Broncos just made another move that had the fan base bringing out pitchforks

The Denver Broncos have been keeping on theme with the "run it back" mantra all throughout the 2026 offseason. Up to this point, the Broncos have only re-signed their own players, and are the only team besides the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks to not sign or trade for anyone externally.

The latest move the Denver Broncos have made has fans bringing out the verbal pitchforks. The team re-signed tight end Lucas Krull to a one-year contract, and a pretty modest one, at that.

Fans are not so much upset about the Broncos bringing back Krull on a one-year deal as they are about what it represents. The team clearly needed to upgrade the tight end room this offseason, and with the decision to re-sign Krull, they've officially brought back the entire group from last season.

Broncos re-sign Lucas Krull to bring back last year's tight end room for 2026

Krull had a career-high 19 catches for 152 yards back in the 2024 season, which is the most action he's seen as an NFL player in five years. The former undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh actually started all three of the three games he played for the Broncos last season before going down with a foot injury.

The Broncos really liked Krull's pass-catching upside after he led the NFL among tight ends in receptions and yards during the preseason back in 2023, and they were able to pluck him away from the Saints.

There's no doubt that Krull has intriguing size and athleticism. Now, he has three going on four years of experience in Sean Payton's offense. The fact remains that the Broncos saw over the course of the last two seasons that the tight end position was not good enough, and they are running it back anyway.

Anybody who comes into the building from this point forward -- veteran or rookie -- is going to have to unseat someone who has at least two years of experience in Sean Payton's offense, was drafted by the team, or was a big-ticket free agent. It's not impossible, but many fans expected the Broncos to go after an upgrade in the talent department, and they've decided not to do that.

And unmet expectations can be the cause of irrational reaction from a fan base, but it feels like the Broncos are laying it on pretty thick at this point by retaining 15 out of their 21 free agents this offseason. With fans hoping for impact additions, the team's approach has been continuity and retention.

We'll see how it works out for them.