Denver Broncos

Denver sits comfortably with $30.4M in cap room now and almost no dead money, but committed salary surges to $327.9M next season and leaves only $710K projected in future cap room, so every signing and extension this year carries major long-term consequences.

33 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Seven starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Denver's top strength is its secondary and defensive line headlined by a 97-overall Patrick Surtain II, while the linebacker corps, where the starter behind Singleton is a 62-overall Karene Reid, is the clearest weak spot on the roster.

• LSmedium

  Mitchell Fraboni holds the long snapper spot but rates as a medium-severity need, so monitoring the position in free agency is worth considering.

• Run & ShootoffensiveGood

  The receiver trio of Sutton, Waddle, and Franklin, combined with Bo Nix's youth and the backfield versatility of Dobbins and Harvey, gives Denver the weapons to thrive in a spread, pass-heavy system.

• [EA] Base 4-3defensiveGood

  Denver's defensive front, anchored by Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto with Patrick Surtain II patrolling the boundary, maps perfectly onto a four-man rush base scheme that keeps the secondary in position to dominate.

• 64Jarrett StidhamQBJarrett Stidham is the second-string quarterback behind Bo Nix at a 64 overall, and releasing him frees $6.0M with only $2.0M in dead money.Frees $6.0M · $2.0M dead
• 77D.J. JonesDTD.J. Jones starts behind Zach Allen on the DT depth chart at 77 overall, and cutting him frees a significant $10.1M at a cost of $4.4M in dead money.Frees $10.1M · $4.4M dead
• 78Evan EngramTEEvan Engram is the starting tight end but carries a release value of $11.0M freed against only $3.1M in dead money, making him a viable cap-saving cut if a cheaper option is developed.Frees $11.0M · $3.1M dead
• 75Ben PowersLGBen Powers starts at left guard but grades out at just 75 overall, and releasing him frees $12.5M with $5.7M in dead money, offering the largest single savings on the cut list.Frees $12.5M · $5.7M dead
• 57Sam EhlingerQBSam Ehlinger sits third on the QB depth chart at 57 overall and can be released for a clean $2.0M savings with zero dead money.Frees $2.0M · $0 dead

The Denver Broncos are a legitimate contender built around one of the most dominant cornerbacks in the game in Patrick Surtain II, a Superstar offensive line pairing of Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz, and a rising young edge rusher in Nik Bonitto. Bo Nix at quarterback gives the franchise a 26-year-old Star-trait passer to build around, and the receiver room featuring Jaylen Waddle, Courtland Sutton, and a developing Troy Franklin is legitimately dangerous. Bolles, entering the late stage of his career, will need a succession plan at left tackle sooner rather than later. Sutton is also approaching the back half of his prime, so Troy Franklin's development is important. Alex Singleton starts at MIKE but is also well into his career, and the linebacker corps broadly needs an infusion of talent behind him. The cap situation features $30.4M in room this season with almost no dead money, but committed salary balloons to $327.9M by next season, leaving only $710K projected in future cap room, so extension decisions and cuts must be made deliberately to protect flexibility.

The Denver Broncos were founded on August 14, 1959, when minor-league baseball owner Bob Howsam was awarded a charter franchise in the upstart American Football League (AFL), and they began play in 1960 in Denver, Colorado. Denver won the first-ever AFL game, a 13-10 victory over the Boston Patriots on September 9, 1960, but the decade that followed was bleak: the Broncos compiled a 39-97-4 record across the AFL's ten seasons, the worst of any original AFL club, and were the only original AFL team never to post a winning season or reach the league title game. The franchise nearly relocated in 1965 before a local ownership group led by the Phipps brothers stepped in, and the 1967 signing of Syracuse running back Floyd Little, nicknamed 'The Franchise', helped stabilize the club. Denver joined the NFL in the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. The Broncos' first sustained success arrived in the mid-1970s: Denver posted its first winning season in 1973 under John Ralston, and in 1977, first-year head coach Red Miller and the vaunted 'Orange Crush' 3-4 defense, anchored by linebacker Randy Gradishar, carried the team to a 12-2 record and its first Super Bowl (XII), a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The defining modern era began in 1983 with the arrival of quarterback John Elway, who reached five Super Bowls and authored signature moments such as 'The Drive.' Under owner Pat Bowlen and head coach Mike Shanahan, Elway and MVP running back Terrell Davis finally broke through, winning back-to-back titles: Super Bowl XXXII over the Green Bay Packers (31-24, Davis MVP) and Super Bowl XXXIII over the Atlanta Falcons (34-19, Elway MVP in his final game). After a playoff drought, the Peyton Manning era (2012-2015) delivered a defense-driven 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, the franchise's third championship. The Broncos hired Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton in 2023, drafted Bo Nix in 2024, and rapidly returned to contention, going 14-3 and reaching the AFC Championship Game in 2025.