The Denver Broncos don't have nearly as many notable free agents coming up in 2025 thanks to the fact that the team re-signed a number of key players over the course of the last 6-8 months, including the likes of outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper, offensive tackle Garett Bolles, and offensive guard Quinn Meinerz.
Despite those big re-signings, the Broncos still have some prominent players slated for free agency in March and will have decisions to make regarding whether to try bringing some of them back or let them test the free agent waters.
Which of the pending free agents on the roster for 2025 are most likely to re-sign? Let's take a look at a handful of the prominent names.
5 Broncos free agents likely to re-sign in 2025 offseason
1. DJ Jones, defensive line
I could be really off base with this one but it feels like DJ Jones is going to be one of the most likely players to re-sign among the Broncos' available 2025 free agents. Jones played a crucial role in the defensive line rotation in 2024 and although he didn't play even 40 percent of the snaps, he was extremely effective on the early downs, paving the way for guys to come in on third down and rush the passer.
Jones was previously a $10M per year player for the Broncos and I think he will cost half that on a new contract to retain now that he's going to be 30 and is strictly a part-time player. A two-year deal worth $10 million or a three-year deal worth $15 million should be enough to get it done.
2. Zach Wilson or Jarrett Stidham, QB
I have a sneaking suspicion the Broncos would be able to retain both Wilson and Stidham if they were really motivated to do so in 2025. It would probably cost them a combined $10-12 million to get it done but if there aren't any truly favorable starting options being offered to these guys in 2025, they should stick it out and ride the wave in Denver until Davis Webb gets an offensive coordinator gig somewhere.
These two players are obviously competitive and want to play, and Stidham in particular has made that known in the past, but being the backup quarterback in Denver is also not a bad gig, and these guys could keep their jobs in Denver while also becoming attractive trade pieces elsewhere after the quarterback carousel dust settles later on.
3. Tremon Smith, special teams
Every team needs to have special teams aces and the Denver Broncos have one of those in Tremon Smith. Smith has been a valuable piece of Denver's special teams for the last couple of years and I don't see any reason why they wouldn't bring him back.
In addition to being the other kickoff return man with Marvin Mims, Smith is one of the Broncos' "core four" special teams players who is consistently one of the best gunners on punt coverage as well as one of their most reliable players in an important phase.
It won't be expensive to retain him and he's good at his job (even with the occasional lapse in judgment on fair catch calls).
4. Michael Burton fullback
Sean Payton has a number of "guys" on the roster and fullback Michael Burton is one of them. There was some thought given to the idea in the past about Nate Adkins perhaps switching to a fullback role and taking Burton's job, but Burton is not only a fullback either -- he also plays a crucial role on special teams.
Even if he doesn't make the 53-man roster depending on what all the Broncos do in the 2025 offseason, there's no question that Burton is one of the most likely guys to be re-signed among the Broncos' crop of impending free agents.
5. Lil'Jordan Humphrey, wide receiver
Even though we expect the Broncos to make significant upgrades at the wide receiver position this coming season, Lil'Jordan Humphrey seems like one of Sean Payton's "ride or die" types of guys.
Payton loves Humphrey and he played nearly 50 percent of the offensive snaps this past year. That's not exactly the best for the Broncos considering they could upgrade here for sure, but Humphrey is good at doing a lot of the dirty work at receiver and you can't help but wonder if he will be back as a WR/TE hybrid type of player again.