The Denver Broncos enter the 2025 offseason without a crisis to manage. It’s been a while since I could type that in mid-January.
Last year, it was a quarterback crisis, which then morphed into a serious salary-cap catastrophe when Russell Wilson was released, which precipitated some painful roster moves. The year before that, it was a crisis of disappointment when Wilson failed to launch under the quickly-fired Nathaniel Hackett, and the Broncos didn’t have a head coach.
Then there was the Broncos’ draft pick shortage, which persisted for three years after the Wilson trade and the deal it took to pry Sean Payton’s coaching rights away from the New Orleans Saints. However, fast forward to 2025, and the Broncos are coming off a 10-win playoff season with a full complement of draft picks and $48 million in salary-cap space (the 11th-most in the NFL).
That’s the good news. The bad news is Denver is on the brink of a veteran exodus, with 13 unrestricted free agents, one restricted, and five exclusive-rights free agents. That adds up to 19 in-house decisions.
Now, that’s par for any team’s offseason course. It’s part of the annual roster-building shuffle.
Let’s examine Denver’s pending free agents, starting with the unrestricted, a group that includes five starters.
Unrestricted Free Agents
Analysis: The Broncos might consider bringing back Jones (if he’s not priced out of their range), Williams (team-friendly deal), and the always-reliable Burton (on the cheap). With Alex Singleton expected back next year, it would be a safe bet to bring back one of Barton or Strnad, too.
And if the Broncos don’t re-sign Dixon, they had better have a plan at punter. Even Smith is a little disconcerting, as he’s one of the better pure special-teamers in the NFL, especially as a gunner.
Then there’s the small matter of deciding on a backup quarterback behind Bo Nix. Considering the history, my money is on Stidham returning, but it depends on what kind of market exists for his services, and whether he’ll be given an opportunity to compete for a starting job elsewhere.
-Humphrey is a guy we know Payton loves, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him brought back very, very deep into the offseason. Like, on the doorstep of OTAs and after the offseason and draft have run their course.
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Restricted Free Agents
Analysis: Fraboni will be back, even if it’s not on an RFA tender.
Exclusive Rights Free Agents
The big name here is McMillian, a defensive starter, essentially. This time around, he has little negotiating rights, but the Broncos will have to come up with a plan for next year when he’ll be a restricted free agent.
Jackson was a sleeper on the D-line, and Tillman contributed five sacks this past season. Key came in handy when injuries struck the Broncos’ secondary. Expect all four defenders to be brought back on ERFA tenders.
Krull is a different matter. The Broncos need to significantly upgrade the tight end position. Bringing him back would signal a status-quo move that wouldn’t be all that encouraging to fans, but it smacks of the type of hedging move that teams make until post-draft.
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