{"id":708613,"date":"2026-01-27T09:47:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T09:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/708613\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T09:47:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T09:47:33","slug":"broncos-players-anticipate-organization-will-spend-big-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/708613\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos players anticipate organization will spend big in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Justin Strnad hangs up his shoulder pads, he wants to be a general manager. The NFL is a business. He understands that better than most. The veteran signed a one-year deal worth pennies this past offseaso<\/a>n to return to Denver, and spent 2025 in a prolonged whirlwind: starting at will linebacker for the injured Dre Greenlaw, starting at mike linebacker for the injured Alex Singleton, ending the year in a timeshare with Greenlaw.<\/p>\n

Through the \u201coutside noise,\u201d as Strnad put it, that consistently labeled the Broncos\u2019 ILB room as a weakness, the linebackers had a pretty good year. Strnad did, too. But it ended three points short and with a cloud of snow Sunday, and Strnad stood in the team\u2019s atrium a day later, suddenly preparing for an end-of-year conversation with current Broncos GM George Paton and company. His contract is up in the air. So is most of Denver\u2019s current ILB room.
\nFor the man interested in team-building, it\u2019s a test. If the Broncos draft a linebacker in April, and Strnad comes back, does he feel prepared to compete for a starting job?<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, to be honest, I don\u2019t think I would be back here if it\u2019s not in a starter role,\u201d Strnad told The Denver Post Monday, clarifying that he won\u2019t return to Denver if a starting ILB job isn\u2019t part of the equation.<\/p>\n

Less than 24 hours after Denver\u2019s loss to New England, a variety of key Broncos trudged out from bagging up their lockers Monday to speak with reporters, still yet to process a blizzard of emotions from a snowy 10-7 loss in the AFC title game. Left tackle Garett Bolles called it \u201cone of the most crushing losses I\u2019ve ever faced.\u201d Outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper said it\u2019d eat at him \u201cfor the rest of my life.\u201d Stage two of the five stages of grief is anger, and it will burn for every month of the offseason in Denver.<\/p>\n

The next stage, however, is bargaining. And quickly, these Broncos will be forced to make long-term decisions on a host of key faces who now head towards free agency. Key among them: Strnad, Alex Singleton and the rest of the ILB position, as Paton has to weigh the benefit of veteran continuity against injecting some new life into the middle of a top Denver defense.<\/p>\n

Singleton, who endured a remarkably trying year<\/a> to put together what he felt his best season in his seven-year career, wants to return.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, the best thing to do is run it back,\u201d Singleton said. \u201cWe were the best defense in the league this year. We held a team under 200 yards in the AFC Championship Game. That\u2019s what we expect every week. I think we can do that every game next year. To be back here, and to be able to do that, would be super special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the Broncos\u2019 linebacker room was beset by injuries often enough to turn the position into a carousel. Singleton is 32 and suffered a torn ACL in 2024. Strnad is 29, and his expressed position puts Denver in a bit of a bind. If the Broncos wanted him back, it\u2019d likely mean cutting ties with Greenlaw \u2014 the oft-injured veteran has an out in his contract before 2026 that would cost Denver just $4.3 million in dead cap, according to Spotrac<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s as good as the top-paid guys in the NFL,\u201d Singleton said of Strnad. \u201cI mean, I hope we\u2019re both back here. I think between the three of us, it would be really fun to run it back and do everything we can. But yeah, I hope he gets everything he deserves because he deserves it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big decisions elsewhere<\/p>\n

The Broncos also have major decisions to make on the defensive line. Perhaps they\u2019ve already made them. Veteran defensive end John Franklin-Myers, who finished the year with a career-best 7.5 sacks, confirmed that Denver never initiated conversations with him about a potential extension at any point this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd \u2013 who cares?\u201d Franklin-Myers said. \u201cThey had other people in mind, or situations in mind. And I know my contract may be a little different than those guys\u2019 contracts. So who really knows what the reason is, and who really cares?\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Franklin-Myers played out 2025 as the odd man out on Denver\u2019s defensive line, as Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto and Malcolm Roach all earned preseason or midseason deals. All-Pro Allen told reporters that he\u2019ll one day buy a beach house and call it the \u201cJFM house,\u201d because their partnership on the Broncos\u2019 defensive line helped him get paid.<\/p>\n

Denver hasn\u2019t seemed willing to shell out the dough necessary to keep Franklin-Myers, though. The defensive lineman\u2019s camp is looking at Dolphins DT Zach Sieler\u2019s 2025 extension \u2014 three years, $64 million \u2014 as a potential floor for free-agency negotiation. And the Broncos have a pair of younger, cheaper options in third-round rookie Sai\u2019vion Jones and ascending backup Eyioma Uwazurike<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"JustinJustin Strnad (40) of the Denver Broncos stretches during practice at Broncos Park in Centennial on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n

Players up and down the roster, though, see Denver as uniquely well-positioned to be buyers in free agency. Former Broncos QB Russell Wilson\u2019s $32 million in dead-cap weight is finally off the books. The Broncos currently have $27 million in cap space in 2026, according to OverTheCap, with the clear potential to cut or restructure multiple deals.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be the richest player ever, right?\u201d Singleton joked when asked about his goals with free agency. \u201cWe have a lot of free Russell money, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

One obvious need for these Broncos? Skill talent, after they finished Sunday\u2019s game with two receivers \u2014 Elijah Moore and Lil\u2019Jordan Humphrey \u2014 who were midseason scrap-heap pickups. Left tackle Garett Bolles said plainly that Denver needed \u201ca couple more playmakers.\u201d The Broncos could certainly elect to bring back RB J.K. Dobbins, who\u2019s near a full mend from a season-ending Lisfranc injury<\/a> suffered in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople want to come to Denver,\u201d Bolles said. \u201cI mean, I\u2019ll be shocked to see how many free agents want to come here. We got a young team. We got a quarterback. We got the best O-line in football \u2013 I don\u2019t care what anyone says. We do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long faces stretched to most every corner of the locker room Monday, a group that climbed tantalizingly close to a Super Bowl. But all are in agreement that the window for this Denver organization is wide-open, with a \u201cwin-now\u201d mentality, as tight end Evan Engram said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a great spot,\u201d Engram said. \u201cWe\u2019ll be in a good spot for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Justin Strnad hangs up his shoulder pads, he wants to be a general manager. The NFL is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[114,3882,232,231,258,2426,1160,2826,3888,7,1713,1272,601,2318,3901,3907,929,20785,3539,926,6,1625,572,9,505,1626],"class_list":["post-708613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-broncos","tag-afc-championship","tag-alex-singleton","tag-broncos","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-denverbroncos","tag-dre-greenlaw","tag-evan-engram","tag-eyioma-uwazurike","tag-football","tag-garett-bolles","tag-george-paton","tag-j-k-dobbins","tag-john-franklin-myers","tag-jonathon-cooper","tag-justin-strnad","tag-latest-headlines","tag-liljordan-humphrey","tag-malcolm-roach","tag-more-broncos-news","tag-nfl","tag-nik-bonitto","tag-russell-wilson","tag-sports","tag-super-bowl","tag-zach-allen"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115966434006871329","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}