5 best cap-clearing moves that Broncos can make before free agency begins
Team needs to make a big decision regarding one of the top two WRs
Releasing a fan favorite
Make a decision on one of the top two wide receivers on the roster
Either Jerry Jeudy or Courtland Sutton needs to be playing for a new team in 2024 after the Broncos decide to move one of them. Would it be nice to keep both? In a perfect world, sure. But they are two of the most tradeable assets the team currently has.
We have discussed trade scenarios involving Jeudy at length and for me, there is no doubt that he needs to be somewhere else. But playing on a fifth-year option that will pay him nearly $13 million in 2024, there might not be a long line of teams willing to make a deal.
That might make Sutton the more likely candidate. After finding the end zone 10 times this past season, Sutton might be able to net the Broncos a better return than Jeudy in a potential trade.
The Broncos could also convert Sutton's base salary into a signing bonus as proposed with McGlinchey and/or Powers and that would free up $9.5 million in cap space. I would prefer to see the Broncos keep Sutton and find a trade partner for Jeudy, even if the return is small.
Potential cap-relief scenario
Keeping all of this in mind, let's take a hypothetical look at what some of these moves could look like if they were all made.
Release Tim Patrick
Convert salaries of Mike McGlinchey AND Ben Powers
Release D.J. Jones
Trade Jerry Jeudy
Convert salary of Courtland Sutton
Total Salary Cap Savings= $61.7 million
Updated Salary Cap space= $37.8 million
Another quarterback's name should be added to Denver Broncos' already lengthy list of potential players to draft. dark. Next. Spencer Rattler
The Broncos could absolutely work with this. The hardest part of that scenario would likely be trading Jeudy and getting a team to take on his salary, but for those who talk of gloom and doom when it comes to the Broncos in free agency this offseason and basically being handcuffed by the cap, there are moves the team can make to alleviate that.