5 players the Broncos could trade to reload 2023 draft picks
5. Garett Bolles, OT ($17.82M cap hit in 2023)
The Denver Broncos could save over $9.8 million by cutting Garett Bolles in 2023, but they could try and shop him in a trade as well.
This would seem counter-productive since Denver doesn’t have a solidified offensive line, by any means, heading into the 2023 offseason, but let’s think it through for a second here. The Broncos have a new offensive line coach — Zach Strief — coming in this year. The ties to anyone who was around for drafting him in 2017 are gone.
The new coaching staff is going to want to build the offensive line its own way. Although Garett Bolles has turned his career around to become a solid left tackle in this league, there may be preferable alternatives out there this offseason that the Denver Broncos could look for at a fraction of the cost against this year’s salary cap.
Bolles is coming off of a broken leg. He’s not only hurt, but his play had seemingly been regressing from his “breakout” 2020 season. The Broncos are taking on wholesale changes anyway, and Sean Payton recently noted that when you watch the tape of the Denver Broncos in 2022, it’s clear the offensive line needs to be addressed.
It wouldn’t be out of the question to see Bolles traded. I don’t think the Denver Broncos are clinging to him like they would a top-10 tackle in the game. They could trade Bolles to recoup some draft capital, and use that capital to upgrade tackle or do it in free agency, or even through other trades.
I’m not going to sit here and say the Broncos have to trade or get rid of Garett Bolles at any cost, but I would not be shocked in the least if he’s gone regardless this offseason.