Denver Broncos

With $30.4M in cap room now but only $710K projected next season, Denver must spend wisely this offseason before the financial window nearly closes.

33 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Seven starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Eight picks in the upcoming draft, including six in the first round, and 22 selections projected over three years give Denver exceptional resources to shape the roster on both sides of the ball.

• Acquired: Round 7 from Saints, this draft

Denver's top strength is its cornerback group led by the 97-overall Surtain II, while WILL linebacker is the weakest spot on the roster by both starter and depth rankings.

• WILLhigh

  Justin Strnad starts at WILL but the position ranks 24th at the starter level and 31st in depth league-wide, making this the single most urgent roster hole on the team.

• HBlow

  J.K. Dobbins leads a backfield that ranks 22nd at the starter level, though Denver's depth at the position is among the best in the league at 3rd overall.

• TElow

  Evan Engram is the starter but the position ranks 21st at the starter level and 17th in depth, leaving room for an upgrade at the top of the depth chart.

• 64Jarrett StidhamQBJarrett Stidham is the second-string quarterback behind Bo Nix at 64 overall, and releasing him frees $6.0M against just $2.0M in dead money.Frees $6.0M · $2.0M dead
• 77D.J. JonesDTD.J. Jones backs up Zach Allen at DT at 77 overall, and his release frees $10.1M with $4.4M in dead money, making it a meaningful cap move if a cheaper option is available.Frees $10.1M · $4.4M dead
• 78Evan EngramTEEvan Engram starts at TE but grades out at 78 overall on a Normal dev trait while entering the later portion of his career, and releasing him frees $11.0M against $3.1M in dead money.Frees $11.0M · $3.1M dead
• 75Ben PowersLGBen Powers starts at LG at 75 overall with a Normal dev trait, and releasing him frees $12.5M at the cost of $5.7M in dead money, a move that makes sense if Kage Casey is ready to step into the role.Frees $12.5M · $5.7M dead
• 57Sam EhlingerQBSam Ehlinger sits third on the QB depth chart at 57 overall and releasing him costs nothing in dead money while freeing $2.0M.Frees $2.0M · $0 dead

Denver enters this window with a well-rounded roster built around some legitimately elite pieces. Patrick Surtain II is the best corner in the game, Quinn Meinerz and Garett Bolles anchor a physical offensive line, and Nik Bonitto gives the defense a true edge threat. Bo Nix, still young and on a Star development arc, is the player this entire window is being built around, and the supporting cast with Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton gives him credible weapons. The concern is that Bolles is entering the late stage of his career, so protecting Nix long-term will require finding his successor. Alex Singleton holds down the MIKE but is also in the late stage of his career, and WILL linebacker is a glaring thin spot by both starter rank and depth. Cap room of $30.4M this season offers real flexibility to address those holes, but committed salary climbs sharply to $327.9M next season, so the front office needs to spend wisely now before that window tightens. With eight picks in the upcoming draft, including a first-rounder, and 22 picks projected over the next three years, the resources are there to reload the depth and find long-term answers at linebacker and tight end while the young core matures into a contender.

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.