The Denver Broncos already made a huge move to upgrade their linebacker position in NFL Free Agency with the addition of veteran Dre Greenlaw, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers. With the 2025 NFL Draft looming, they might have the chance now to make an absolutely perfect addition to the defense to pair with him.
The New England Patriots are reportedly planning to release veteran linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley, another player coming off of an injury-shortened season but a player who is highly productive when healthy.
The Broncos are already hedging their bets on Alex Singleton coming back healthy, so why not go after a player like Bentley, who is three years younger and might be a better pairing with Greenlaw over the next window of time?
Ja'Whaun Bentley would be huge addition to Broncos defense
Just in: The #Patriots are expected to release LB Ja'Whaun Bentley after seven seasons, during which he started 68 games, recorded over 500 tackles, and served as a multi-time captain. pic.twitter.com/uhzXvLJJwc
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 28, 2025
Bentley has been a team captain for the Patriots and racked up an average of 110 total tackles from 2020-23. A former fifth-round pick (2018), Bentley has been a mainstay for New England's defense and his release is coming as a rather huge shock. He has a cap hit of just $6.433 million this year and a base salary of just $4.35 million.
It's possible that the Patriots are floating it out there that they're going to release Bentley in hopes of a team making one last-ditch trade offer to acquire him. And they might get someone to bite at that base salary.
Bentley is a really good player and a good fit for any locker room. As surprising as it is to see the Patriots let him go, their loss could be the Broncos' gain.
The linebacker position should get a huge jolt from the addition of Greenlaw, but the current plan of action is for Justin Strnad, Alex Singleton, and Drew Sanders to battle it out for the chance to start next to him. In all likelihood, that's what the Broncos will do. But you can't help but get excited about the prospect of potentially adding someone like Bentley who is coming available late in the free agency process.
This is sort of a pre-draft layup for the Denver Broncos, however. Adding Bentley would eliminate any question about that position, assuming he's healthy and ready to play. The Broncos could move on from Alex Singleton or keep him for special teams.
We saw how badly the depth was tested in 2024 and that's likely a situation the team is going to want to avoid in 2025. Having a player like Bentley join Dre Greenlaw for the Broncos could really take Vance Joseph's defense to another level.