The Denver Broncos have clearly been one of the most aggressive teams in the NFL in terms of upgrading their roster heading into the 2023 NFL free agency signing period. The new league year officially opens up on Wednesday afternoon, and when it does, the team is going to have a flurry of moves to "officially" announce including:
OT Mike McGlinchey
OG Ben Powers
DL Zach Allen
LB Alex Singleton
QB Jarrett Stidham
RB Samaje Perine
TE Chris Manhertz
You love to see the aggressiveness from the Denver Broncos in the first two days of the unofficial start to NFL free agency, and it will be fascinating to see where it goes from here. The team should have around $8-10 million in available cap space and this year's draft class -- with no first or second-round picks -- isn't going to count much against the salary cap at all.
There are also potential restructures the Denver Broncos have not yet touched to make additional moves as they see fit. Bigger moves could yet be on the horizon. What could GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton do? Let's take a look.
5 moves the Denver Broncos could still make after their spending spree
1. Sign a free agent center
The Denver Broncos made big moves to upgrade the offensive line already by signing right tackle Mike McGlinchey and left guard Ben Powers. Could the next move be to upgrade the center position?
As of right now, the options there are former third-round pick Lloyd Cushenberry III and former fifth-round pick Luke Wattenberg. Although Cushenberry wasn't drafted by the current regime and Wattenberg wasn't picked for this specific coaching staff, it's reasonable to assume one or both of those guys could still be well-liked in the building.
Don't rule out either of those guys playing in 2023, but the center market has been very team friendly with many of the deals right now hovering between $4 million and $6million in average annual value. That's certainly something the Broncos could fit in their budget if they really like someone like Evan Brown (Lions), or maybe pay a little more for former Bronco Connor McGovern (Jets) or veteran Ben Jones.
And yes, that Connor McGovern is available. The other Connor McGovern who plays interior offensive line in the NFL -- formerly of the Cowboys -- signed with the Buffalo Bills. Very confusing.
2. Trade a wide receiver
Not that we really want to see this, but it's very possible that we could see the Denver Broncos trade a wide receiver in the coming days. Specifically, it sounds like teams have been calling with an interest in Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, and even KJ Hamler.
Sutton is entering the second year of a new contract he signed during the 2021 season while Jeudy is entering the "final" year of his rookie deal. The Denver Broncos could add another contract year to Jeudy's current deal by picking up the fifth-year team option in the next month or two. Hamler is in the final year of his rookie deal.
Teams are calling and interested because this year's wide receiver market in free agency is horrendous and if Courtland Sutton or Jerry Jeudy are available, it's reasonable to assume that teams might be willing to pay a decent price to get them. But would the Broncos really want to part ways with either one?
It's worth watching the market on teams that are interested in bringing in receivers. There might have been a bit of a dead giveaway for teams in the market with whoever showed up at Odell Beckham Jr.'s workout. Not that those teams would automatically be interested in trading premium draft capital for a receiver, but they should be considered legitimate options if the Broncos are shopping these guys.
Teams represented at Odell Beckham Jr.'s private workout in Arizona today included the Panthers, Giants, Patriots, Rams, Cardinals, 49ers, Bills, Chiefs, Vikings, Browns and Ravens, per source.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 10, 2023
I would say that any of those teams on that particular list are pretty fair game regarding interest in the Broncos' receivers, and it's also been specifically reported that the New England Patriots could have an interest in trading with the Broncos.
One way or another, the next big move for the Broncos could be a disappointing departure...
3. Make a splash move for CJ Gardner-Johnson
Do the Denver Broncos have at least one more big-money move in them? They've already thrown around a ton of cash, but someone like safety CJ Gardner-Johnson might solidify this group as the best free agency class in the NFL in 2023.
Gardner-Johnson was originally a fourth-round pick out of Florida in the 2019 NFL Draft. You'll never guess which team drafted him back in 2019...If you guessed the New Orleans Saints, you are absolutely right. Gardner-Johnson was picked by Sean Payton and the Saints back in 2019 and now they have a chance to reunite in 2023 in the Mile High City as Denver Broncos.
Why would the Broncos go after Gardner-Johnson? For starters, he has nine interceptions over the last two season. Imagining his ball production along with someone like Justin Simmons on the back end of that Denver Broncos defense should get just about anyone excited. Veteran Kareem Jackson, who could be back with the Broncos as well, is currently a free agent. The Broncos let PJ Locke walk as well.
They need to add at the safety position and signing Gardner-Johnson could allow them to keep young Caden Sterns in a flexible role. There has also been some interesting smoke lately with Gardner-Johnson and the Broncos. Internet detectives have discovered that he's recently been following a bunch of Denver Broncos players on Instagram.
Given the connection Gardner-Johnson has to the Broncos with Sean Payton and some of his staff, I don't think this idea is too far-fetched.
4. Another move at the running back position?
This seems pretty far-fetched, but it's not out of the question to think the Broncos could actually continue to add at the running back position even after signing Samaje Perine from the Cincinnati Bengals. It's clear that Sean Payton wants to place a heavy emphasis on running the ball and understandably so. Russell Wilson (or any QB) will need that to be successful.
The question at this point is, who?
Well, we've already made the connection between the Denver Broncos and free agent running backs like David Montgomery (Bears) as well as Kareem Hunt (Browns). The discussion really hinges on whether or not the Broncos actually believe Javonte Williams is going to be ready early on this coming season.
If they are confident in his availability, and the acquisition of Perine seems to suggest that, then it might be less likely for the team to go out and sign another big-name back. Someone like Miles Sanders of the Eagles would really solidify this team as emphasizing the running game. The thing with the running back market is that teams and players typically seem far apart.
Some teams can stomach the franchise tag for their backs, but other teams don't want to touch running backs at $10 million per year after bad free agent deals in recent years like DeMarco Murray and Le'Veon Bell.
If you could get someone like Montgomery on a three-year deal worth $15 million, that might be too team-friendly to pass up, especially with Montgomery's connection to running backs coach Lou Ayeni.
5. More defensive line help
The Denver Broncos made big splashes on the defensive line in consecutive years with the pickup of DJ Jones in 2022 and now Zach Allen in 2023. They might not be done adding to the defensive line, either.
This year's defensive line market might not be overwhelming in terms of the top-end guys, but the Broncos did well to replace Dre'Mont Jones with another young player like Allen. There are also some other players on the defensive line market that could help this Denver team and one of them is a familiar face.
Starting there, how about a reunion between Shelby Harris and the Denver Broncos? Harris was let go by the Seattle Seahawks and ultimately could be ideal depth for Vance Joseph's defense. Harris really got his first big break in the NFL back in 2017 which was Joseph's first year as the head coach in Denver.
Although Harris understandably took it a little personal that he was included in the trade for Russell Wilson last offseason, he was also given his first big-money deal in the NFL the year prior by general manager George Paton. I think a reunion between the Broncos and Shelby Harris for 1-2 years makes a ton of sense.
Another name that could really make a lot of sense is Greg Gaines, formerly of the Los Angeles Rams. Gaines played for Broncos defensive line coach Marcus Dixon when Dixon was still in Los Angeles. The Broncos convinced Dixon to stick around, so maybe it makes sense to go get him one of his guys to coach up as added depth, and Gaines should be a decent value.
Those veteran moves make some sense because the Broncos already have two young players in Eyioma Uwazurike and Matt Henningsen that the team likes. They may try to allocate their 2023 NFL Draft capital elsewhere if possible.