Broncos have virtually eliminated stress in 2025 offseason after Bolles deal

In the wake of the Garett Bolles extension news, it occurred to me that the Denver Broncos have already crossed all of the most "stressful" to-do items off of their 2025 offseason checklist. It's shaping up to be a rather unprecedented offseason as the Broncos are already flush with salary cap space (despite Russell Wilson still occupying $35 million of the pie) and they apparently have their franchise quarterback in place.

The Broncos are financially positioned to be aggressive. The team's success this season is going to drive free agents to Denver. The ownership has done everything possible to make the Broncos a destination team again. Sean Payton has changed the culture.

And now, the team doesn't have any real glaring holes that will cause anyone to lose sleep in the offseason.

Broncos are set up to have a very fun 2025 offseason

The Broncos have their quarterback position figured out. They have long-term contracts done for four of their five starting offensive linemen and no starters are pending unrestricted free agents. They got a lucrative, record-setting deal done with star cornerback Pat Surtain II.

The biggest Broncos free agents are off the board. The best player that's about to hit the open market in 2025 is veteran defensive tackle DJ Jones, who has played just 40 percent of the snaps this season after the acquisitions of John Franklin-Myers and Malcolm Roach.

The Broncos' biggest needs heading into the 2025 offseason are positions like tight end, running back, and linebacker. They don't have any questions about whether or not to use the franchise tag. They have all of their draft picks in the first four rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Broncos have the luxury of addressing future areas of need while also aggressively attacking some of the more "luxury" position groups. The development of young players on this roster has set the team up exceptionally well for the 2025 offseason and the work of the front office to get major deals done ahead of time (Pat Surtain, Quinn Meinerz, Jonathon Cooper, and Garett Bolles) has eliminated premium positions from the "need" category.

We are truly setting up for an offseason discussing what running backs and tight ends the Broncos need to pursue to really round out the roster as opposed to figuring out whether or not the team has any viable building blocks at crucial positions.

No roster in the NFL is perfect, but the Broncos are set up very well for success in a longer-term window, which in the NFL is usually around 4-5 years.

Having this type of cushion going into the 2025 offseason will allow the Broncos to think about making bold moves for star players and maybe adding some playmakers to surround young quarterback Bo Nix. It will allow them the rarity of continuity going from one year to the next, even though there is always going to be a lot of change on any NFL roster in a given offseason.

Thanks to the Garett Bolles extension, another major need is wiped off the board for the Broncos and the roster tinkering

What's even more exciting? The Broncos have the luxury of offering larger multi-year deals to players thanks to Russell Wilson's contract coming off the books in 2026. This team has financial flexibility, roster flexibility, and ultimate freedom in the NFL Draft. The cherry on top of it all would be the team reaching the postseason for the playoffs for the first time since Super Bowl 50, and beyond that, why not win a little while you're there?

For the first time since 2016, things are really looking up for Broncos Country.