2. Garett Bolles, OT
Former first-round pick Garett Bolles has certainly had his ups and downs as a member of the Denver Broncos, hasn't he?
He went from being "Garett Holds" to being a big-money contract player in short order, and the Broncos paid him handsomely for a breakout campaign in 2020. After declining his 5th-year option, the Broncos handed Bolles a four-year, $68 million deal in 2020 which is set to expire after the 2024 season. Unfortunately, before the deal expires, there is a major hurdle to clear. Bolles is on the books in 2024 for $20 million against the salary cap with a base salary of $16 million.
He has no guaranteed money left, so there should be motivation on both Bolles's side as well as the Denver Broncos' side to get a new deal done.
Bolles cannot be restructured because there are currently no more years left on his deal. The Broncos could add void years to the final year of Bolles's deal and still allow him to become a free agent in 2025 (at the age of 33) but it feels more likely that this team would simply find a way to do a three-year extension for their left tackle.
And Bolles has earned himself an extension.
Garett Bolles: 84.9 pass-blocking grade since week 3
— PFF DEN Broncos (@PFF_Broncos) November 30, 2023
1st among all Tackles 😤 pic.twitter.com/5ol5KzyQgp
The going rate for top-level tackles these days is really no less than $18 million per season. That is a hefty chunk of change but the Broncos could convert Bolles's base salary in 2024 ($16 million) into part of a signing bonus or some other form of a bonus, and give him a 3-year extension worth somewhere between $54-60 million.
That's one of the benefits of having cash-rich ownership. The Broncos can load up Bolles with bonus money and find other ways out of the contract down the road if need be.