5 contracts Broncos must eliminate or restructure this offseason
Contracts the Broncos must eliminate or restructure: Brandon McManus, Kicker
This is another tough call as Brandon McManus is still considered one of the better kickers in the league despite having a bit of a down year in 2022. Do the Broncos hang onto the veteran or look for a younger, cheaper option?
McManus still has two years left on his deal but he is scheduled to count nearly $5 million against the salary cap in 2023. Looking at the deal the Seattle Seahawks just reached with their kicker Jason Myers, a good kicker can command some money when their deal is up.
McManus has been the team’s kicker since the 2014 season. He is the only holdover remaining from the Super Bowl 50 team. But the Broncos would save $2.5 million against the cap if they cut him before June 1st but if they wait until after that date, that number jumps up to $3.7 million.
Paying specialists premium money is not always ideal and that is the main reason the team moved on from punter Sam Martin before the start of the 2022 season.
Many teams around the league find new kickers regularly, usually as undrafted free agents but those are not always reliable options. For instance, look back to this past Monday’s Wild Card game between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers where Dallas kicker Brett Maher missed four extra points.
The Broncos could also use a late-round draft pick to select a kicker.
Next. This candidate may be the biggest dark horse in the Broncos' search. dark
Decision: Draft a kicker or find one in the undrafted signing process to at least provide competition for McManus. Wait until after June 1st and unless McManus is a decidedly better option, let the veteran go in order to get more cap space available for the future.