The Denver Broncos may end up regretting not signing these three free agents for the 2025 NFL Season. No NFL team ever has a perfect free agency period - that simply does not happen in this league. The Broncos did seem to bring in a solid group of free agents and also seem quite satisfied with their free agency moves.
The 2025 NFL Draft is the next major event for the NFL, so the Broncos figure to fill the rest of their offensive and defensive needs when late-April rolls around. But before we get there, let's take a recent look at their free agency haul.
Will the Broncos regret not signing these three agents for the 2025 NFL Season?
3 free agents the Broncos will regret not signing for the 2025 season
Bobby Brown, DT
The Denver Broncos re-signed DJ Jones on a three-year deal worth $39 million with $26 million guaranteed. Jones is set to plan in his age-30 season. Bobby Brown III signed with the Carolina Panthers in free agency on a three-year, $21 million deal onwith just $6.8 million fully guaranteed. Brown is only set to enter his age-25 season and is also 6'4" and 332 pounds.
Not only his his a space-eater, but Brown still has youth on his side and likely has a ton more upside than DJ Jones. This would have been a better signing to make for a player more than five years younger and also about $20 million cheaper. Denver would have afforded themselves more cap space and could have made another move or two with the savings of signing Brown over Jones.
I believe this was a miss by the Broncos.
Cooper Kupp, WR
The Denver Broncos seemed to be in on Cooper Kupp depending on where you looked and who you trusted. Well, Kupp did not sign with the Broncos and instead signed with the Seattle Seahawks in a bit of a homecoming. Denver should have made this signing, as Kupp was still on a 1,000-yard pace over the last two years with the LA Rams, and even though he played in 12 games in each season, Kupp was still effective.
And being that Denver has an elite medical and training staff, there would have been reason to believe that he would have been in good hands and would have been able to stay on the field. Denver needs some help at wide receiver, and Cooper Kupp could have provided that for a couple of seasons.
Johnny Hekker, P
The Denver Broncos signed punter Matt Haack in free agency. In 2024, Haack played in just four games for the New York Giants, punting the ball 21 times. He had 47 yards per punt. Across his entire career, Haack averages 44.7 yards per punt and 39.9 net yards per punt, so he's not been the best punter out there.
Well, should the Denver Broncos have signed Johnny Hekker instead? I understand that both Haack and Hekker signed with former special teams coordinators, but you just have to wonder if 'money talks' in this scenario. In 2024, Hekker punted for the Carolina Panthers and averaged 45.7 yards per punt.
Across his 13-year career, Hekker has been one of the best punters of this generation, averaging 46.8 yards per boot over a whopping 963 punts. He averages 42.8 net yards per punt. I would be shocked if the Broncos did not draft a punter to come in and compete with Matt Haack, and that's essentially because Haack isn't exactly the best option out there.