The Denver Broncos didn’t just shake things up in the days leading up to free agency. They flipped the whole thing upside down.
It all started when head coach Sean Payton decided to move on from quarterback Russell Wilson — $85 million dead-cap hit be darned. He added Wilson as an opponent on the 2024 schedule after the veteran agreed to a one-year deal late Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that will visit Empower Field at Mile High in the fall. But that juicy matchup is well down the road. First, the Broncos have to finish building a roster that is undergoing major reconstruction as Payton heads into his second season.
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This will be a landing spot for all of the Broncos’ free-agency news as they build a roster with an eye on the future. Yes, Payton will be trying to win in 2024. He’ll accept nothing less than maniacal attention to detail and will let things fall as they may from there. But this is about building a sustainable winning program. The upcoming free-agency period began when the early negotiating window opened at 10 a.m. MT Monday. Though the Broncos aren’t going to be the NFL’s top spender like they were last season, the flurry of moves made before the new league year began created $28.9 million in cap space at the start of the tampering period, according to Over The Cap, offering Denver the flexibility to fill areas of need.
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We will track all the moves made here, updating the transactions as they come in. So bookmark this page and keep coming back to stay up to date with all the news and analysis surrounding the Broncos.
Free agency moves
March 13
• The Broncos are officially designating quarterback Russell Wilson as a post-June 1 release, a source with knowledge of the matter confirmed, the anticipated result after Denver announced earlier this month it would be cutting the veteran.
The Broncos have opted to take $53 million of Wilson’s dead money in 2024 and $32 million in 2025. Before this season, the record dead-money hit for a single player was $40 million, which the Falcons ate after trading Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts, and that was a one-time hit. The 2024 charge for Wilson is a record on its own and the 2025 charge would have landed among the top five largest charges — figures that help frame the scale of Denver’s fallout with Wilson.
The Broncos made several significant moves in part to help absorb the larger chunk of the Wilson hit this season, creating greater flexibility next offseason. The team cut safety Justin Simmons, traded wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and restructured the contracts of offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers and defensive end Zach Allen.
The Broncos still had enough space to sign two outside free agents this week in safety Brandon Jones and defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, as well as re-sign a few in-house free agents on modest deals. But there was never going to be a big splash as the Broncos begin tinkering the roster around the obstacles created by Wilson’s release.
At least now, the Broncos have clarity — and some financial light that will come at the end of a long tunnel.
• The Broncos and wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey have agreed to terms on a one-year deal, his agents Jimmy and Dylan Gould confirmed to The Athletic.
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Humphrey joined the Broncos in free agency last year after playing for Payton as a member of the New Orleans Saints. He played in all 17 games for Denver in 2023, starting eight. He finished with 13 catches for 162 yards and a career-high three touchdowns.
Overall, Humphrey played 40 percent of the offensive snaps for the Broncos last season and became the team’s most reliable blocker at the position. It’s a role he’ll likely fill again at a position undergoing change this offseason. The Broncos last week traded Jerry Jeudy, their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for two Day 3 picks in this year’s draft.
March 12
• The Broncos plan to re-sign tight end Adam Trautman to a two-year deal, a league source confirmed, keeping a veteran target in place for whoever becomes the team’s next starting quarterback.
The Broncos last week released veteran tight end Chris Manhertz, and they have made no secret about their plans to upgrade the position after finishing at the bottom of the league in production at tight end last season. But Trautman remained a priority among Denver’s in-house free agents given his ability to help in both the run and pass games.
It would not be a surprise to see the Broncos target a tight end in next month’s draft, where they have the No. 12 pick. They could even target Georgia standout Brock Bowers, who was Denver’s first-round selection in the latest edition of The Athletic prospect analyst Dane Brugler’s mock draft. The Broncos are still hopeful one or both of Dulcich and fellow third-year player Lucas Krull could turn into legitimate producers in the passing game, but there is no doubt they need to add another weapon given their struggles in the passing game last season.
• Add starting inside linebacker to the list of holes the Broncos now need to fill this offseason. Josey Jewell, a 2018 fourth-round pick for Denver who started 58 of the 78 teams he played with the team across the past six seasons, has agreed to join the Carolina Panthers, according to multiple reports.
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The move reunites Jewell with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who held the same position with the Broncos in 2022. He posted a career-best 128 tackles that season, including seven for loss, with 2 1/2 sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.
“This is probably the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been in the league (while) playing this type of defense and this amount of control,” Jewell said of playing for Evero during the 2022 season. “It’s been fun to play for him and just to hear his insight. (He’s) very vocal about it and he’ll talk about every single small, little thing and there’s no miscommunication there. It’s fun to talk to him. He’s an open book on the defense and a great teacher.”
The deal for Jewell with the Panthers is $22.5 million for three years with a $7 million signing bonus, according to ESPN.
The starting spot next to Alex Singleton, who signed a three-year deal with the Broncos last offseason, is up for grabs. It could be filled by Jonas Griffith, who signed a one-year deal to remain in Denver after missing all of last season due to injury, but Denver also figures to evaluate its options in the draft.
• The Broncos have agreed to terms on a two-year deal with former New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
The deal is worth up to $8 million, the source said.
The signing reunites the 25-year-old Roach with Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who was Roach’s coach in New Orleans in 2020 and 2021. He joined the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Texas in 2020.
Roach, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds, played in 16 games during his first two seasons, but he played in 25 total games across the past two seasons. He had a career-best 38 tackles, including three for loss, in 2023.
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The Broncos needed depth on their defensive line after finishing near the bottom of the league in defensive rushing efficiency last season. General manager George Paton noted that beefing up against the rush was a critical priority this offseason. The Broncos declined to tender restricted free agent Jonathan Harris. Veteran Mike Purcell is an unrestricted free agent, and it’s unclear whether Denver has plans to bring him back.
Agreeing to terms with Roach is probably only the first move in a multi-step process as Denver reshapes its defensive line around Zach Allen and D.J. Jones, who is entering the last year of his contract in 2024.
• The Broncos have agreed to re-sign fullback Michael Burton on a one-year deal, a source with knowledge of the team’s plans confirmed.
Burton, who previously played with Payton in New Orleans and won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022, was a key free-agent priority for the Broncos last year. He became a big part of Denver’s special teams turnaround under coaches Ben Kotwica and Mike Westhoff and also played 18 percent of the Broncos’ offensive snaps. That was his highest rate since 2020.
• The Broncos began the final day before the opening of the league year by creating more salary cap space. The Broncos restructured the contracts of defensive lineman Zach Allen and left guard Ben Powers to create an additional $20 million in cap space, a source confirmed. The Broncos did it by adding void years to both players’ contracts.
The restructure dropped the 2024 cap hit for Powers down to $6.55 million from $15.25 million. Allen’s hit fell to $7.7 million from $19 million.
The moves gave the Broncos $46.4 million in available cap space on Tuesday morning, according to Over The Cap. The Broncos could use roughly $18 million of that to digest the bigger chunk of the dead money they are incurring from quarterback Russell Wilson on their 2024 ledger. If they account for Wilson’s money that way, the Broncos would take on $53 million this season and $32 million in 2025.
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Even if the Broncos take the bigger Wilson hit now, they have put themselves in a position to make more additions to the roster as Day 2 of the league’s official tampering period begins.
March 11
• The Broncos are keeping their kicker after all. In a surprise flip, Wil Lutz, who had reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with the Jaguars earlier Monday, reversed course and agreed to a two-year deal with the Broncos instead, multiple league sources confirmed.
The change of heart by Lutz is a big boon for the Broncos, who avoid a second straight offseason search for a kicker. Lutz hit 30-of-34 field goals last season — including three game-winning kicks — and finished one make shy of the franchise record for makes in a single season.
Lutz, who turns 30 in July, was acquired by the Broncos just before the start of the season in a trade with the New Orleans Saints.
• The Broncos have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with former Miami Dolphins safety Brandon Jones, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.
Jones, who turns 26 next month, was a third-round pick by the Dolphins out of Texas in 2020 and will join fellow former Longhorn safeties P.J. Locke and Caden Sterns on Denver’s roster.
In agreeing to terms with Jones, the Broncos moved quickly to replace Justin Simmons, the Pro Bowl safety who was released by Denver last week at $14.5 million salary-cap savings for the team. Jones intercepted two of his three career passes last season for Miami while playing in 16 of the team’s 17 regular-season games.
The Broncos re-signed Locke to a two-year, $7 million deal last week. Sterns, who missed all but one game last season due to a knee injury, will also be in the mix to start in the defensive backfield. He also has versatility as a dime linebacker.
Jones, who is listed a 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, has proven to be an effective pass-rusher when called on the blitz. He has eight sacks in his career, including a career-high five in 2021.
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Jones suffered a torn ACL in 2022 that limited him to seven games. He has played in at least 15 games during each of his other three NFL seasons.
• The Broncos, meanwhile, will have a new starter at center in 2024. Lloyd Cushenberry, who filled that role in Denver each of the past four seasons, is agreeing to a long-term deal with the Tennessee Titans, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported, citing a league source.
Cushenberry was a third-round pick of the Broncos in 2020 who turned in his best career performance last season while anchoring Denver’s new-look offensive line. He essentially priced himself out of range for the Broncos, who entered the new league with limited cap space following the release of Wilson.
Denver could look for a lower-cost veteran in free agency, but the team has also expressed confidence that rookie-contract players Luke Wattenberg and Alex Forsyth could step into Cushenberry’s role.
This is also considered a deep draft for centers, giving the Broncos another potential path to pursue a replacement.
Before free agency
The Broncos announced on March 4 that they would release Wilson when the new league year begins, which is Wednesday. After two lackluster seasons following his blockbuster trade from Seattle in 2022, Denver decided it was time to set a new course, even at a significant cost related to the salary cap. The Broncos will still be paying Wilson all but $1.2 million of his $39 million salary in 2024 after the Steelers agreed to terms on a minimum deal.
“On behalf of the Broncos, we thank Russell for his contributions and dedication to our team and community while wishing him the best as he continues his career,” the team said in a brief statement after announcing the release.
The release of Wilson set up a whirlwind few days ahead of the tampering period. Here are the highlights:
• Denver released All-Pro safety Justin Simmons on March 7, a move that saved the team $14.5 million in cap space while parting with its longest-tenured player. Part of the plan to replace Simmons was the re-signing of Locke, a first-time starter last season.
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• The Broncos agreed to a reworked deal with Tim Patrick, saving roughly $8 million in cap space.
• The team executed a simple restructure on the contract of right tackle Mike McGlinchey, which created $11 million in additional cap space.
• Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy was traded to the Cleveland Browns on March 9 for a fifth- and a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The trade opened up an additional $13 million in cap space and pushed Denver’s number of total draft picks this year to eight.
(Top photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)
