There are only two regular season games left in the 2025 season, which has gone by in a flash. Time flies when you're having fun, especially this year in Broncos Country. But the Denver Broncos will soon have to face some not-so-fun realities of being such a great team.
The reality of having a good team is that you lose players on the roster who earn bigger money contracts than you can realistically fit onto one salary cap. Even for the Denver Broncos, who have ultimate flexibility with a quarterback on a rookie contract and Russell Wilson's deal officially coming off the books in 2026, it will be tough to keep everyone.
One of the players who, at last we heard, hadn't even had a single talk with the Broncos about a new contract is defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers. We could be entering the last handful of games with JFM, who has become a beloved veteran since being traded to Denver by the Jets.
John Franklin-Myers could be playing his final games with the Broncos
Coming off of a two-sack game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, you see the consistency and what John Franklin-Myers brings to the table week in and week out. He's been one of the most consistent players in the NFL at his position ever since coming into the NFL, and frankly, one of the most under-appreciated.
We've seen the Broncos give out second contracts to Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen, Jonathon Cooper, Malcolm Roach, and DJ Jones. So why wouldn't they try to keep the whole band together and re-sign JFM?
Well, it's not always that simple.
You can want to keep everyone and still not be able to do it. The Broncos have re-signed a plethora of players over the past two years, but you can't always keep everyone when there are other needs on the roster. If Franklin-Myers commands a contract north of $18 million per season or so, the Broncos might not be able to allocate another slice of the salary cap pie quite that large to the defensive front.
For myself and many others in Broncos Country, the hope is that Franklin-Myers will find a way to still stick around in the Mile High City.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Last year at this time, nobody thought there was a chance DJ Jones was returning to the Broncos, and then the team re-signed him before free agency even started. I'm still holding out hope for JFM to return to Denver, and the Broncos will have the cap space and cash to get it done.
The biggest question is whether or not there will be a deal to be done that both sides are comfortable with and excited about, which is why everyone right now needs to savor the games we have left with JFM out there. He works so well with Zach Allen as the primary defensive ends in this defense, and he's been phenomenal since coming to Denver.
But these could be his final games with the team, sadly.