Broncos general manager George Paton was sitting with a reporter in the lobby of a downtown Indianapolis hotel on March 5 when he mentioned his preference to avoid “splash” moves, the kind of addition that has a higher financial cost than on-field impact.
“Unless it’s unique and there are circumstances where you want to spend a lot of money for a great player,” he said.
That unique circumstance came less than 36 hours later when Paton agreed to trade three players and five draft picks to Seattle for quarterback Russell Wilson. The circumstances — more than a half-decade of underwhelming quarterback play — helped push Paton to orchestrate one of the biggest trades in NFL history.
His splash move complete and his biggest roster crater filled, Paton will enter the start of free agency with around $23.5 million in salary-cap space. Negotiations with the representatives of non-Broncos free agents begins Monday, followed by the signing/trading period Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Before the Wilson trade was agreed upon, Paton said of the free-agent class: “For what we need, I think it’s fine. I think we can fill some needs, which is what you want to do so in the draft, you can draft the best players. I don’t ever want to be forced to take a player.”
To that end, if the Broncos can sign two free-agent starters — ideally a right tackle and edge rusher — before going the economical-but-not-frugal route in improving a 7-10 roster, this week will be a success.
Right tackle became even more important last Thursday when the Los Angeles Chargers agreed to acquire pass rusher Khalil Mack from the Chicago Bears. It was a salary dump by the Bears and a Joey Bosa complement move for the Chargers.
Wilson has been sacked more times (427) in his first 10 years than any quarterback since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970; Randall Cunningham is next-closest at 409. Wilson’s ability to extend plays has resulted in touchdowns, but also additional sacks, but in this division, with Frank Clark in Kansas City and Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue in Las Vegas, consistent pass protection is an even bigger requirement.
The Broncos tried the big-money free-agent route in March 2019 when they signed Ja’Wuan James. It was a debacle. James played only parts of three games for the franchise because of injury (knee throughout ’19), opting out (’20) and another injury (Achilles last summer).
Now, the New York Jets’ Morgan Moses and Cincinnati’s Riley Reiff (whom Paton was with in Minnesota) could be short-term possibilities, which also could be the Broncos’ best strategy.
At edge rusher, the Broncos should prioritize finding a player to line up opposite Bradley Chubb. Pre-Wilson trade, they had the money to spend big on a Jadeveon Clowney, Haason Reddick or, gulp, Von Miller. Less-expensive options could include San Francisco’s Arden Key or Kansas City’s Melvin Ingram. Would they be willing to spend big on Chandler Jones and go the stop-gap route again at right tackle? Possibly.
A potentially intriguing development will be the presence of Wilson. Will he help attract veterans such as tight ends Zach Ertz (Arizona) or O.J. Howard (Tampa Bay), who can now include the Broncos has a quarterback-in-place option?
Depending on the Broncos’ in-house decision, they could be in the market for help at inside linebacker and nickel corner, allowing them to wait for the draft to address safety and interior offensive line depth.
The Broncos will do business with an eye ahead.
“Always thinking three years ahead on where you’re going to be,” Paton said. “What expiring contracts do we have next year? What needs do we need to address? We’re always meeting on that.”
The most prominent Broncos players in the final year of their contracts are Chubb and defensive end Dre’Mont Jones. Denver currently has $60.4 million in cap space in 2023 and only 12 players under contract for ’24.
“Free agency is interesting,” Paton said. “You can really help your team, like Cincinnati did (with defenders Trey Hendrickson and Mike Hilton last year). You have to get the right person to fit your locker room.”
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