes contact and is an above-average tackler.
He seems like the type Vic Fangio would love to coach up.
After spending four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, Joe Haeg signed a one-year deal with the Bucs in the offseason. He was brought in to help add depth to the roster and possibly even compete for a starting spot after the team moved on from Demar Dotson, who eventually came to Denver.
Then the Bucs used their first-round pick on Tristan Wirfs.
As a result, Haeg started just three games for the Bucs and was mostly used as a rotational guy, which is what he will probably be anywhere at this point in his career. But every team in the NFL needs those guys and the Broncos are no exception.
With questions looming at the right tackle spot and Elijah Wilkinson set to hit free agency, Haeg could come in and be a very valuable asset for the Broncos depending on what they get from Ja’Wuan James.
In addition to tackle, Haeg has also made starts at guard during his career, so he has that versatility that almost every reserve offensive lineman needs to have in today’s NFL
Haeg has started in 38 games across his career and could be had at a low rate. He made just $2.3 million this past season.
This deal would likely be difficult to pull off, and Shaq Barrett may not even have any interest in returning to Denver after they let him walk not long ago. Hindsight is always 20-20, but Barrett has become one of the best pass-rushers in football.
Barrett was always good for the Broncos, netting 14 sacks in five seasons with the team, but he was never able to get the number of snaps he was looking for as the Broncos had guys like Von Miller and Bradley Chubb ahead of him, and they even gave more playing time to Shane Ray since he was a first-round pick.
Looking for more of an opportunity, Barrett wound up in Tampa and he exploded with 19.5 sacks to lead the NFL in 2019. Though he took a step back with just eight sacks this past season, he is still a force and that has been on display in the postseason.
Because of his production, Barrett is going to be looking for a massive pay day, but there is one way the Broncos could afford to make that happen. It would be sad to see the team move on from Von Miller, but it is an idea that should be discussed this offseason and with the money the team would save on that deal, it could afford to bring Barrett back.
There could be a huge market for Barrett, leading to a big bidding war. Tampa Bay probably won’t let him go easily and the chances of him coming back to Denver likely aren’t high, but he should still be on George Paton’s list as a possibility.