{"id":793611,"date":"2026-03-05T11:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T11:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/793611\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T11:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T11:36:15","slug":"musings-on-what-the-denver-broncos-may-do-in-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/793611\/","title":{"rendered":"Musings on what the Denver Broncos may do in free agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, Broncos Country. In just a few short days, we will see just how aggressive the Denver Broncos are this offseason. Both Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager George Paton asserted that would happen in their end-of-season press conferences. However, owner and CEO Greg Penner cautioned and clarified they would be opportunistically aggressive.<\/p>\n

While deals can\u2019t be finalized until the opening of the new league year on March 12, the legal tampering period begins at noon (EST) on March 9. This is when you will hear a lot of breaking news on negotiated deals for some of the top free agents who usually garner the biggest blockbuster deals of free agency.<\/p>\n

Will the Broncos be one of the first teams to make a splash like they have in years past? We will just have to wait and see. But in the meantime, I thought I\u2019d give some thoughts on where I\u2019m feeling things may go with respect to Denver\u2019s free agency endeavors.<\/p>\n

The biggest moves will likely be (and should be) on offense<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to read the tea leaves when perusing and digesting all the offseason rumors. Nevertheless, upgrading the offense\u2014especially at running back<\/a>\u2014appears to be a major focal point across the media when it comes to the Broncos. Could this be the area they take the biggest swing?<\/p>\n

I think so. Unfortunately, Breece Hall is officially off the board due to receiving the franchise tag. Nevertheless, two other top options are available. A variety of sources have named Denver as a potential destination for Kenneth Walker or Travis Etienne. Both would be monumental upgrades at running back, with each expected to earn deals that average $10 million annually if not more.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a steep price to pay. Though keep in mind Denver doesn\u2019t have much money locked in at skill position players outside of Courtland Sutton beyond the 2026 season. Most of their players in-house there are on rookie contracts. If Denver wants to make a splash, pushing their chips all-in on either of those players seems like the quickest way to jumpstart the team\u2019s rushing attack. Maybe it\u2019s just my orange-and-blue colored glasses, but I\u2019m optimistic they can land one of them.<\/p>\n

Additionally, expect Denver to be players for a tight end. Only Evan Engram and Caleb Lohner are under contract for next season. Two names I\u2019ve discussed that makes sense are Cade Otton and Dallas Goedert. Both would help the passing game, but each player has shown in the past to be a capable inline tight end that can bolster run blocking. Charlie Kolar, as a buy-low option, would make sense as an extra tight end to use in heavier personnel groupings, but doesn\u2019t offer much as a receiver.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019ve got some retooling and figuring out to do defensively<\/p>\n

Denver enters the free agency period with a solid roster. Very few position groups have glaring weaknesses, but one that sticks out is what they will do at inside linebacker. Justin Strnad and Alex Singleton, who combined for over 1,500 snaps last year, are both scheduled to hit the market. They have Dre Greenlaw in the fold, but concerns about his health and availability loom large.<\/p>\n

My first thought is that Denver would prefer to retain Singleton and Strnad. Singleton, despite his flaws, seems logical since he is the green dot defender on defense. Additionally, he is well-respected by the coaching staff and his teammates and was voted a team captain. I\u2019d prefer them to go in an entirely different direction considering that this year\u2019s free agent pool is deep at the position and there are arguably four to six prospects with Top 50 grades. But that\u2019s just me\u2014your mileage may vary.<\/p>\n

Outside of inside linebacker, perhaps the Broncos kick the tires on bringing in a backup or depth safety to replace P.J. Locke. And while it would be great to keep him in the Mile High City, it seems apparent that defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers will hit the market and secure himself a well-deserved pay day. Can\u2019t blame him for wanting to head on to greener pastures.<\/p>\n

A name to potentially monitor\u2014fifteen-year iron man<\/a> veteran Cameron Jordan. Sure, he\u2019s 36 years of age, but has been durable and reliable throughout his career. And of course, the Sean Payton connection is evident. Jordan played just as many snaps as Franklin-Myers did last season and would be a veteran presence worth adding to the locker room.<\/p>\n

What do you think, Broncos Country? What does your gut tell you about what the Broncos plan to do in the next few days? What\u2019s your read on the situation. Feel free to share your thoughts and predictions in the comments section.<\/p>\n

As always, thank you for reading. Here is today\u2019s slate of articles for Horse Tracks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Good morning, Broncos Country. In just a few short days, we will see just how aggressive the Denver…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793612,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[232,231,258,41075,1151,2426,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-793611","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-denver-broncos-free-agency","12":"tag-denver-broncos-news","13":"tag-denverbroncos","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116176367374615150","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793611","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=793611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}