Broncos LB Alex Singleton Floated as Salary-Cap Cut by The Athletic

NFL teams are looking to clear up the salary cap this time of year, which leads to casualties and players being cut due to relative cost. The Denver Broncos don't have many cap-casualty options, though with reports saying the team wants to upgrade the safety position, P.J. Locke has been a common name floated.

However, The Athletic released an article with one potential casualty for each team, and the Bronco chosen may raise some eyebrows. Nick Kosmider highlighted Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton as the top cap-casualty candidate to watch, as well as Locke.

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Singleton was the Broncos' tackling leader for back-to-back years before suffering an ACL injury early last season. The Broncos purportedly want to rebuild the linebacker room, which also has Cody Barton, Justin Strnad, and Zach Cunningham as free agents. If the Broncos cut Singleton, their top three linebackers would all be changed, leaving Drew Sanders (if they call him an inside linebacker) and Levelle Bailey as the only options left.

However, Kosmider makes many good points. With Singleton's age and returning from a serious injury, there is concern about what level of play he can return to. There's also the fact that, while he was a great tackler and played against the run quite well, he had issues in coverage that hindered the defense's performance overall.

Cutting Singleton would free up much cap space, with little still being on the books as a dead cap hit. The same is true with Locke. Singleton makes less sense to part ways with than Locke because Denver has at least one safety spot set with Brandon Jones. If the Broncos cut Singleton, they would have no linebacker set to start.

It makes as much sense to cut ties with Singleton as it does to keep him. The Broncos are already set to rebuild the room, so why not start from scratch? It could also speak to how the team views Sanders and Bailey.

There is also the demand of positional budgeting. If the Broncos are set on spending big at linebacker on free agents like Zack Baun or Nick Bolton, they may not have it in their positional budgeting to keep Singleton.

With a Baun or Bolton in the fold, Denver could look for another cheap signing to pair with Sanders and Bailey, which would be a big signing to finish rebuilding the room. The Broncos have the resources to do it.

Singleton is probably safe this offseason, but any aging veteran coming off a big injury with an easy contract to cut from the books will always feel a bit uneasy. For now, he'll have to sweat it out and see what fate is in store for him.

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