The vibes are really high around the Denver Broncos as another training camp is upon us.

On Monday, ESPN ranked the Broncos as having the sixth best starting lineup in the NFL.

Think about that for a second.

No. 6 in the whole league? That screams Super Bowl contender, something I think this Denver team can be if they hit a bunch of green lights and everything falls into place.

However, it was a quiet summer at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit.

On one hand, that’s a good thing. They were no major injuries, no big distractions off the field and an intriguing 2025 season is here with very little drama.

At least, so far.

Things could get interesting this week as everyone returns to work. GM George Paton hasn’t handed out a contract extension to any of the big four priorities. Considering it’s July 22, that’s very surprising.

Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen, Courtland Sutton and John Franklin-Myers have all earned bumps in pay or new deals. None of them have inked an extension, as of now.

That’s why it’ll be curious to see the tone any of those men take if they get in front of a microphone in the coming days. In Washington, for example, star wide receiver Terry McLaurin is not a happy camper about his contract status.

When these guys don’t feel like they’re being heard by the organization, or compensated properly, they use the media as a tool to get the message out. We’ll see if any of the four Broncos go that route.

Now, to be fair, Bonitto held a youth football camp over the weekend and told reporters all the right things.

“Those type of talks are happening right now,” Bonitto said. “But I kind of just keep that with my agent. Just let him handle that. My focus is winning and trying to get a championship.”

That’s a great answer and one Broncos Country can get behind. Even though Bonitto has made only about $3 million in his NFL career, he’s saying what should be said. That’s a lot of money in the real world, it’s not a lot of cash for a guy who put up 13.5 sacks a year ago.

“I know these things can happen tomorrow or happen months from now. So I kind of just keep it day by day and just keep the focus on football,” Bonitto continued.

Alright, so one down, but how will Sutton feel?

He’s played it cool this offseason after being very frustrated this time a year ago. He had some interesting social media posts, only showed up to mini-camp because it was mandatory and wasn’t sure about training camp. The Broncos eventually gave Sutton some incentives, all of which he hit, and everyone felt good.

But Sutton is now entering the final year of his contract that will pay him $14 million. That’s amazing money, but it’s curious he hasn’t said much yet about wanting a long-term extension from the Broncos. In fact, it’s kind of shocking.

Will he show up with a smile and be ready to go? Let’s hope so, but based on the evidence in the spring of 2024, that’s not necessarily a given. All it takes is one press conference going a little awry for the warm and fuzzies to fade away.

And while Bonitto and Sutton are the biggest names, don’t forget about Allen and Franklin-Myers, two beasts on Denver’s defensive line. Will either of them vocalize they want (or need) a new contract? We’re fixing to find out.

This isn’t meant to cause panic, far from it, but we’d be naive to assume there’s not a possibility something gets said this week by one of the big four. If they do speak up, how will Paton and the rest of the Broncos front-office react?

It’s beyond time to hand out some extensions; let’s just hope Denver’s GM didn’t wait too long and things get awkward early in training camp.

If so, a promising campaign could get off to an inauspicious start.