4 Offseason Moves Broncos Should Make in the Wake of a New Resurgence
After Week 3 of the NFL season, nearly every member of the media and most fans were saying that the Denver Broncos should go full rebuild. Trade everyone and tear it down to the studs to start over, or so went the refrain.
Coming off Denver's 70-20 drubbing in Miami, that discussion was warranted. It was an epic embarrassment for the franchise, and there was little hope that the team would get better.
However, that approach should be thrown out and a new one put in its place. There is no need for a full apocalypse, as the Broncos are on a three-game winning streak, including wins against the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills in Upstate New York.
The Broncos have confidence and are starting to believe they can win every game. That's a massive shift from a roster full of players who only knew how to lose.
If the Broncos continue to win and make a run at the playoffs, then a new slate of players is not needed to change the culture. The back half of the schedule will determine just what the team will need to do in the offseason.
If the rest of the Broncos' season is successful, what should the 2024 offseason look like for this team? Suffice to say, it has changed. Let's grab our crystal ball.
Keep Russell Wilson Around
Wilson needs to remain the starting quarterback through the 2025 season. Many are saying he needs to go because of his huge contract, advocating for cap savings and a cheaper option under center.
Cheap quarterbacks are everywhere, and there is a reason for that: they're not very good. It's hard to find a good quarterback without paying big money, and it's infinitely harder to find a good quarterback on the cheap.
The Broncos will be paying big money to Wilson regardless if they keep him or cut him. The savings of a cost-controlled rookie QB would be offset by the massive cap hit of cutting him, so the benefit isn’t there even if the team were able to find that franchise guy in the draft.
Furthermore, Wilson is playing like the player he was in Seattle, which is what the team traded for in the first place. He's displaying the same issues (taking sacks, fumbles) as he did in the 10 seasons before the trade and also the same qualities (touchdown passes, low interceptions, extending plays with his legs). But we can also expect him to get better as he continues to play in Sean Payton’s offense.
Wilson’s back half of the 2023 season will warrant sticking with him for the next two seasons. He is going to get better.
The Broncos should look for a developmental-type draftee as Wilson's future replacement in either the 2024 or 2025 NFL draft. The Broncos will have Wilson in Orange and Blue until it makes financial sense to move on.
Trade Garett Bolles & Jerry Jeudy
Bolles has been a solid left tackle this season, but he's getting long in the tooth for a left tackle who is not in the team's future plans. He will turn 32 years old prior to 2024 and will carry a $20,000,000 cap hit.
The Broncos have to find cap space. Furthermore, Bolles will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025, so the Broncos need to see if they can get a draft pick in exchange for him in a trade prior to this upcoming draft. The return for Bolles might not be massive, but it will be necessary.
The Broncos must get younger at left tackle to go with a younger group across the offensive line and upgrade it at the same time. This will not be a popular opinion, but Denver should use its first-round selection this season on a left tackle and prepare the O-line's future and the blind side protection of the eventual young replacement for Wilson.
Jeudy was not traded at the deadline, but that doesn’t mean he's in the future plans. He has not lived up to his draft pedigree and is closer to an average wide receiver than a great one.
Like Bolles, Jeudy's return may not be of great value, but it should be lucrative enough for the Broncos to pull the trigger on the trade. His fifth-year option is relatively inexpensive, and a different team may see him as a valuable future piece in their offense.
The Broncos won't need Jeudy going forward. Marvin Mims Jr. will command a much bigger role next season, and Courtland Sutton will continue to be part of the offense.
It's likely that the Broncos will target another receiver in the 2024 draft. Jeudy is the odd man out.
Release Tim Patrick & Jarrett Stidham
Releasing both Patrick and Stidham in the offseason would clear $15 million in much-needed cap space. Patrick cannot stay healthy and will be 31 years old entering next season.
Sutton, Mims, and a draft selection will be more than enough for Denver to field a solid receiving corps along with some of the young receivers that are currently on the team.
Stidham is not a very good quarterback, even as a backup. The money spent on him in the past offseason was far more than he's worth.
The Broncos would be better served by finding a young quarterback to groom behind Wilson or a different veteran player who can play the position adequately.
Add a Defensive Lineman
Zach Allen continues to look like a good addition, and his future is bright. D.J. Jones is a solid player as well. It's that third spot on the defensive line that is inadequate.
The Broncos must find a suitable option in free agency by paying the money necessary to land one or use a high pick in the draft. This would elevate this group a notch in 2024 and make the Broncos’ defense much more formidable than its current state.
Bottom Line
The Broncos have a lot of work to do this coming offseason. Other moves will be necessary, but these are the major ones that will set the Broncos up for a solid 2024 and beyond.
These moves will be key since the Broncos' salary cap situation is dire with the current makeup of the team. The cuts and trades listed would put Denver under the cap by approximately $24M.
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