Denver Broncos letting their best free agent hit the market?

The Denver Broncos have had "good" conversations with Dre'Mont Jones. According to general manager George Paton, they've had "very positive" discussions with Jones and his agent, Kyle McCarthy. Having positive negotations, however, doesn't mean that a deal is imminent between the Broncos and their top free agent in 2023.

Dre'Mont Jones would be one of the top 10 or 15 overall free agents if the Broncos do let him walk in free agency. He would have plenty of suitors throwing a lot of money in his direction. Despite that, the Broncos seem open to the idea that Jones is no longer on the roster in 2023 if the price is not right.

General manager George Paton spoke with the media on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, and noted that he views Jones as a "core player" on this current Denver Broncos roster. He mentioned negotiations or at least discussions with Jones and his agent have been positive. He also told Benjamin Allbright and Ryan Edwards of 850 KOA in Denver that they're going to let Jones test the free agent market.

Denver Broncos shockingly going to let Dre'Mont Jones test NFL Free Agency

""We've had some good conversations. We'd like Dre'Mont back. He's gonna hit the market. When these players hit the market, you know, you never know what's going to happen. It takes one team to blow you out of the water, but he's a valuable piece for us. We'd like to have him back.""

- George Paton (via 850 KOA)

The way George Paton is speaking about Dre'Mont Jones and how things are going right now makes you wonder. Do the two sides have an agreement to let Jones hit free agency and match the top offer he gets? What is Jones looking for, high average annual value? Biggest overall guarantee?

Perhaps that's what the Denver Broncos are doing here. It may not be a situation where you should be panicking, even though it feels like you should be when you hear a GM say that they're going to let a player test the market.

The other thing about the Broncos letting Jones hit the market? They're not going to use the franchise tag on him. The franchise tag for Dre'Mont Jones would be nearly $20 million, fully guaranteed, and it would count against this year's salary cap. Well, you can't really have that in the Broncos' current situation because they don't have a first- or second-round pick and they need to make changes to the roster. And by changes, I mean substantial upgrades.

Re-signing Dre'Mont Jones seems to be a priority, but the Broncos are not afraid to potentially risk losing him in free agency. Maybe that means they really believe in the guys they have developing in Eyioma Uwazurike and Matt Henningsen. Maybe they feel really good about being able to land Zach Allen from the Cardinals if Jones walks. Or maybe they feel confident that Jones will circle back to their offer (if there's one on the table before mid-March) and take the deal.

The news, for now, is Dre'Mont Jones hitting free agency. Other NFL teams may be salivating at the chance to try and land him, and the biggest competition could be teams like the Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, and Houston Texans -- teams flush with cap space and desperate need for talent.