The Denver Broncos have had a nice free agency period thus far, but will they eventually regret not making these signings? There is no such thing as a perfect free agency period, and while the Denver Broncos have had a good one, there are going to be signings they wish they had made.
That is simply how it works in the NFL. With a 53-man roster, there will always be holes here and there and always be "woulda, coulda, shoulda" situations. Overall, though, the Broncos are in a great spot heading into the 2025 NFL Draft and should be a better team than they were in 2024.
Let's dive into three free agent signings the team may regret not making.
3 free agent signings the Denver Broncos will regret not making in 2025
Rico Dowdle, RB
Rico Dowdle signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers, and this is after a season where he had over 1,000 yards rushing and 1328 yards on offense. He added a strong 4.6 yards per carry and had five total touchdowns. It's interesting that the Panthers made this signing given that they already locked up stud RB Chuba Hubbard. It's almost like the Panthers are wanting to build around their young QB and give him a ton of weapons.
Why didn't the Broncos sign Rico Dowdle? I guess this team could still pursue someone like JK Dobbins in free agency, and that would be a good move. While the 2025 NFL Draft is stacked at RB, I am not sure the Denver Broncos can totally bank on finding a starting RB in the NFL Draft, as they do need immediate production at the position.
There is no reason why Denver could not have made this signing and still angled to the NFL Draft to further bolster the RB room.
Bobby Brown III, DT
Bobby Brown III signed a deal worth $7 million per year with the Carolina Panthers. Brown is a 6'4", 332 pound bulldozer of a defensive tackle who recently wrapped up his rookie contract with the Los Angeles Rams. Brown is only set to enter his age-25 season and has eight tackles for loss total in the 2023 and 2024 NFL Seasons with the Rams.
The upside with Brown is there, and him being about five years younger than DJ Jones really should have made the Broncos rethink their plan at DT. Jones re-signed on a three-year deal worth $39 million, which is nearly double what Brown got. If you ask me, Denver should have considered letting Jones hit the open market and perhaps making a push for Bobby Brown III. Denver may end up regretting not signing Brown.
Davante Adams or Cooper Kupp, WR
The Denver Broncos do not seem to think they need more help at WR in free agency. Both Cooper Kupp and Davante Adams would have been amazing additions to a room that truly only has one proven WR in Courtland Sutton and no true no. 1 WR. The Broncos did seem to be in on the Kupp sweepstakes depending on which report you looked at, but I guess we will never know for sure.
Free agent TE signing Evan Engram is someone who does profile similarly to a large wide receiver, but the need for another pass-catcher is still present, and with the Broncos firmly in a win-now window with Bo Nix on his rookie deal, you would have liked to have seen another notable offensive addition.
Cooper Kupp or Davante Adams would each have been stellar fits within this offense for a year or two.