The biggest free agent the Broncos may have to decide on is defensive tackle DJ Jones. His contract projection should make the decision quite easy. Jones signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Denver Broncos back before the 2022 NFL Season.
Jones played all three years with Denver. He just turned 30 years old and started all but three games for Denver over the last three seasons. With his tenure in Denver, DJ Jones racked up five sacks, 122 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, and 11 QB hits.
Should the Broncos bring back DJ Jones?
He's 6'0" and 305 pounds, so he is a bit undersized at the position, and DJ Jones has primarily been someone who stops the run at a decent level. He's not necessarily a well-rounded defensive tackle. The pass rush ability it just OK. DJ Jones is a run stuffer, period.
That's what he's good at. But in 2025, it was clear that Denver was missing some more push up front. The defensive line was largely very good, but it felt like it fell apart late in the season and into the playoffs. The team could justify major upgrades at defensive tackle and inside linebacker.
And according to spotrac.com, DJ Jones' market value is a one-year contract worth $11 million. Yeah, no thanks. Listen, Jones is a good player. He truly is, but he's not someone who the Denver Broncos need to be paying that much money to. His first contract with the team was worth $10 million per year.
There is absolutely a role for DJ Jones on this team, but he's a DT who plays about half the snaps, so the Broncos should not hesitate to offer him a contract worth about half that $11 million figure.
Denver finding a bigger, more complete defensive tackle for the middle of the defense should be one of their top priorities in 2025. DJ Jones being the starter in their base defense in Week 1 would be a notable failure on the part of the front office. The team also signed Malcolm Roach on a two-year, $7 million contract last offseason.
Roach was very good for Denver and one of the best run stuffers in the NFL last year. That's a $3.5 million per year average salary. If the Broncos could find a way to get DJ Jones back on a two-year deal worth around $8-$10 million, that would be a much better resolution than overpayig him.