4 free agents the Denver Broncos will regret not signing in 2024 offseason

The Denver Broncos offseason was quite good in my opinion, but they may come to regret not signing these free agents in 2024. There were hundreds of free agents who signed with teams this offseason. The Broncos dipped their hand into the free agent market, but did not spend a ton of money.

This was a drastic change from last offseason when they were among the most active in free agency in the NFL. The team looks poised to potentially be very active next year when free agency rolls around, and perhaps they can correct some mistakes that they made this offseason.

Let's dive into four free agents the Broncos might regret not signing in 2024.

4 free agents the Denver Broncos will regret not signing in 2024 offseason
Connor Williams, C

If you have read my stuff before, you're probably sick and tired of seeing Connor Williams' name, but I was truly all-in on the Broncos making this low-cost, high-reward move. Williams recently signed with the Seattle Seahawks on a one-year deal. Denver really should have made this move, as Williams is a top-10 center.

But his 2023 NFL Season was cut short due to a torn ACL, so that really impacted his free agency this season. Being that Denver did not re-sign Lloyd Cushenberry, their situation at center was and is unstable at best. One of Luke Wattenberg or Alex Forsyth figure to be the starting center, but Williams is clearly a better option than both.

Jordan Whitehead, SAF

The Denver Broncos made a mistake not signing safety Jordan Whitehead in free agency. He began his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, signed with the New York Jets, and is now back on the Bucs.

In 2023 with the Jets, Whitehead had four interceptions, 97 total tackles, and nine passes defended. He was very productive on the backend and has had multiple interceptions in four-straight seasons. He's also never finished with less than 69 tackles in any season of his career.

The Broncos signed Brandon Jones instead, and while Jones is a fine player, Whitehead is better and would have brought a bigger improvement to the safety room.

Chase Young, DE

Chase Young is still just 25 years old and had 7.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 15 QB hits in 2023 between the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers. Young was one of those players who fell into the "reclamation project" tier a bit.

He's still in his mid-20s, and the potential is there. The former second overall pick has simply not lived up to his NFL Draft billing, as he was a second overall pick. A change of scenery could be what Young needs to turn his career around. The Broncos did bring in John Franklin-Myers at DE who is a more consistent player, but Chase Young is better and has more upside, so this would have been a fun move for the team to make.

Patrick Queen, ILB

Patrick Queen has never missed a single start in his NFL career and had the best year of his career in 2023, earning a Pro Bowl, second-team All Pro nod, and a free agency contract from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had six passes defended, 3.5 sacks, 133 total tackles, and nine tackles for loss in 2023 with the Baltimore Ravens.

Denver let Josey Jewell walk in free agency, which was certainly a choice, and signed Cody Barton. While it isn't always wise to spend a ton of money on the inside linebacker position, the Broncos do not have a game-changer there, and really don't have much of an impact player on the entire defensive front, so a move like Patrick Queen would have really stabilized their defensive front.