The Denver Broncos have a plethora of avenues they can go down to free up upwards of $50 million in cap space this offseason. These five realistic moves can help them do that. Currently, according to Over The Cap, the Denver Broncos are nearly $17 million over the cap for 2024. That might seem like a huge disadvantage, but the team has a plethora of opportunity to get into a strong spot with their cap space.
Given that the Broncos won eight games in 2023 with a below-average QB and a below-average roster, it's not crazy to think that with a smart free agency period and strong 2024 NFL Draft, the Broncos could squeeze two more wins out of their team from 2023. I don't think the Broncos finishing with a winning record in 2024 is totally unrealistic.
They need to start that process by creating enough cap space to make savvy and economical decisions in free agency, which will then pave the way for the 2024 NFL Draft. Here are five moves the Broncos can make to create over $50 million in cap space.
1. Extend LT Garett Bolles: $11,632,000
With significant cap savings available by extending Garett Bolles, the Broncos should put a contract offer in front of him, in hopes that he can retire as a Denver Bronco. Even though Bolles has never experienced a winning season in the NFL, money talks, so perhaps a strong extension offer is enough for him to want to stay.
Now, with the current situation along the offensive line, bringing Bolles back in 2024 might not be an option. The Broncos could have more interest in re-signing Lloyd Cushenberry, their breakout center who is set to be a free agent in 2024. Stud right guard Quinn Meinerz is now eligible for an extension this offseason, and you could argue that both Cushenberry and Meinerz are better than Bolles at this moment.
Both are significantly younger, so the latter two might fit more into the Broncos long-term plans, which is something else to consider. However, the Broncos do have a ton of reason to try and keep Garett Bolles in Denver.
2. Extend WR Courtland Sutton: $9,580,000
The Denver Broncos can free up nearly $10 million more with an extension of Courtland Sutton, who caught 10 TD passes in 2023 and quickly became one of the best red-zone threats in the entire NFL. Sutton will turn 29 during the 2024 NFL Season, so I guess you can begin to worry about his age.
However, Sutton had, arguably, the best year of his career in 2023 and did earn a contract extension. He is currently under contract through the 2025 NFL Season, so the urgency to potentially extend Sutton might be much less than the urgency to extend Bolles. However, if the Broncos want to free up cap space without incurring any dead money, extensions are the way to go.
3. Trade WR Jerry Jeudy: $12,987,000
Because Jerry Jeudy will be playing on his fifth-year option in 2023 if his contract is left alone, trading him will be more outright savings for the Broncos. The team could save nearly $13 million more if they trade the controversial WR this offseason. The weird thing with Jeudy is that there still seem to be some staunch Jeudy believers in Broncos Country who seem to think that circumstances out of his control are why he hasn't truly broken out yet.
The truth however might just be that Jeudy isn't as good as some think he is. Right now, he's a quality WR2 in the NFL, and I think that is who he'll always be. The NFL is a pass-first, offense-first league, and someone with Jeudy's skillset will always be in demand. That salary of nearly $13 million in 2024 isn't really a ton of money, so I don't think the Broncos would have any issue finding a suitor for Jeudy.
And the best path forward for both sides might just be a fresh start.
4. Restructure RT Mike McGlinchey: $10,406,250
These first four moves the Broncos can take are all outright cap savings with no dead money incurred. This would be an ideal scenario for the team. The fourth move they can make to free up another $10 million in cap space is to restructure the contract if RT Mike McGlinchey, who was up and down in 2023.
He's a fine tackle, perhaps slightly above average at best. He's a great run blocker but doesn't bring much at all in terms of pass blocking. McGlinchey will likely always be in line to start for a team for as long as his career doesn't decline, but the contract he signed with the Denver Broncos last offseason was clearly too rich for his production.
The team though can utilize his contract to free up a good bit of cap space, so this seems like a no-brainer move to me.
5. Cut DT DJ Jones: $9,970,000
The only move of the five in this article that forces the Broncos to take on some dead cap is an outright release of DJ Jones, one of many free agency "bust" signings by General Manager George Paton. I am truly not sure what the Broncos are paying DJ Jones to do. He's not a pass-rush threat and was signed to help stop the run.
Not only was the Broncos pass-rush horribly inconsistent in 2023, but their run defense was among the worst in the NFL. With cap savings approaching $10 million, the Broncos should look to cut DJ Jones, an average-at-best defensive tackle who is getting paid about double what he is worth.
All in all, if you add up the cap savings from these moves, you'd get $54,575,250.
If we take this amount and add it to the Denver Broncos current cap space, which is a NEGATIVE $16,811,078, we'd get $37,764,172 in positive cap space for the Denver Broncos in 2024.
The Broncos can make these five realistic moves and give themselves substantial cap space to make some smart moves in free agency.