The Denver Broncos were dealing with nearly $90 million in dead cap during the 2024 offseason, so we've got to take it at least a little easy on them. But there are some mistakes that were made in free agency during the 2024 offseason that ultimately ended up plaguing the Broncos in a variety of ways during the year.
Especially as the season wore along...
General manager George Paton said the team is going to take a "measured" approach to free agency in 2025 but acknowledged that they have $52 million in cap space (currently) before making a single move. They have the flexibility to make a splash or be as aggressive as they want in order to upgrade a roster that they believe can compete for an AFC West title.
And that is the expectation from ownership on down. The Broncos believe they can compete with Kansas City and they need to find the competitive advantages any way they can. That won't happen if they whiff in free agency in some of the ways we witnessed in 2024.
NFL Free Agency mistakes the Broncos have to avoid in 2025
1. The Josh Reynolds mistake
The Broncos signed wide receiver Josh Reynolds to a two-year contract in 2024 free agency, a relatively out-of-left-field move that seemingly made a lot of sense on paper. Reynolds brought with him a very high QB rating when targeted in his final year at Detroit and seemingly gave the Broncos a veteran floor-raiser at receiver who should help a young quarterback.
In theory.
Unfortunately, Reynolds lasted just a handful of games with the Broncos. Denver cut Reynolds late last year after he landed on IR with a hand injury and then missed additional time due to a horrifying shooting incident in Denver while Reynolds was on IR. Thankfully, Reynolds is okay and still with us today.
As far as his fit with this roster was concerned, Reynolds was not providing the Broncos with consistently high-level play and was preventing young guys from getting snaps. There's merit to having depth at a key position like receiver, especially at a reasonable price, but the Broncos were not getting out of Reynolds what they needed at receiver.
They were asking a WR4 to play a WR2 role. They were trying to have their cake and eat it too. Again, with nearly $90 million in dead cap, some creativity was required. but for the Broncos' sake, it would have been better to just roll with young guys from the start and use the money spent on Reynolds elsewhere.
It was clear from the start of the offseason that Denver was going all-in on a youth movement at just about every other spot on the roster. They should have just resolved early last year that they were keeping Tim Patrick and never even bothered signing Reynolds.
2. Passing on obvious potential targets for no good reason
Can anyone explain why the Denver Broncos were not the team to sign Zack Baun last offseason?
Baun was drafted by the Saints when Sean Payton was there. Cody Rager, who was in the Saints' front office, is also in Denver. Baun was a free agent at an obvious position of need for the Broncos. He signed with the Eagles for $1 million more than what Cody Barton signed for in Denver. Now, Baun is coming off of a huge year with the Eagles and will likely be one of the most coveted players at his position in 2025 NFL Free Agency.
There was obvious familiarity there and any reasonable offer likely would have landed Baun in Denver. Why did it not happen?
How about the Broncos rolling with Lucas Krull and Greg Dulcich as their only options as pass-catching tight ends? With a player like Jonnu Smith available in free agency (before free agency, even), it doesn't seem like Denver did nearly enough to get a floor raiser at an obvious position of need.
3. Not being aggressive enough
Some of the best moves in free agency are the ones you don't make. With that being said, the Broncos took too many "Ls" in 2024.
The Broncos missed out on Sam Darnold, who signed with the Minnesota Vikings. Not that they would have needed him, but what would have happened if someone traded up for Bo Nix? The Broncos ended up pivoting to a Zach Wilson trade but that one could have turned out bad if not for Nix falling to the 12th pick.
The Broncos tried to add cornerback Kristian Fulton but were outbid by the Los Angeles Chargers. They tried to get Josh Jacobs but couldn't convince him to choose them over the Packers.
The Broncos also, as far as we know, were not even remotely in the mix for Saquon Barkley, who is going to get MVP votes and probably win NFL Offensive Player of the Year. And they could have used him. With what assets they had available, they should have at least been making it hard for Barkley to say no because he signed with the Eagles for less than $13 million per season, a bargain for someone racking up nearly 2,300 yards. from scrimmage this year.
The Broncos have to be assertive and aggressive this offseason in getting the guys they believe can make a difference on the roster.