How Broncos' Cash Commitments at OLB Impact 2023 Outlook

The Denver Broncos have made the majority of their offseason moves, some more recent as they fine-tune the roster before training camp begins. We now have a better idea about how much the Broncos will commit in terms of money toward the roster going into 2023.

We can also get a better idea about the money commitment in 2024, given who is currently under contract with the team next year. In the coming weeks, I'll review each positional group and look at the money that's currently being committed to the biggest names in 2023, what can be expected for 2024, and what changes could potentially happen that would affect the money committed.

Today, we continue this series with the edge rushers, a positional group in which there could be changes made after the 2023 season

Edge Rusher Roster in 2023

Current edge rushers: Christopher Allen, Nik Bonitto, Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper. Randy Gregory, Marcus Haynes, Thomas Incoom, Aaron Patrick.

Largest cash commitments for 2023: Gregory is due a $14M, fully guaranteed base salary. After that, Browning has the highest cash commitment with a $1.095M base salary that isn't fully guaranteed. Bonitto's base salary this year is $968,722, but it's fully guaranteed.

Cash commitments for 2024: Gregory is due a $13.475M base salary and a $255K per-game roster bonus, but the money isn't guaranteed. Browning could see some escalators added to his $1.2M base salary, depending on whether he hits certain snap thresholds. Bonitto is due $1.23M in base salary, but it's not guaranteed.

What could change for 2023: The Broncos have already released Jacob Martin, who was due about $4M, with $1M fully guaranteed. Martin has since signed with the Houston Texans, but he must make the roster out of training camp in order for the Broncos to get any offsets on that $1M he's due.

It's possible the Broncos add another veteran edge rusher, but that depends on how things go with the younger players during offseason activities before training camp.

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What could change for 2024: The main player to keep an eye on is Gregory. He missed the bulk of the 2022 season with injuries.

If that happens again in 2023, the Broncos are likely to release him, even if it means paying Gregory an injury settlement. The Broncos have no incentive to keep him when his guaranteed money runs out.

What remains to be seen is how the rest of the edge rushers fare in 2023. Will Browning take the next step in his development? Will Bonitto take steps forward after he struggled much of his rookie season? How will other players contribute?

The answers to those questions will tell the tale of what the Broncos do in 2024 at the position. The Broncos can certainly clear some cap space to sign a veteran, but if one isn't available that they like, that leaves next year's draft as their option to find somebody who can help. On the other hand, if a player or two breaks out, the Broncos are in good shape.

READ: How Broncos' Cash Commitments on OL Impact 2023 Outlook

Bottom Line

The Broncos aren't committing a lot of money to the edge rusher position this season, but the bulk of the money committed is going to a veteran who has missed multiple games because of injuries. Gregory's future with the team mostly depends on his availability in 2023.

The rest of the edge rushers are on cheaper deals, though Browning could be in line for escalators in 2024. But while having young players on cheap deals is a good thing, it would be good to see one or more of those players step forward and make an impact.

Of course, if that happens, it won't be long before that younger player is due a bigger salary. Still, if somebody like Browning or Bonitto takes the next step, that will be a boon to the Broncos, who can then enjoy having a quality player on a cheap deal for at least one more season.

And that could make a difference in helping the Broncos commit more cash to other defensive positions. We'll take a look at two in particular — cornerbacks and safeties — in our next installments.

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