7 Denver Broncos free agents and others who won’t be back in 2022

The Denver Broncos have a handful of important free agents on expiring contracts and other players who will not be back in the 2022 offseason.

You can’t help but wonder what was going through general manager George Paton’s mind as he looked down from his box seats at the Denver Broncos’ 12th-straight loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Paton saw what the rest of us in Broncos Country have seen for the last handful of years. He saw a team that simply couldn’t get out of its own way. He saw a defense that, once again, played the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs’ offense well and an offense that is so frustrating and inept in the passing attack that something must be done.

What does Paton have on the horizon for this Denver Broncos team?

Denver Broncos GM George Paton scheming big changes in 2022?

Looking down from his box seat, Paton probably can’t help but think the same thing everyone else in Broncos Country has been thinking since Peyton Manning retired, but especially over the last three seasons — this team is just a QB away…

So many fans and “analysts” want to make claims that this Denver Broncos team is rebuilding, or at least, those claims were made earlier this season. That is simply not true at all. The Denver Broncos have now proven that the core of this team is strong. The foundation is built, and it’s solid.

The Broncos are not far off from being perennial playoff contenders, and yet at the same time, they are.

Paton needs a quarterback, but there are also other moving pieces on this roster that need to be addressed.

Which players slated for 2022 free agency will not be back with the team? What other players with big cap hits could be gone as well?

Let’s take a look at seven players who likely won’t be back with the Denver Broncos beyond this season.