The Denver Broncos let defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones walk in free agency this week and they replaced him with Zach Allen, who will now reunite with defense coordinator Vance Joseph.
The Broncos gave Allen a three-year, $45.75 million contract that includes $32.5 million guaranteed, according to Spotrac.com. With a $2.5 million base salary and a $15 million signing bonus, Allen will have a salary cap hit of $7.25 million this season.
Dre’Mont Jones agreed to a three-year, $51.53 million contract that includes $30 million guaranteed. He will have a base salary of $3 million this year and a $20 million signing bonus, giving him a 2023 cap hit just north of $10 million.
Allen received $2.5 million more guaranteed, but Jones got $5 million more in a signing bonus. Jones will earn more per season on average (about $17 million) than Allen ($15.25 million).
Here are their salary cap hits for the next three years.
Zach Allen: $7.25M, $20.25M, $18.25M
Dre’Mont Jones: $10M, $18.17M, $23.17M
Allen ended up being slightly cheaper, and he had similar — and in some cases, better — production than Jones last season. He is also familiar with Joseph and the defensive scheme the Broncos will run this season.
Allen totaled 47 tackles, 20 quarterback hits, eight pass breakups and 5.5 sacks in 13 games last season. Jones recorded 47 tackles, 10 QB hits, no pass breakups and 6.5 sacks in 13 games last fall.
Allen in, Jones out. Time will tell if it was the right decision.
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