Report: Bradley Chubb Signs Mega-Deal with Dolphins
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The Denver Broncos dealt star-edge rusher Bradley Chubb to the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday for a first-round draft pick and change.
According to Adam Schefter, Chubb and the Dolphins agreed to a nine-figure extension that will make Chubb one of the highest-paid defenders in football.
"Dolphins and new OLB Bradley Chubb reached agreement on a five-year, $119 million extension that includes $63.2 million guaranteed, per sources," reported Schefter on Twitter. "Dolphins GM Chris Grier, VP Brandon Shore and agent Erik Burkhardt of Roc Nation Sports did deal the past two days."
General manager George Paton hinted at the notion that the Broncos talked with Chubb about an extension before dealing him to the Dolphins.
"I'm not going to get into any negotiations," said Paton after the deal on Tuesday. "We had discussions with Bradley and his representatives, and I'll just leave it at that."
Chubb was a pending free agent due to hit the open market in nine games (plus any playoffs). It doesn't sound like Paton, and the Broncos got the feedback they wanted when discussing an extension with Chubb, and a decision was made to deal their former top-five pick.
With $63.2-million guaranteed over the next five seasons, this is, in reality, a three-year deal for Chubb that will pay him well over $ 20 million per season over that time frame.
The Broncos currently have $17.9 million of available-cap space in 2023, according to Spotrac. The actual number is higher once players under contract get cut or restructured, but the Broncos may not have had the luxury of re-signing both Dre'Mont Jones and Chubb.
Paton admitted that Jones would be a priority for 2023 and beyond.
"We do," said Paton when asked if Jones was seen as a key member of the Broncos' future. "You saw how he played. I believe he's going to be the defensive player of the week, if I'm not mistaken. He is one of our core players, [and] we want him on here a long time. We'll just leave it at that."
The Broncos are back in the first round after the Chubb trade. At 3-5 they're not entirely out of the AFC Playoff race either.
Chubb would have helped the team achieve that goal in 2022, but there was a high, very high, probability that he wasn't going to be a Bronco in 2023, trade or no trade.
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