The Denver Broncos cannot sign external free agents quite yet, so they have taken care of their own before the legal tampering period begins. Among the Broncos re-signing backup QB Jarrett Stidham and LS Mitchell Fraboni, a bigger piece of news also broke with DJ Jones, who is back with the Denver Broncos:
The #Broncos are close to a deal for DT D.J. Jones at around $13M per year, per source. Denver trying to keep core piece before free agency. pic.twitter.com/7OwPLoxqUc
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 10, 2025
The amount is $13 million per year for Jones, who now signs his second contract with the Denver Broncos, and NFL/Broncos insider Benjamin Allbright indicates that it's a three-year deal for the 30-year-old:
Three
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) March 10, 2025
Folks, in my opinion, this is a massive, massive overpay. According to spotrac.com, Jones' market value heading into the offseason was a one-year deal worth $11 million, and his valuation according to Over The Cap in 2024 was a measly $2.476 million.
Furthermore, Jones only played in 40% of the snaps in 2024, which was the lowest of his Denver Broncos tenure and the lowest in any season he's played in since 2018, when he played in just 10 games. Jones played in 465 defensive snaps for the Broncos in 2024, and the team somehow gave him a nearly $40 million contract.
I really have no idea what Denver was thinking here - sure, DJ Jones is a good player, but he really only exists to stop the run, hardly has any pass rush juice, is now 30 years old, and plays less than half of the defensive snaps. There really wasn't any reason for the Broncos to fork over this much money for a rotational, undersized player.
Yes, I am not a professional and not in the Denver Broncos front office, nor will I ever be, but this feels like a very, very rich contract for a player who probably should have simply hit the open market. I am truly beside myself at this dollar amount, and you have to wonder if Denver plans on addressing the DL anymore this offseason?
They till have a need at defensive tackle, but with what they are now paying DJ Jones, I wonder if they are only prepared to further address this unit in the 2025 NFL Draft. We'll see what other moves the Broncos plan on making when the legal tampering period opens in a few hours, but their own free agency endeavors are off to a very rich start, and in my opinion, it is very hard for me to look at DJ Jones and think that $13 million per year is not a massive, massive overpay.