Broncos 5-Point Plan to Be Cap-Compliant & Competitively Relevant in 2024

Here's the Denver Broncos' most practical approach to navigating the pitfalls of the 2024 offseason.

I previously wrote about the three paths for the Denver Broncos to become cap-compliant for 2024. In each scenario, there are pros and cons to the moves that can be made to get under the cap.

The question to ask, though, is which of the scenarios is the most practical. While it's true that the Broncos were in the playoff hunt until the final weeks of the 2023 season, there were plenty of games that showed that they weren't a bonafide playoff contender.

The Broncos got their share of decisive victories, such as the two wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and the home win over the Kansas City Chiefs. However, the Broncos were fortunate to beat the Buffalo Bills thanks to the opponent making a lot of mistakes, including a penalty on a missed field goal that gave Wil Lutz another opportunity.

Furthermore, the late-season losses to the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, and Las Vegas Raiders all exposed the weaknesses that remain with this roster. Of course, the Lions were a legit playoff contender who reached the NFC title game, but the Patriots and Raiders both had multiple issues with their rosters, yet did enough to exploit the Broncos' weaknesses.

The late-season losses, paired with a win or two in which the Broncos were fortunate that their opponent made crucial mistakes, are the reasons why I don't favor rolling it back with the bulk of the roster intact.

Thus, the question is to decide whether to run it back a little or reset and get younger. I favor the former option but could see the case for the latter. But running it back with the current roster completely intact isn't the best option.

Let's go over the moves that need to happen, regardless of whether the Broncos do a slight run-back or reset the roster.

1. Cut WR Tim Patrick & DL DJ Jones

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Patrick is a loved player but he has missed back-to-back seasons with significant injuries. As much as I want to keep him, it's simply not in the cards. The Broncos can save $9.5 million in cap space by cutting him.

As for Jones, I've made it no secret that I wasn't a fan of his contract. His play declined in 2023 and, while the Broncos need plenty of help on the defensive line, they should be able to do better than keeping Jones. Cutting him saves $9.97M in cap space.

The two cuts put the Broncos at $4.2M above the projected 2024 cap.

2. Restructure DL Zach Allen

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Restructures can be useful if done sparingly. In most cases, it's okay to pick one player contract to restructure when you need cap space. I went with Allen because, among the free agents added in 2023 for big money, he is the youngest and played well overall.

I went with a simple restructure that converted $12M of his $15.25M base salary into a signing bonus and added another void year to his deal. The Broncos can then monitor his play in 2024 and, if he keeps playing well, think about an extension in 2025.

The restructure gets the Broncos below the cap by $4.8M.

3. Extend OT Garett Bolles

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I went with Bolles as the player to extend because plenty of offensive tackles have demonstrated they are worthy of a third long-term contract. Bolles played well in 2023 after coming off a broken leg.

I extended Bolles through 2027, which resulted in a four-year, $72M contract. The contract included a $14M signing bonus, a $4M base salary in 2024, and an $18M base salary in 2025, all fully guaranteed. 

In 2026 and 2027, he will receive $17.5M in base salary with a $500K per-game roster bonus each year, but none of that money is guaranteed.

The extension puts the Broncos at $13.3M below the projected 2024 cap.

4. Trade WR Jerry Jeudy

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Given that I'm doing a slight run-back with the 2023 roster, I'm keeping Courtland Sutton because he's the better player. Thus, Jeudy goes on the trading block.

I would hope for a 2024 fourth-round pick in return, with possibly a conditional pick in 2025 based on snaps played in 2024.

Trading Jeudy gets the Broncos to $26.3M below the projected 2024 cap.

About Russell Wilson

My moves gave the Broncos enough cap space to work with before anything happens with Wilson. However, the question remains about how the dead money charges will be spread with the Broncos using a post-June 1 designation.

If the Broncos are allowed to exercise Wilson's $22M option bonus before cutting him, they will take a $35.4M dead money charge in 2024. If not, the dead money charge will be higher.

Possible Moves if Wilson is Released

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Exercising the Wilson option means the Broncos wouldn't have to do much more to get cap space to work with, but if they aren't allowed to exercise it before cutting the QB, they would have to make another move or two to ensure enough cap space for offseason moves.

If the Broncos aren't able to exercise Wilson's option with a cut, they can restructure the contract for right tackle Mike McGlinchey. While McGlinchey didn't have a quality season, the Broncos are stuck with him through 2025 from a practical standpoint. If they're careful, they can restructure his deal and still be able to get out after 2025.

The Broncos could also consider a short-term extension for Justin Simmons. In fact, the Broncos may go ahead and do one if they truly believe Simmons has enough quality years ahead of him.

But the main moves I would make, as detailed above, will get the Broncos on a path to cap compliance so they can sign low-cost free agents or bring back their own while still giving them room to sign their draft picks.

In the coming month, I'll talk about the 2024 NFL free-agent class at each position and what Broncos fans can realistically expect about the available players.

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