Broncos Are in a Real Championship Window, per Free Agent LB

The Broncos have kicked open a championship window, according to Alex Singleton, who explained why it's wide open for the next few years.

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 04: Denver Head Coach, Sean Payton and Bo Nix 10 of the Denver Broncos, discuss a play during a game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, CO on January 04, 2026. | Kevin Langley / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Veteran linebacker Alex Singleton's future is clouded right now. The Denver Broncos' leading tackler and team captain is poised to be an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens on March 11.

The 32-year-old Singleton might not be sure what the future holds for him, but he's confident in the Broncos' outlook, thanks to the presence of quarterback Bo Nix. In Singleton's opinion, the Broncos have opened a championship window for the next few years, especially with Nix playing on a cost-controlled rookie contract.

"More on the contract front, he is still on a rookie contract, so we’ve got a lot of money. Those are where teams, if you can be in those situations, win championships," Singleton said on January 26. "That's where this team's at. So it's an exciting time, and it's exciting for him."

This is why the Broncos are being urged to load up the arsenal this offseason around Nix. He'll only be cheap for two more years, maybe three, and the Broncos have to strike while that iron is hot and invest in the roster.

Free of the Albatross

For the first time since drafting Nix, the Broncos are free of the Russell Wilson contract. There's no more dead money on the books, and the Broncos now enter the 2026 offseason with just shy of $30 million in salary-cap space.

It's one of the great achievements of this NFL decade; how Sean Payton's Broncos managed to win 24 games, a division crown, and a playoff game despite carrying a record $85 million in dead Wilson money. It was the type of albatross around the Broncos' neck that would have sunk the vast majority of teams. Not the Broncos, though.

Singleton's Outlook

Dec 14, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton (49) celebrates defeating the Green Bay Packers during the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Wilson is off the books now, and perhaps some of that cap space will be utilized on Singleton. The only thing going against him is his relative age, as he'll turn 33 during the 2026 regular season.

Otherwise, bringing Singleton back is a no-brainer. He's a team captain, and outside of the 2024 season, which saw him suffer a campaign-ending ACL tear in Week 3, he's delivered nothing but triple-digit-tackle seasons since arriving in Denver in 2022.

Linebacker is a big need for the Broncos, simply because Singleton and Justin Strnad are free agents. Re-signing one of them would make it less alarming.

The Broncos' plan was to team Dre Greenlaw up with Singleton last season and let the chips fall. Alas, Greenlaw dealt with an offseason quad injury that caused him to miss the first six games, and all the live-bullet reps he missed in training camp, preseason, and the first quarter of the season slowed his initial impact.

By season's end, though, Greenlaw was playing well, but he was rotating with Strnad. Greenlaw will get to attack a full offseason healthy (fingers crossed), and time will tell what happens with Singleton. A two-year deal might be in order, front-loaded to give the Broncos an option after the 2026 season.

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The QB the Broncos Need

Jan 17, 2026; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates after winning an AFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

As for Singleton's take on Nix, he sees exactly the type of leader the Broncos want and need under center.

“I mean, he balled out all year. Did everything that we needed to do to. What was it, the first [home] playoff game in 10 years?" Singleton said of Nix. "Obviously, to host the playoff game, all that stuff. He's been a leader since Day 1 when he got here. So that's the guy you want at the helm."

The Broncos searched for a franchise quarterback for nearly a decade after Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset. And now that Nix has been found and is in the fold, it's nice to cover a Broncos team that isn't desperate at quarterback.

"There are teams around the league that are fighting to find a guy to play that position, and we found one," Singleton said of Nix. "So that's the biggest thing is having a guy who can do that week-in and week-out, and he's shown that he's able to do that. So it's really exciting for him."

Driven by Missed Opportunity

Nix still has some long weeks of rehabilitation ahead of him after he fractured his ankle in the Broncos' 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs. He underwent surgery to correct the fracture two days later, and he'll be getting back on his feet about the time the Broncos begin the offseason training program after the NFL draft.

Nix's injury directly led to the Broncos' inability to get over the hump in the AFC title game and advance to the Super Bowl. Jarrett Stidham stepped into a tough situation on short notice, but if the Broncos had their franchise quarterback that week, the New England Patriots likely would have been sent home, regardless of the second-half blizzard that blanketed Empower Field at Mile High.

The Patriots were badly exposed by the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, even though it should have been the Broncos, and everyone outside the greater Boston area knows it. That heartbreaking injury could have a silver lining, though.

According to Singleton, it'll fuel Nix moving forward.

"I can only imagine what this is going to do to fuel him for the next however many years," Singleton said. "I mean, it could be 20. That is what I would leave with.”

These were Singleton's parting words as he packed up his locker at season's end. His message was one of optimism and confidence, hinged primarily on Nix.

We'll find out soon enough whether that was the final chapter of Singleton's story in Denver. I know he's getting long in the tooth, but something tells me there's at least one more chapter and an epilogue to come for the courageous cancer survivor.