The salary cap during the 2024 NFL Season will be over $255 million, which is about $13 million higher than originally thought. This is especially helpful for the Denver Broncos. Now, the Broncos are only $10.7 million over the cap, according to Over The Cap. Their cap overage for 2024 is a lot more manageable now since the NFL announced their salary cap number for 2024.
Salary cap for the 2024 NFL season will be $255.4 million per team. pic.twitter.com/QhIYihU6m0
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 23, 2024
Now, for reference, the Broncos could actually get into positive cap space with a simple trade of WR Jerry Jeudy. The team is going to deploy more contractual moves to get under the cap and give themselves some spending room for 2024. With the cap increase, the Broncos might now be in a position to not have to part with a veteran player that they were originally planning on parting with.
Let's cover three players on the Broncos who might be safe in 2024 with the salary cap increase.
1. Garett Bolles, LT
One of the longest-tenurd Broncos still on the roster is Garett Bolles, who once went from fan-least favorite to fan-favorite. He began his career as one of the worst offensive linemen in the NFL, and by his fourth year in 2020, he had drastically turned his career around and has since established himself as one of the better left tackles in the NFL.
However, he's got one more year left on his deal and could be in line for an extension. He's been floated as a trade piece though. Here's what NFL insider James Palmer recently had to say about the situation along the OL:
""What's really going to happen with this dead money is you're going to lose other players on your roster. I don't know how they keep Garett Bolles on this team," Palmer said via DNVR. "I know Garett thinks that. You can't pay everybody on the offensive line, you're going to have this much dead money... so there's other spots that are going to take a hit, but I think you could make a free-agent quarterback work." "via Lance Sanderson / si.com
A post-June 1st trade this offseason would save the Denver Broncos $16 million in dead money and would force them to eat $4 million in dead money, so the team would financially benefit from moving on from the LT. Over The Cap indicates that an extension would save the Broncos $11,632,000 in 2024, so perhaps they look at that route now.
The two other points to note along the offensive line is that Lloyd Cushenberry is a free agent and could be re-signed by the team, and stud right guard Quinn Meinerz, one of the best guards in the NFL, is now eligible for a contract extension. With the cap increase, the Broncos might now prefer to keep Garett Bolles.