The Denver Broncos might be in a position to make some unexpected trades before the start of the 2025 NFL Season. There is probably a small chance that all three of these happen, but it would not shock me to see one of them go down.
Denver, like every other NFL team, has to cut their roster down before the start of the regular season. The front office and coaching staff will have tough decisions to make at a few key positions, and there could be some NFL-caliber players getting the axe.
But instead of just cutting them outright and getting nothing for them, could Denver actually float a player or two on the trade market? And if so, which players? Let's cover three of them here.
3 shocking players the Denver Broncos could trade before the season
Devaughn Vele
With the emergence of Pat Bryant and Troy Franklin, and with the presence of Trent Sherfield, do the Denver Broncos really have a need for Devaughn Vele at this point? Could his role with the team all of a sudden be quite redundant? The Broncos surely would not keep six active wide receivers on the roster during gamedays, as that would be a bit of a stretch, and Vele isn't exactly young, either. He turns 28 years old during the season, and while he is a good player, the math simply might not work, so you have to wonder if the team would pick up the phone and listen to offers.
Audric Estime
The story with Audric Estime is quite obvious at this point. He's likely not going to make the roster but also is good enough to be on another one. While the Broncos could simply cut him and be done with a second-year player already, they'd be wiser to see if they could even score a late-round draft pick in return. Estime was a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and showed some nice things during his rookie season, but with Denver adding JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey into the room this offseason. it's clear that two or even three RBs are on the outside looking in.
Nik Bonitto
I do not personally endorse the Denver Broncos trading Nik Bonitto, but is there a world where it happens? Denver has already stacked up a ton of big-time contracts for some of their own players, and they've gotten to work these past few months extending more.
All of Patrick Surtain II, nearly the entire offensive line, Courtland Sutton, Zach Allen, Jonathon Cooper, and DJ Jones, among other players, have big-time deals from the Denver Broncos. Does the team really want yet another major deal on their books, and one that could eclipse $30 million per season?
While I do think they get a deal done, a path could be drawn where the team quietly floats Bonitto in trade talks, gets a nice haul of picks and players back in the deal, and maybe uses some of those cap savings to extend key players like John Franklin-Myers and Malcolm Roach. Furthermore, second-year EDGE Jonah Elliss looks every bit of a starting-caliber player at that position, and the best part about his game might just be his run defense. Again, I don't really think Denver needs to trade Nik Bonitto, and they probably shouldn't, but there is a clear argument for it.