Navigating the 2024 Salary Cap: Broncos
The Broncos have made quite a turnaround but will have to address their cap situation for next season. Let's look at what they might do.
The Denver Broncos lost four of their first five games to open the 2023 NFL season. Since then, the Broncos have gone 5-1 and, going into this week, could greatly improve their odds of making the playoffs.
At one point, it looked like the Broncos would have to prepare for a full rebuild of the team, meaning they would have to move on from every older player and accumulate draft capital. In more recent weeks, though, the Broncos look like a team that needs to do a soft rebuild, in which they move on from a player or two but might be able to keep others around.
The Broncos will have to make some choices about the roster, though, given that they are projected to be $12.5M over the cap in 2023 once they get the roster to 51 players (they currently have 43).
Much of the talk surrounding the Broncos has been the contract for Russell Wilson. The Broncos traded for him during the 2022 offseason, then extended him just before the start of the regular season. He played poorly in 2022 but has improved his play this season.
However, some will question how much longer he can be the QB to build around, especially because he's getting older and doesn't look the part of a QB who can change the complexion of a game.
The only way the Broncos would gain cap space is by trading Wilson. though it wouldn't be a lot of space gained. Such a trade would have to be done before it's time to exercise his $22M option bonus that will be due March 21, 2024.
The March 21, 2024, date is also important if the Broncos want to cut him because his 2025 base salary of $37M will become fully guaranteed. A cut would have to be done with a post-June 1 designation and the Broncos wouldn't gain any space.
The Broncos could elect to keep Wilson and ride it out with him the next two seasons. Some may question whether that's wise but others might believe that, if Sean Payton can get the most out of Wilson as he is currently, it should be possible to keep doing so.
But regardless of what the Broncos do with Wilson, they will need to make other moves to become cap compliant. I'm going to look at moves they should consider to address that.
Cut WR Tim Patrick: The Broncos gave Patrick a three-year extension back in 2021. Patrick had several quality seasons with the team, but he's missed the past two years because of injuries. An ACL tear ended his 2022 season and an Achilles tear ended his 2023 season, both before he even played a preseason game. While unfortunate, the Broncos can't attempt to justify the deal by bringing him back in 2024. Cutting him saves $10M in cap space.
Figure out what to do with WR Jerry Jeudy: The 2020 first-round pick hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been the impact player the Broncos expected when they took him in the first round. He's due nearly $13M in fully guaranteed salary from the fifth-year option of his draft pick deal. The Broncos need to decide if Jeudy is part of the long term and, if so, they need to extend him to lower his cap number, though it must be in line with the likes of Curtis Samuel and Michael Gallup. If the Broncos don't think he's in their plans, they need to trade him while they still can to free cap space.
Renegotiate the contract for ID DJ Jones or cut him: Jones received a three-year, $30M contract in 2022, a surprising contract given that Jones is mostly known for his run defense. The Broncos run D hasn't been good, in part because of the lack of quality playmakers on the D-line. Jones hasn't been bad but he isn't quite living up to his contract this season. The Broncos either need to lower his $9.49M base salary, converting some of it into incentives, or they simply need to cut him and do what they can to address the defensive line with other players.
Possibly extend OT Garett Bolles: There was a point at which the Broncos were reportedly trying to trade Bolles, who missed the bulk of the 2022 season with a broken leg. However, Bolles has not only come back from that injury but has played well overall. While not an elite player, it's not unusual for offensive tackles to keep playing well as they get older. An extension would lower Bolles' cap number. The only question is, if he's extended, how much the Broncos should pay him.
Stand pat with the contract of S Justin Simmons: While offensive tackles may be worth a third contract, that's not the case with safeties. Simmons is a popular player but he'll be 31 years old next season. It shouldn't be an issue for the Broncos to keep Simmons but they need to avoid touching his contract. They can then evaluate his play in 2024 and decide from there what the future holds.
The above moves should give the Broncos enough wiggle room to bring back a few players, then use the draft to fill remaining holes. They will need to sit out free agency (aside from taking care of their own) and can't be big spenders like they were in 2023.
Next time, I'll look at the Cleveland Browns.