Pros & Cons to Broncos Extending OLB Baron Browning

The Denver Broncos have a few players with expiring contracts after the 2024 season. While the Broncos should be in a better position as far as the salary cap goes, they won't be able to keep everyone.

In the coming weeks, I'm going to examine some of the Broncos players who are in the final year of their contracts and might be under consideration for a new deal. While not everyone I will discuss will get extended, they would be the top candidates for a multi-year deal.

For each player, I will look at the arguments for extending the player and the arguments against extending the player, then consider what may matter the most to the Broncos when it comes to an extension.

We'll now look at edge rusher Baron Browning, a 2021 third-round pick.

The Case for an Extension

Browning made the transition from off-ball linebacker to edge rusher in 2022 and handled it well. He did so even during a tumultuous year for the Broncos, in which Nathaniel Hackett was one-and-done as head coach.

Since that time, Browning has done well for himself in the pass rush rotation. Since making the switch to edge rusher, he has had 28 pressures, 21 quarterback hits, and 9.5 sacks.

While Browning would be in line for a considerable raise — he's due $3.1 million this year and will get more than that in an extension — it shouldn't be a significant sum. He'll more likely command money in line with a number two edge rusher, but that's fine.

Keeping Browning ensures the Broncos keep one of the players they drafted in the earlier rounds in 2021. And it's better to take care of your own when they produce.

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The Case Against an Extension

While Browning has handled the switch to edge rusher well, he has missed several games because of injuries in his three NFL seasons.

Though the injuries weren't significant, they were enough to cost him a total of 12 games in the past three seasons. The Broncos shouldn't commit a lot of money to a player who has missed a fair amount of time on the field.

And while Browning might be retained at a reasonable cost, one could say the same about teammate Jonathon Cooper, who has missed just three games and, last season, started all 17 games and had a breakout season.

The Broncos should indeed take care of their own first but it's not likely they will keep both Browning and Cooper. If the Broncos keep one of them, Cooper has a better case for being the one.

Bottom Line

Most likely, the Broncos will decide Browning based on what he does this season. He has shown he has the talent to be a quality edge rusher, even if he's not a game-changer at the position.

But the Broncos are more likely to have to make a decision here about keeping Browning versus keeping Cooper. That's because, while both players are talented, neither one is a true number one pass rusher.

It makes sense to keep one of them to be a secondary pass rusher but doesn't make sense to keep both. Even if Browning won't command top-tier money, the Broncos only have so much cap space and cash available.

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