The Denver Broncos beat Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5, and a huge reason for that was safety Brandon Jones and his performance. Denver was already down their two starting cornerbacks in Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss in this game, and they also saw safety Talanoa Hufanga leave with an ankle injury.
That left just Jones and Ja'Quan McMillian as the remaining starters on the backend of the defense, which was a horrible reality of how brutal injuries can be in this league. Fortunately, though, with how banged up the Chargers were, the pass rush was able to come alive late in the game.
However, the secondary absolutely played well, and Jones himself keeps stacking good performances this year. He's flown under the radar for most of his time with the Broncos, but his latest performance should make the Broncos consider giving him a short-term contract extension.
Denver Broncos need to give safety Brandon Jones a contract extension
Jones finished with an interception, two passes defended, a fumble recovery, and seven total tackles in what was his most complete performance of the season.
And in the postgame interview, he also talked about how he noticed that the Chargers came out in a similar offensive look earlier in the game, which allowed Jones to jump a Justin Herbert pass for a key interception:
Before his clutch interception, @Broncos DB Brandon Jones recognized the Chargers' look from earlier in the game 👀
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 12, 2026
He broke down the play for @EvanWashburn fresh off the W pic.twitter.com/rouhcKbMj4
Through five games, Jones already has more interceptions than he did last year, and he has four passes defended and 35 total tackles. In 14 games last year, he finished with seven passes defended and 78 total tackles, so he's already approaching his 2025 production across just five games this year.
If he sustains this level of production over a full 17-game season, this is what he'd be on pace to finish with:
7 interceptions
14 passes defended
119 total tackles
This would be a career year across the board for Jones, who is 28 years old and in the final year of a three-year deal he signed with the Broncos back in 2024. Yes, I know I have talked up Jones many times before, but he's such a good player and the glue that keeps the secondary together. He checks all the boxes - we've seen him get physical near the line of scrimmage and also be able to hold up in coverage.
He also clearly has plus ball skills and is really every bit of a do-it-all safety. Given how reliable he's been all three years of his Broncos career thus far, it'd make sense to prioritze a short-term extension for the player.
Jones has been plenty good enough to earn, let's say, a two-year deal through the 2028 season, which would take him through his age-30 season with the Broncos. With the team also seeing both Moss and McMillian slated to be free agents, there is a very real chance that the Broncos aren't able to bring back all three.
With that said, Jones has arguably been the most reliable, consistent player of those three, and his importance to Vance Joseph's defense continues to be on full display.
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