How Broncos' Cash Commitments on D-Line Impacts 2023 Outlook
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The Denver Broncos have made the majority of their offseason moves, some more recent as they fine-tune the roster before training camp begins.
We now have a better idea about how much the Broncos will commit in terms of money toward the roster going into 2023. We can also get a better idea about the money commitment in 2024, given who is currently under contract with the team.
In the coming weeks, I'll continue to review each positional group and look at the money that's currently being committed to the biggest names in 2023, what can be expected for 2024, and what changes could potentially happen, which then affects the money committed.
We'll continue this series with the defensive linemen, a positional group in which the Broncos are committing a fair amount of money, but that could change in the future.
D-Line Roster for 2023
Current interior defenders: Zach Allen, Matt Henningsen, Elijah Garcia, Jonathan Harris, Jordan Jackson, Haggai Ndubuisi, Mike Purcell, Eyioma Uwazurike, D.J. Jones.
Largest cash commitments for 2023: Allen received a $15M signing bonus in the three-year deal he received in free agency. He's also due a $2.25M base salary that is fully guaranteed. Jones will receive a $10M, fully guaranteed base salary this season. Purcell is due $2.75M in base salary and a $750K per-game roster bonus, but that money isn't fully guaranteed.
Largest cash commitments for 2024: Allen is due a $15.25M base salary that is fully guaranteed. Jones is due a $9.49M base salary and a $510K per-game roster bonus, but his money is not fully guaranteed.
What could change for 2023: I've previously mentioned Purcell as a potential release to save cap space, but thus far, the Broncos have kept him. It's still possible the Broncos release him after training camp, depending on how other players perform. If Purcell is released, he would save the Broncos $3.5M in cash and cap space.
What could change for 2024: If Purcell stays for 2023, he'll be a free agent after the season. Thus, the next player to watch is Jones. The Broncos could cut him to save $10M in cash and cap space. Jones is thus a player to keep an eye on regarding how he performs this season.
As with Purcell's fate for this season, Jones' status with the team next season will depend as much on how other players perform, as it does on his own performance. Henningsen showed potential last season, and Uwazurike will get his chance to do the same. Harris was decent last season but he's a depth player at best.
Bottom Line
The Broncos are committing more than $30M to three interior defenders at this time. It's a significant amount of money, though they could save some cash if the Broncos believe other players on the roster can fill the role Purcell would have.
Next season, the Broncos will have more than $25 million committed to Allen and Jones, though they could release Jones to save $10 million. But even if they keep Jones, the expectation is the Broncos may spend less cash on interior defenders if any of the younger players prove to be a worthy contributor.
You can't rule out the Broncos adding a veteran next season, though if they keep Jones, any veteran will likely have to come on a low-cost deal. If the Broncos cut Jones, they might be willing to spend more to add a veteran.
We'll wrap up the defense in the next article when we examine the off-ball linebackers on the roster.
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