As much as the Denver Broncos may have wanted to run it back and keep the band together, the reality of the team losing free agent defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers has never felt like more of a certainty.
Franklin-Myers has been with the Broncos for the past two seasons, and he's been a model of consistent impact on the defensive line. He's going to be one of the most coveted free agents on the open market, and recruiting has already begun.
Although team executives and coaches can't get involved until the "legal tampering" window on March 11, there are no rules against players recruiting other players. And that's exactly what new Titans pass rusher Jermaine Johnson is doing to try to get Franklin-Myers to Nashville.
John Franklin-Myers getting recruited heavily to leave Broncos for Titans in free agency
@J_FranklinMyers Next Wednesday coming soon… pic.twitter.com/nXiFOenGB8
— Jermaine Johnson II (@ii_jermaine) March 3, 2026
It has made sense for quite some time for Franklin-Myers to leave the Denver Broncos for the Tennessee Titans.
First of all, the Titans hired Robert Saleh as their new head coach this offseason. Saleh was the head coach of the Jets while Franklin-Myers was there from 2021-23 before he was traded to the Broncos in 2024. A reunion with Saleh would make a ton of sense for Franklin-Myers, who would also get to reunite with his old teammate Jermaine Johnson, who was just traded to the Titans in 2026.
The second big reason why Franklin-Myers makes a lot of sense for the Titans is the fact that they have a ton of cap space, and are ready to spend a bunch of cash in free agency.
We've also seen the Titans go after a number of ex-Broncos in recent years in free agency, signing (and now cutting) center Lloyd Cushenberry III to a big-money deal a couple of years ago and signing linebacker Cody Barton last offseason.
Franklin-Myers would be a disruptive presence next to Jeffery Simmons and help boost a Titans pass rush that was one of the worst in the league last year.
So obviously, they have the money to spend, he fits a need (especially after sending T'Vondre Sweat to the Jets), and the Titans have prior connections to JFM. Those three things add up for a perfect storm of factors that simply make the departure of a key player on the Broncos' defensive line a foregone conclusion.
And you can't keep everyone. Not with the salary cap in place. It's going to be crucial for the Broncos to keep investing in the defensive line, but they do have younger players like Eyioma Uwazurike and Sai'vion Jones waiting in the wings for an opportunity.
It will still sting for Franklin-Myers to leave, but at least the Broncos will have had time to grapple with it long before it happens.