New general manager George Paton and the Denver Broncos have an opportunity to build a winning offseason and here is my mock free-agency layout to do it.
The Denver Broncos are preparing for an important offseason, and for the first time GM, he gets to set the tone for how he wants the organization to be. To provide a blueprint for a successful offseason, I provide a complete mock free agency period in this article.
When a new GM takes over, the team focuses on internal scouting and then the team turns their eyes externally. Paton and Co. have done this with late movement on hiring a director of player personnel and predictable moves with aging veterans.
Though Paton wants to build the Broncos through the draft, free agency will be extremely important to help fortify the foundation of this young team as the organization readies itself to challenge the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.
The draft is where Paton wants to build this team, but before that comes free agency.
Utilizing Fanspeak’s Ultimate GM Simulator I created a mock offseason including free agency and the draft (keep your eyes peeled for the draft portion, coming soon).
Setting the table
So, before getting to the mock free agency let’s take a look at how the Broncos sat before the offseason started. Per Overthecap.com, here is the Broncos financial standing:
Salary Cap: 185,000,000
Player Salaries: 182,851,126
Dead Money: 602,118
Carryover: 17,800,000
Reserved for Draft Picks: 5,000,000
Cap Space Remaining: 14,346,756
After moving on from defensive lineman Jurrell Casey and cornerback A.J. Bouye and applying the franchise tag to safety Justin Simmons the team now has the following:
Total Cap Liabilities: $174,699,643
Top 51: $167,856,913
Team Cap Space: $30,350,285
Offense: $78,113,749
Defense: $87,920,443
Special: $8,063,333
Now, the first step this offseason is to address the current roster. Here is how Paton and the Broncos should manage the contracts of current players before the 2021 free agency starts.