The Denver Broncos have done an exceptional job of building up this roster in recent years, and navigating the Russell Wilson contract fallout as they did was nearly perfect. Denver has really excelled at paying players, period.
Whether it's for a free agent or an in-house contract extension, the Broncos have not hesitated to get those deals done. In fact, during the 2025 season, the Broncos extended all of Malcolm Roach, Luke Wattenberg, and Wil Lutz. All three were in the final year of their previous deal and would have hit the free agency market this offseason.
Well, even before that, during last offseason, the Broncos got a trio of deals done, and if this trend were to hold for 2026, it could mean that some major contracts are coming.
Could the Denver Broncos have some contract extensions coming soon?
Here is what the team has done recently, timing-wise, with in-house contract extensions:
-Courtland Sutton four-year deal on July 28th, 2025
-Zach Allen four-year deal on August 2nd, 2025
-Nik Bonitto four-year deal on September 4th, 2025
Three key players each got four-year deals last summer before the regular season. Given that the Broncos front office is the same, could General Manager George Paton be thinking of doing something similar this year?
It's clear that the Broncos don't want contract negotiations to get in the way of performance. While the team does want to reward their players, and has done so with a ton of them, they also understand the strategic side of these contracts.
For example, have the Broncos ever had any player hold out in any capacity due to contract disputes in the Sean Payton era? Nothing comes to mind. Furthermore, the Broncos do have some notable free agents in 2027 including Marvin Mims Jr, Brandon Jones, Ja'Quan McMillian, and Riley Moss.
Other players like Evan Engram and Ben Powers are also free agents, but it's clear that there are some replacement plans in the works for the future. Both Engram and Powers are also beginning to get up there in age, so it's not a strech to think that the 2026 season will be the last for those two in orange and blue.
What also may add to this is that the team does have three 2027 free agents in the secondary, and it just would not be normal operation for the Broncos to allow a position to get so depleted. It's anyone's guess who gets paid and when it happens, but the team did make it a point last year to not let contracts get in the way of football.
And seeing as the team got three big-time deals done last summer, I'd be shocked if there wasn't at least one getting done before the regular season. With both Moss and McMillian younger and entrenched in their roles right now, one of them might be the most likely to get a deal.
Digging further, McMillian might end up being the first one to get paid, as it obviously doesn't have the penalty issue that Moss had in 2025, and McMillian did play the best football of his career in 2025 and does bring that timely, big-play element to the defense.
As for Mims and Jones, Mims has emerged as one of the best return specialists in the NFL, but I'd not be shocked if the Broncos want to see if Mims has more in him as a receiver, as it'd be alot easier to justify giving him a deal if he can produce in both ways.
Jones is 28 years old and is the oldest of the listed bunch. He's also missed time in both seasons of his Broncos career, and with the team having assembled an elite safety duo in free agency once, there's reason to believe that Denver could opt to do this again in free agency in 2027, perhaps looking for someone younger to pair with Talanoa Hufanga.
What could be nice, though, is that none of the four listed players would cost as much as the Broncos paid last offseason for Courtland Sutton, Zach Allen, and Nik Bonitto. This could make the negotiation process easier, but perhaps that's just hopeful thinking on my end.
Regardless, the point still stands - if history holds from 2025 into 2026, the Broncos could be gearing up for some contract extensions.
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