Every team around the NFL has some tough decisions to make in a given offseason, but the Denver Broncos are now under a bit more pressure than in previous years because of the success they had in 2024. Last offseason, it was well-known that the Broncos were going to be cutting and moving on from a number of notable players, but after winning 10 games and reaching the playoffs in 2024, the margin for error in the offseason is a bit slimmer.
And while this team isn't going to have to make any decisions near as tough as whether or not to cut Russell Wilson and take on nearly $90 million in dead cap, or how to approach drafting a quarterback with the 12th overall pick, there are some big decisions to be made.
But which ones will be the most difficult? We could almost go through every position group and think of something, but let's dive into the top five most difficult decisions facing the Broncos here early in 2025.
5 difficult decisions facing the Denver Broncos in 2025 offseason
1. Approaching WR Courtland Sutton's contract
The Broncos don't have to do anything with Courtland Sutton's contract. He's under contract for 2025 but at a pretty hefty cap hit of over $20 million. After re-working his deal a couple of times in 2024, Sutton has three void years on his deal from 2026-28 with the Broncos. The Broncos would incur a dead money hit of over $13 million if they were to move on from Sutton early in the offseason.
From that vantage point, it makes no sense to let him go. It makes even less sense when you consider that the Broncos have declined a number of trade offers in recent years for Sutton.
So if Sutton is going to be around, why not give him some actual new years on his contract? Unless the Broncos are certain they are moving on from Sutton after one more year with the team, it doesn't benefit them to have him stay at that $20.2 million cap number in 2025. Either move on and make a bold move at the position or give Sutton a completely new contract to get that cap hit down.
2. Do you try to upgrade at center?
If there's one "weak" spot on the Denver offensive line, it's got to be the center position. Luke WWatattenberg was the primary starting center this past season for the Broncos and while he wasn't a complete liability, you could argue that the Broncos struggled to get a push in the run game on the interior.
Above and beyond that, there were far too many times this past season in which Wattenberg's snaps were lofted oddly slow to Bo Nix or were off-target. Like a catcher throwing the ball back to the pitcher, you don't really notice the center's snaps to the quarterback unless they are consistently bad. And I would argue that was the case a lot of the time for Wattenberg's snaps.
If the Broncos can find an upgrade for a reasonable price, they might need to take it.
3. Keeping or cutting Alex Singleton at linebacker
There are a couple of aspects of the Alex Singleton situation that are going to be tough for the Denver Broncos. He's obviously very well-liked by his teammates and the organization, but he's coming off of an ACL injury and will be 32 near the end of the 2025 season.
With minimal dead cap if he's cut and over $5.5 million in cap savings, it's possible that the Broncos just decide to move on completely from their current group of inside linebackers. Singleton is 31 going on 32 and coming off of a major knee injury.
At worst, we're probably going to see his contract get re-done if he's going to be back, and I'm not sure he's going to be assured a starting job in that case.
4. Extend Nik Bonitto or let it marinate?
Is now the right time to extend pass rusher Nik Bonitto? General manager George Paton recently revealed that those conversations haven't happened at this point and you can't help but wonder if that's for the best.
Obviously, Bonitto has developed into an every-down player which the Broncos hoped for when he was drafted. You want to draft, develop, and re-sign your key guys. Bonitto has certainly proven himself worthy of a new deal and the Broncos would be paying a premium price to keep him for the long haul at this stage.
But getting him extended sooner rather than later is probably not a bad idea. I have a feeling, however, that we're more likely to see Bonitto get an extension later in the offseason rather than early in the offseason. The Broncos know they have him under contract this season, and they probably know internally at this point whether they want to extend him.
There's no need for them to "rush" this process and Bonitto should end up getting a deal later this year. Pat Surtain didn't get his extension until September. Jonathon Cooper and Garrett Bolles got new deals in-season. Quinn Meinerz got his in mid-July. That should be the timeline we're looking at for Bonitto: Sometime between July and November.
5. If only one backup QB comes back, who?
If the Broncos have to choose between Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the backup to Bo Nix in 2025, who do you pick?
If I were making the decisions, I would choose to bring back Wilson. Wilson has started more games and probably offers more upside in the event that he would actually need to be used for an extended period. But with how close and tight-knit the QB room became in 2025, you can't help but wonder if the Broncos will try to bring back all of these guys.
It would probably take up about $10 million on the salary cap to do it, maybe even more, but nothing is off the table until it is.