Pro Football Rumors
Although more offseason staff exits came on offense and in their front office, the Broncos boasted one of the NFL’s best defenses in 2024. After a woeful start to Vance Joseph‘s second tenure overseeing this unit, Denver rebounded despite losing perennial All-Pro Justin Simmons.
The Broncos managed a third-place defensive ranking despite losing their top linebacker in Week 3. Alex Singleton sustained an ACL tear, causing the team to move special-teamer Justin Strnad into a regular role alongside Cody Barton. As Barton is one of the few free agents of consequence in Denver, the team has Singleton under contract for one more season.
[RELATED: Courtland Sutton Extension Talks On Broncos’ Radar]
Singleton, who totaled 163 tackles in 2022 and 177 in ’23, is tied to a three-year deal worth $18MM. The Broncos let Josey Jewell walk in free agency partially because it had Singleton on a midlevel pact, and while the 31-year-old veteran could conceivably be a cut candidate ($5.9MM in cap savings) following his injury, the team is thin at this position. Strnad is also an impending free agent. As of now, Singleton is due back to help on the Broncos’ defensive second level.
It does not sound like Singleton will be ready for OTAs or minicamp, but the former CFL import and Eagles starter fully expects to be ready well before the season starts. He referenced (via 9News’ Mike Klis) the nine-month mark, common in ACL recoveries, as a return window. It would not make too much sense for Singleton to push it in order for full minicamp participation; the near-two-month break following offseason workouts would provide a nice window to ramp up to full speed.
The Broncos will need to make moves at their other linebacker spot, and they are fully expected to address their skill-position areas. Bo Nix finished the season with the second-most touchdown passes (29) by a rookie, but he was largely targeting a skill-position cadre dependent on Courtland Sutton. Although, Marvin Mims‘ late-season emergence could provide a sign where the Broncos will allocate their top resources this offseason.
Asked by Kay Adams about a potential Broncos wide receiver need, Sean Payton praised his young array of Sutton sidekicks while highlighting the need for an inside playmaker.
“I’d say we need a joker,” Payton said during his appearance on Up & Adams. “Now, a joker can be a tight end or a running back. We were spoiled [in New Orleans]. You had Reggie [Bush], you had Jimmy Graham, Jeremy Shockey, Darren Sproles, Alvin Kamara; those are interior, they have to be elite receivers that play tight end or running back.”
Payton said the Broncos are stronger at receiver “than some would think.” While it would be safe to assume Denver will look into adding another option to play alongside Sutton and Mims, the former is going into his age-30 season and the latter has yet to establish himself as a consistent receiving option. That said, Denver did use fourth- and seventh-round picks on **[Troy...
