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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 28: Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos speaks to the media during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on February 28, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Broncos<\/a> are not tendering running back Jaleel McLaughlin<\/a>, per source. He will be a free agent.\u201d<\/p>\n That update from<\/a> ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler<\/a> on Friday morning signaled another notable offseason decision<\/a> for Denver.<\/p>\n The Broncos are not tendering running back Jaleel McLaughlin, per source. He will be a free agent.<\/p>\n As a restricted free agent, McLaughlin was eligible to receive a contract tender that would have allowed the Broncos to retain matching rights. Instead, the team declined to extend even the lowest right of first refusal tender, which would have cost $3.547 million for 2026.<\/p>\n According to multiple reports<\/a>, Denver still has interest in bringing McLaughlin back. However, a second-round tender valued at $5.811 million was considered too steep for a former undrafted free agent whose role diminished last season.<\/p>\n By declining to tender him, the Broncos will allow McLaughlin to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent when the new league year begins in March.<\/p>\n McLaughlin originally signed with Denver in 2023 after a historic college career at Notre Dame College and Youngstown State. There, he set the NCAA career rushing record with 8,166 yards.<\/p>\n McLaughlin\u2019s Role Declined in 2025<\/p>\n Over three seasons with the Broncos, he totaled 1,356 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns while appearing in 41 games.<\/p>\n In 2025, though, McLaughlin saw his opportunities shrink in Sean Payton\u2019s offense last season.\u00a0 He only carried the ball 37 times for 187 yards and one touchdown in eight regular season appearances. This was a sharp drop from his 113 carry workload in 2024.<\/p>\n Denver leaned more heavily on other options in key situations, and McLaughlin\u2019s touches became sporadic.<\/p>\n That shift likely played a role in the team\u2019s decision not to commit over $3.5 million through a tender. The Broncos clearly value flexibility at the position, especially with multiple contract decisions still pending. By declining the tender, they avoid a guaranteed salary figure while preserving the option to negotiate a more team friendly deal if the market allows.<\/p>\n Broncos Face Big Question With J.K. Dobbins\u2019 Free Agency Looming<\/p>\n McLaughlin\u2019s situation is only one piece of a much larger equation for the Broncos backfield.<\/p>\n J.K. Dobbins<\/a> is set to hit unrestricted free agency, and his status may ultimately define how aggressive Denver needs to be this offseason.<\/p>\n Though he appeared in just 10 games in 2025, Dobbins was productive when fully healthy. When he was on the field, Denver\u2019s run game ranked in the top five, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.<\/p>\n When he was sidelined, the drop off was noticeable. The Broncos\u2019 yards per carry dipped closer to 3.9, explosive runs decreased, and the offense averaged nearly a full yard less per play overall.<\/p>\n The bigger picture makes the stakes even clearer.<\/p>\n In a 2026 NFL<\/a> Combine<\/a> interview, Sean Payton identified running back and linebacker as \u201cmusts\u201d or \u201csignificant needs\u201d for the roster.<\/p>\n The Broncos currently have RJ Harvey<\/a>, Cody Schrader<\/a> and Deuce Vaughn<\/a> under contract for 2026. Tyler Badie<\/a> is an exclusive rights free agent and McLaughlin is now headed to the open market. That leaves Dobbins as the most established option and the pivot point for everything.<\/p>\n It all revolves around him.<\/p>\n If Dobbins departs, the urgency increases dramatically. Denver could look to the draft, but it may also need to explore bigger swings in free agency or via trade.<\/p>\n Names such as Kenneth Walker III<\/a>, David Montgomery<\/a>, Tyler Allgeier<\/a> and even Breece Hall<\/a> have surfaced depending on availability and cost.<\/p>\n The Broncos have multiple questions to answer across the roster in free agency, but running back remains the biggest priority.<\/p>\n The McLaughlin decision Friday morning was just the first domino to fall.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Broncos\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 28: Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos speaks to the media…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":780677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[232,231,258,2426,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-780676","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-broncos","8":"tag-broncos","9":"tag-denver","10":"tag-denver-broncos","11":"tag-denverbroncos","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116144635316979741","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780676","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=780676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/780677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=780676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=780676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}