Broncos salary cap update after setting 53-man roster

After setting their initial 53-man roster, the Broncos have about $8 million in remaining salary cap space.

After making 38 roster moves this week to get down to an initial 53-man roster, the Denver Broncos now have about $8 million in remaining salary cap space, according to a projection from Spotrac.com.

That is subject to change, of course, after the Broncos build a 17-player practice squad later today. That $8 million figure does account for the injured players who are not on the 53-man roster including offensive lineman Quinn Bailey (ankle), linebacker Drew Sanders (Achilles), safety Delarrin Turner-Yell (ACL) and cornerback Damarri Mathis (ankle).

Denver also has $76,353,636 worth of “dead money” counting against the cap, by far the largest dead money cap total in the NFL. Ex-Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson accounts for $53 million despite no longer being on the team.

Wilson will also have $32 million count against the cap next year before Denver is finally free of his contract in 2026. Even with Wilson still eating into the cap next year, the Broncos are projected to have more than $61.8 million in cap space available in 2025, according to Spotrac.com.

Denver’s tight against the cap this year, but brighter days are ahead.

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Broncos salary cap update going into the summer

The Broncos have about $7.7 million in remaining salary cap space ahead of training camp.

Even with quarterback Russell Wilson accounting for $32 million in “dead money” next year, the Denver Broncos are projected to have about $37 million in salary cap space in 2025. That’s a conservative estimate based on a projection of the NFL’s cap only increasing by $4.6 million.

Wilson’s dead money cap hit is much larger this year ($53 million). Consequently, the Broncos are in a tighter cap pinch this season.

Denver is estimated to have about $7,726,196 in remaining cap space, according to OverTheCap.com. The Broncos will likely want to take most (or all) of that remaining cap into the 2024 season to allow for injured reserve payments and the possibility of in-season additions to the roster.

Denver receiver Courtland Sutton is seeking a raise, but it’s hard to imagine that being a high priority for the Broncos with guard Quinn Meinerz and cornerback Pat Surtain on deck for mega extensions.

Denver can push large cap hits into future years when Meinerz and Surtain eventually get their extensions, but the team probably won’t make any more big additions in 2024 due to the dwindling cap space.

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3 Broncos who may become cap casualties

The Denver Broncos could save nearly $18 million against the salary cap by moving on from these three players.

The Denver Broncos could potentially save some money against the salary cap this offseason by releasing three veteran players.

Of course, there is still the contract of Joe Flacco on the books and the decision on what to do with him remains to be seen. Will the team be able to talk him into sticking around as a veteran backup to Drew Lock, or will the Broncos cut ties and choose to eat over $13 million in dead money?

Though that sounds like a lose-lose situation to many, there are some moves the team can make to get some money back.

Recently, I have talked about pending free agents the team should move on from as well as free agents the team should re-sign. But in order to fully evaluate the roster, the team must also consider players that are not scheduled to become free agents.

The three players below are all guys that the Broncos could and probably should move on from due to a combination of lack of production as well as a way to get back some cap space.

All figures were taken from Over the Cap.

1. Ron Leary, guard

Dead money: $875,000

Cap savings: $8.5 million

Leary has a club option for the 2019 season and the Broncos choosing not to pick that up is a no-brainer.

The signing of the veteran offensive lineman seemed like a great move when it was made, but he has been a disappointment for the team.

Leary has yet to play in a full 16-game season for the Broncos and out of a possible 48 games, he has played in just 29 as various injuries have forced him to end multiple seasons on injured reserve.

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