The Denver Broncos have some interesting roster discussions upcoming in the 2026 offseason, even with the benefit of Russell Wilson's massive dead cap figure being officially off the books.
As much as the Broncos are looking at their present and future cap situation, they've also had plenty of time to evaluate some of the team's recent draft picks. And the unfortunate reality is that not every draft pick is going to work out.
One player whose situation will be interesting to monitor in the 2026 offseason is 2023 third-round pick Drew Sanders, who has struggled to get on the field and stay on the field in his first few NFL seasons.
Broncos may move on from Drew Sanders as linebacker position reset takes shape
The Broncos could have a complete position reset coming at the linebacker position. Starters Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad are both set to hit free agency. Dre Greenlaw has no guaranteed money left on his contract and could potentially be a cut candidate as a result of his first season with the team being mostly a disappointment.
Sanders finds himself in a similarly difficult situation to evaluate. His overall cap number is just over $1.8 million, and the Broncos would save just around $1.5 million on the cap if they let him go this offseason.
At this point, the team has to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze. The difficult part with a player like Drew Sanders is that he came into the NFL with some positional question marks as opposed to just versatility. He transitioned from playing off the edge at Alabama to playing off the ball at Arkansas, where he became an All-American.
And that was the player the Broncos bought into: An off-ball linebacker who could be a "pressure player" and get after the quarterback in an attacking defense. Sanders played sparingly in his first NFL season, mostly on special teams, but then the Broncos transitioned him back to the EDGE position in his second NFL season.
He played just four games in 2024 and missed the entire 2025 season due to injury.
The Broncos clearly like Sanders' talent, but even going into the offseason program, how much are they going to be able to bank on his availability going forward? Playing just four games over the last two years, given the fact that he's been in crucial development years without a solidified position.
These years without time on task have undoubtedly impacted the vision and projection the team has had for a player like Sanders, and it's wild to think that even with the position group in flux, he might not be a factor.
That could ultimately lead to the Broncos doing what a lot of teams do at this time of year, which is trading a player like this to a different situation, perhaps to a spot where they have a better chance to compete for a roster spot.
We'll know more with how the Broncos approach free agency, but certainly at this point, Sanders can't be expected to be a viable candidate to start at linebacker this season and would be in a position of having to scrape and claw his way for a roster spot if anything.