The 2023 season could be the end of the line for a number of current Denver Broncos players in the Mile High City, some of them beloved. It's not a guarantee -- nothing in the NFL ever is -- but it seems like the writing is on the wall for certain players on the Broncos' roster right now.
Whether they are pending free agents or have massive cap hits that will necessitate a cut or trade, we've got to brace ourselves for the reality of players that could be gone in 2024 and positions that might end up becoming major needs for this Denver Broncos team as a result.
Let's take a look at four players, perhaps some surprising names, that won't be in Denver in 2024.
4 players who (almost) definitely won't be Denver Broncos in 2024
1. Garett Bolles, OT
Garett Bolles was a first-round pick for the Denver Broncos in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Broncos selected Bolles over Ryan Ramczyk in a draft class that was not overly revered at the offensive tackle position, and despite a really rough start to his NFL career, Bolles has turned out to be a solid player.
He really took a huge leap forward during the 2020 season, a crucial year for him considering it was a contract year. The Broncos really bought into the first half of that breakthrough season for Bolles, and rewarded him with a massive contract extension in-season.
Bolles is still under contract for the 2024 season but carries a $20 million salary cap hit with only $4 million in dead money. There were some rumors that Bolles could be traded this offseason but those obviously never came to fruition. Of course, it's not as easy as just saying you want to replace a left tackle -- that position might be one of the hardest to just instantly replace in the NFL.
But with a potential savings of $16 million and considering Bolles will be 32 next offseason, it's worth wondering if the Broncos wouldn't just prefer to go after a first-round tackle next year and spend that money elsewhere, especially after giving big-money deals to Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers with Quinn Meinerz on deck.