The Denver Broncos have made their first free agent signing of the 2024 NFL offseason (sort of).
The Broncos can’t begin negotiating with pending free agents from other teams until March 11, but they can give extensions to their looming in-house free agents before then.
Denver has made its first in-house signing of the offseason by giving a one-year deal to Jonas Griffith, the linebacker’s agency announced Wednesday. Griffith was an exclusive rights free agent so the signing is somewhat of a formality, but it’s news nonetheless.
As an EFRA, Griffith had no leverage in negotiations. The Broncos gave him a one-year, $985,000 deal for the 2024 season. Griffith, 27, is entering his fifth year in the NFL, but he is considered a “third-year” player because he only has two accrued seasons in the league.
After spending his rookie season on the practice squads of the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers, Griffith landed in Denver via trade in 2021. He played in 13 games that season and started nine games in 2022 before suffering a season-ending foot injury. Griffith then missed the entire 2023 season with a torn ACL.
Now healthy again, Griffith might have an opportunity to compete for a starting job this summer given that Josey Jewell is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
Before giving a one-year extension to Griffith, the Broncos previously signed 14 players to reserve/future contracts. Those players have not officially joined the 90-man offseason roster because their contracts do not activate until the NFL’s new league year begins in March.