The Denver Broncos made several big splashes in free agency last year, signing guard Ben Power, right tackle Mike McGlinchey and defensive lineman Zach Allen to big-money deals soon after the window opened.
Denver won’t be able to make those kind of splashes this year. The Broncos are projected to be about $24 million over the salary cap in 2024, and if they release quarterback Russell Wilson, that number could rise.
“We’ve prepared for any scenario with Rich Hurtado, who runs our [salary] cap,” general manager George Paton said in his end-of-season press conference Tuesday. “We’ll have flexibility either way to do what we need to do. We won’t be in on the first wave of free agency like we were last year. You can’t do that every year.
“We’ll be very strategic and very specific on what positions and what players we try to sign. Obviously, we have to hit on the draft. We’re picking high, and we have six picks. We could have more. You know we like picks. We’ll go from there.”
Paton saying the team “could have more” than six picks seemingly implies that a few trades could be on the way. Free agency comes a month before the draft, though, and the Broncos are not expected to be very active when the big-name free agents are signed in March.
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