The 2025 NFL Free Agency frenzy is well underway, with teams allowed to agree to deals with unrestricted free agents as well as agree to terms on trades and other moves. The Denver Broncos have reportedly come to an agreement with free agent safety Talanoa Hufanga, adding a much-needed upgrade next to Brandon Jones at the safety position.
The question after making a move like signing Hufanga is obvious: What does it mean for starter PJ Locke?
The Broncos re-signed Locke in the 2024 offseason after making the tough decision to cut Justin Simmons, and while Locke was deserving of a chance to prove himself as a starter, it became clearer as the season went along that safety would have to be a priority for the Broncos in free agency.
Broncos moving on from PJ Locke after Talanoa Hufanga signing?
Locke has a completely non-guaranteed salary in 2025 of $3.49 million. The Broncos could save $4.19 million by cutting Locke with just $1 million in dead money. That might not be necessary given their available cap space, and especially with Tremon Smith leaving the Broncos in free agency for the Houston Texans, the decision to keep Locke might be a little bit easier.
But is Locke going to be amenable to the demotion? The move to sign a player like Talanoa Hufanga really speaks volumes to what the Broncos think of Locke as a starter, and we know that kind of move doesn't always sit well with players.
We've seen the Broncos "do right" by guys in the past by letting them go, but Locke sticking around on the Broncos in 2025 might depend on a unique factor: New special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi.
The Broncos hired Rizzi away from the Saints in 2025 after they replaced him with Kellen Moore, and Rizzi will likely have a significant say in what players are kept around as core special teams guys. We already saw him put his stamp on free agency as the Broncos made long snapper Mitchell Fraboni one of the top 10 highest-paid guys at his position in the league.
Could we see Rizzi work on his recruiting to get PJ Locke to stick around and play a bigger role on special teams in 2025 than he will on defense?
That might be his best shot of sticking around with the Broncos, especially because we saw Vance Joseph and the defensive coaching staff playing around with JL Skinner late last year as a dime linebacker. Locke's days as a Denver Broncos player might be numbered after this move.