What the Broncos Got Wrong In the John Franklin-Myers Saga

The Denver Broncos allowed John Franklin-Myers to walk in free agency. That decision could end up blowing up in Denver's face, but some of the team's decisions leading up to his departure were eyebrow-raising, to say the least.

This is a team in a championship window, and to replace Franklin-Myers, the Broncos are turning to a rookie, a second-year player, and two veterans who don’t really fit the position.

Now, it was always going to be difficult for the Broncos to match what the Tennessee Titans gave Franklin-Myers in his free-agent deal. However, the Broncos purportedly never even reached out to him about a new deal, which is where the first problem lies.

The Broncos seemed content to let Franklin-Myers walk since the 2025 NFL draft, if not earlier. That's all fine and dandy, but for a team as close as the Broncos are, they should have at least made a call to see if he would take less to stay in town for a chance to compete.

The Broncos didn’t call before the 2025 season, during it, or immediately after. According to Franklin-Myers, at no point in the process did the Broncos reach out to him or his agents for a potential new deal. Meanwhile, while they were on bye, the Broncos extended defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, kicker Wil Lutz, and center Luke Wattenberg.

There were rumors last year, which stretched into the 2026 offseason, that Franklin-Myers would have been willing to accept a deal between $10 and $ 15 million per year. He ended up signing a $20 million-per-year deal with the Titans, so $5-10 million less annually would have been a massive discount.

The Broncos had no way of knowing what JFM would have been willing to accept, as they never approached him. Throughout the process, he was open about two things: 1) he had a strong desire to stay in Denver, and 2) he claimed that neither he nor his agents ever heard from the Broncos.

JFM's impact on the field went beyond the stat sheet, which is why his teammates were so outspoken about wanting him to stay in Denver. He had a massive impact throughout the season, but especially down the stretch. When many players around him began to falter, Franklin-Myers actually got better.

The Message it Sends

John Franklin-Myers and Zach Allen — Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (99) reacts with defensive end John Franklin-Myers (98) during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Arguably, the message the Broncos sent to the locker room by not even contacting Franklin-Myers could end up having more of a negative impact than his absence on the field. Yes, the NFL is a business, and teams can’t always pay everyone, but when a player openly wants to stay, puts together two of the best years of his career, and you don’t even call about a potential long-term deal, the messaging is bad.

It was a very curious situation because, besides JFM, the Broncos have consistently done things the right way on and off the field when it comes to roster-building. The team has rewarded many key players with big deals who have been highly impactful for the Broncos. But not Franklin-Myers, who, let's not forget, produced 14.5 sacks as an interior pass rusher the last two seasons.

With the number of impending and impactful free agents poised to hit the market after this year, it will be interesting to see whether the Broncos do things a little differently. You have to wonder whether the Franklin-Myers fallout will hurt the team's ability to keep players at a discount.

The Takeaway

We don't yet know whether letting Franklin-Myers walk was a mistake. The situation has to play itself out.

The more concerning aspect was the message the Broncos sent to the locker room. Only time will tell the magnitude of the fallout.

The Broncos can have their hope and faith in third-rounders Tyler Onyedim and Sai’vion Jones, the first of whom is a rookie. Still, there is no guarantee that either steps up to fill JFM's shoes, as defensive linemen typically don’t stand out until late Year 2 or early Year 3, aside from elite outliers.

You never know; there's a chance that either Onyedim or Jones could be an improvement over Franklin-Myers. The Broncos need one of them to really step up.

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