Broncos' Salary Cap Update After Wave 1 of Free Agency: $39.1M in Space
After a big first week, the Denver Broncos have been relatively quiet in free agency the past couple of days, but it's not for a lack of cap space. In fact, the Broncos have plenty of cap space to add a couple more free agents.
Over the Cap, as of March 24, shows the Broncos with $39.1 million in cap space. However, OTC is still confirming contract numbers for recently-signed players, so not all cap numbers are up-to-date at the site.
A brief note here: OTC doesn't make adjustments to its pages until it confirms contract structures. That's why you've seen instances in which OTC's numbers showed teams exceeded the cap when, in reality, they had gotten under the cap, but some contract numbers hadn't been made public (though they are known to the NFL).
When it comes to the Broncos, their cap number isn't accurate because the exact contract structures for cornerback Kyle Fuller and safety Kareem Jackson aren't yet known. However, if we assume the Broncos are applying the full hits of their 2021 contracts to this year ($9.5M for Fuller and $5M for Jackson), the team should have $26.2M in cap space with 65 players under contract.
What the Broncos do with that cap space remains to be seen, but it does allow for the team to add another free agent or two, whether it's bringing back somebody from their 2020 roster or adding an outside free agent. And it still gives Denver the space to sign their draft picks.
However, it's possible general manager George Paton could be holding onto that space for a potential trade down the road, or he might be trying to keep cap space to carry over into 2022 when multiple younger players could be in line for extensions. Broncos fans may have been used to how John Elway and his staff managed the cap, keeping signing bonuses small, yet using as much cap space as possible.
Elway's goal was to carry over about $10M each year. However, Paton could see things differently.
Paton wouldn't be the first GM to carry over a lot of cap space from one year to the next. Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard has done this every year. Of course, Ballard tends to avoid free agency and focus on the draft to build the roster, so his method doesn't require utilizing a lot of cap space.
Still, Ballard is an example of how a team might not use all the cap space it has available, even when it's a significant amount. There is a floor that teams must meet when it comes to cash spending, but that's not the same as utilizing cap space.
But you can take comfort in knowing that the Broncos have cap space to work with if they decide to make particular moves in the weeks to come. Denver still has the flexibility to improve the roster as it sees fit. The only question to ask is what moves might be coming and where.
We'll likely know more in the days to come because it wouldn't surprise me if Paton is still looking at available free agents. And when the 2021 NFL draft arrives on April 29, we'll definitely see the Broncos making new roster acquisitions.
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