Broncos will regret not making these five free agent deals in 2024
The Denver Broncos had a very quiet free agency period, not spending a ton of money, but they still will regret passing on a few of these players. It's clear that Denver is trying to be smarter with their salary cap space given their financial situation with Russell Wilson's contract. Denver, at one point, had nearly $50 million in available space earlier this offseason.
But the team plans on eating the $85 million dead cap hit across two seasons, and they are set to take on the $53 million chunk of it this offseason, which is a huge number. But after the 2025 season, the contract will be totally off the books. The Broncos could also find themselves with $100 million in cap space in 2025, and their quiet 2024 free agency tells me that they are eyeing 2025 as a potential breakout year.
Well, the Broncos still could have made modest free agency signings instead of or in addition to the ones they did sign. The Broncos will regret not making these five free agency deals.
1. Broncos will regret not signing DE Jonathan Greenard
Even though the Broncos clearly did not want to spend a ton of money in the free agent market this offseason, they did have the flexibility to make a splash signing, and there might not be a more urgent position of need on this roster besides QB than along the defensive line. The free agent market had two big-time free agents along the DL, and there was plenty of reason for the Broncos to have come away with one of them.
They should have signed Jonathan Greenard, who signed a four-year deal with the Vikings. In 2023, Greenard had 12.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and 22 QB hits. Playing along the defensive line opposite Zach Allen, who is a 20+ QB hit player, would have filled a huge hole for the Denver Broncos.
2. Broncos will regret not signing QB Jacoby Brissett
While I understand Sean Payton gassing up Jarrett Stidham, the truth is, he's not very good, even among backups. The Broncos had a very strong bridge QB market that they could have dabbled in, and they apparently had rumored interest in Sam Darnold. Well, someone else who could have made a ton of sense is Jacoby Brissett, who signed with the Patriots on a one-year deal.
Brissett is not only a much better QB than Stidham, but he's been a backup to a young QB before and he's also been a full-time starter in the NFL. Brissett is exactly who teams should be targeting as a stopgap, spot-starter option.
The Broncos not signing Jacoby Brissett was a silly move.