Examining the Cap Space Broncos Freed up by Trading Emmanuel Sanders
The Denver Broncos dealt Emmanuel Sanders to the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday, along with a 2020 fifth-round pick. In exchange, the Broncos received a 2020 third- and fourth-round draft pick, plus the team freed up some significant space on the salary cap.
Before the Sanders trade, the Broncos had just under $11 million in available cap space. But dealing Sanders freed up an additional $5.97M, per Ryan O'Halloran of the Denver Post. That $5.97 represents the remainder of Sanders' base salary due this year.
What does that mean for the Broncos in 2019?
Not a lot. While the extra (almost) $6M gives GM John Elway some breathing room on the cap, the Broncos are quite limited in their ability to spend. Most players worth paying money to are already rostered elsewhere in the NFL.
Not to say there aren't a few viable free agents out there on the street, or that a prime veteran might not be released by an NFL team later in the season, but it's pretty unlikely the Broncos will have use of that nearly $17M in cap space the team now has.
But, if the Broncos consummated another trade and acquired a player with a sizable 2019 contract, that cap space would help facilitate such a deal. In all likelihood, though, that extra cheddar will be used to roll over into 2020.
The Broncos are pretty well poised from a draft capital and cap space perspective (more than $70M) to attack 2020 and rebuild this roster. But at the same time, this team has a lot of players in a contract year whom Elway will have to make a decision on in the very near future, like Justin Simmons, Chris Harris, Jr., Shelby Harris, Derek Wolfe, and others.
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