The Denver Broncos have continued to take care of their own guys time and time again, and this has looked different from time to time. The Broncos have rewarded home-grown draft picks like Quinn Meinerz, Patrick Surtain, Nik Bonitto, and others with long-term deals.
They have also re-signed free agents on second contracts like DJ Jones. It does truly seem like if you perform how the coaches and team ask, the front office will take care of you, and that is not a bad thing, as the Broncos clearly are not afraid to spend money.
However, this can get out of hand at times, and on Sunday evening, some underwhelming news broke that the Broncos reached an agreement on a three-year deal, yes, a three-year deal, with Adam Trautman.
The Denver Broncos are bringing Adam Trautman back on a three-year deal
The news was first broken by Mike Klis of the Trautman extension:
#Broncos have reached agreement with TE Adam Trautman on 3-year deal per source.
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) March 8, 2026
Trautman, now 29 years old, came over with Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints to the Broncos in 2023, and he's played in all 51 regular season games for the Broncos in the last three seasons, racking up 55 receptions for 587 yards and sizx touchdowns.
He has eclipsed the 200-yard mark just once in his Broncos career and has never caught more than 22 passes in a season for the Broncos. As a receiver, Trautman is as underwhelming as you can get, but he does offer some blocking upside.
He has spent all but one year of his NFL career with Payton as his head coach, so his likely strong knowledge of the offense is probably something at play here. However, given how deep the tight end free agency class is, re-signing Trautman and doubling-down on a below-average player feels like bad process overall.
This feels like a puzzling deal, at best. Trautman isn't a 'plus' player, and he plays a position that the Broncos have not been able to figure out in recent years, yet he's been one of the mainstays. The Broncos continue to use up their available cap space, as they also extended Justin Strnad on Sunday, keeping another rotational player in the mix.
With the news of this Trautman extension, it might not be all that likely that the Broncos sign a big-name tight end in free agency, so those who have been clamoring for a top target might now be out of luck.