Tag: Dre’Mont Jones

Broncos did not place franchise tag on Dre’Mont Jones

The Broncos did not place a franchise tag on DL Dre’Mont Jones. He is now scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 15.

The NFL’s deadline to use a 2023 franchise tag passed at 2:00 p.m. MT on Tuesday and the Denver Broncos opted to not place a tag on any of their players this offseason.

Denver’s only logical candidate for a tag was defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones. Had they tagged him, the Broncos would have committed to paying Jones $19.73 million on a one-year deal if an extension was not reached before July 15.

Instead, Denver hopes to reach a long-term agreement with the 26-year-old defensive lineman. Unrestricted free agents like Jones can begin negotiating with other teams on Monday, so the Broncos would need to re-sign him before then if they don’t want other teams to be able to make him offers.

Jones will want to test the free-agent market, though, to determine his market value before potentially re-signing with Denver. Broncos general manager George Paton has said the team wants to re-sign Jones, but Denver might not want to get into a bidding war if other teams drive his price too high.

If the Broncos lose Jones to another team during free agency, Denver would likely receive a third-round compensatory draft pick from the NFL in 2024, depending on how much they spend in free agency this spring.

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Broncos’ defensive depth chart before NFL free agency

Before the Broncos gain (or lose) any players during free agency, here’s a quick look at the team’s projected defensive depth chart.

The NFL’s “legal tampering period” — when clubs can negotiate with pending free agents on other teams — begins on Monday, March 13. Two days later, the new league year will mark the official start of NFL free agency on Wednesday, March 15.

The Denver Broncos will have many in-house free agents they will want to re-sign, including a few key contributors on defense.

Before the team gains (or loses) any players during 2023 NFL free agency, here’s a quick look at the Broncos’ (projected) defensive depth chart as of early March. We previously published a special teams depth chart here. Check back tomorrow for the offense.

Broncos have to make franchise tag decision by Tuesday

The Broncos have to decide on whether or not to use the franchise tag by Tuesday afternoon.

The Denver Broncos have to make a decision on their 2023 franchise tag by Tuesday (March 7) at 2 p.m. MT. If the Broncos to not place their franchise tag on a player by that deadline, the tag will go unused in 2023.

Denver’s only logical candidate for a franchise tag this year is defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones. Broncos general manager George Paton said at the NFL combine last week that he has had positive talks with Jones.

“I’ve had a number of conversations with Dre’Mont,” Paton said. “Dre’Mont is a very good player. He’s one of our core players on defense. They’ve been very positive.”

Denver has used a franchise tag eight times in the past. Each time, the team went on to reach a long-term deal with the tagged player.

Here is the explanation for the (non-exclusive) franchise tag, courtesy of the league’s official website:

A player who receives the non-exclusive franchise tag is free to negotiate with other teams. The player receives a one-year deal with a salary set at the greater of (a) the cap percentage average for his position (an amount equal to the sum of the franchise-tag figures at a player’s position over the previous five seasons divided by the sum of the salary caps over the previous five seasons multiplied by the current year’s salary cap) OR (b) 120 percent of his PYS (the player’s cap number from the previous season, minus any performance incentives).

Placing a one-year franchise tag on Jones as a defensive end would cost the Broncos $19.73 million in salary cap space this season. Denver could save money in the short term by giving Jones a long-term extension instead, and the club seems unlikely to tag him before the deadline.

Jones is expected to test the NFL’s free agency market, and he can begin negotiating with other teams on March 13 before the official start of NFL free agency on March 15. The Broncos probably won’t tag him, but the team does want to re-sign Jones this offseason.

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17 Broncos players set to become unrestricted free agents

These 17 Broncos players are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on March 15.

In addition to having four players scheduled to become restricted free agents and four other players set to become exclusive rights free agents, the Denver Broncos also have 17 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents this month.

Beginning on Monday, March 13, these players will be allowed to negotiate with any team leading up to the official start of free agency on Wednesday, March 15. If the Broncos do not give these players contract extensions before March 13, Denver could face bidding competition from other clubs.

Here’s a quick look at all of the Broncos’ unrestricted free agents in 2023.

Denver Broncos Free Agents List

Despite ‘very positive’ talks with Broncos, Dre’Mont Jones is expected to test free agency

Despite having ‘very positive’ talks with the Broncos, Dre’Mont Jones is expected to test NFL free agency.

The NFL’s free agency negotiating window will open on March 13 and the most notable in-house free agent for the Denver Broncos is defensive end Dre’Mont Jones.

Jones, 26, is one of the top interior defensive linemen scheduled to become a free agent this month, and the Broncos would like to re-sign him. Speaking at the NFL combine earlier this week, general manager George Paton described the team’s talks with Jones as “very positive” leading up to free agency.

“I’ve spoken with his agent, Kyle McCarthy, from Athletes First,” Paton said. “I’ve had a number of conversations with Dre’Mont. Dre’Mont is a very good player. He’s one of our core players on defense. They’ve been very positive.”

Paton has said in the past that the team makes it a priority to re-sign “core players” to long-term extensions. Despite the positive talks with Jones, though, the defender plans to test free agency and the Broncos will not place a one-year franchise tag on him, according to KMGH-TV’s Troy Renck.

Placing a franchise tag on Jones would cost Denver $19.73 million this season. A long-term deal would likely have a much lower salary cap hit in 2023 and in the early years of the contract. In order to sign him to an extension, though, the Broncos will likely have to compete with other teams who could drive up Jones’ price.

Paton wants to keep Jones on the roster, but it remains to be seen just how much Denver is willing to pay in order to make that happen.

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What is an unrestricted free agent in the NFL?

An unrestricted free agent is a player with at least four years of experience and an expiring contract. They can negotiate with any team.

The NFL’s free agency period will officially begin at the start of the new league year on March 15, but free agency will practically begin with the opening of the NFL’s negotiating window on March 13.

On the Monday before Wednesday’s new league year, teams can begin negotiating — but cannot sign — unrestricted free agents from other teams. Any potential contracts negotiated on Monday (March 13) and Tuesday (March 14) can’t become official until Wednesday (March 15).

So, what is an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in the NFL?

Simply put, a UFA is a player with at least four accrued seasons in the NFL and an expiring contract. Players who fit that category are allowed to negotiate with any team beginning March 13.

This year, the Denver Broncos have 17 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents.

Broncos unrestricted free agents

Player
OT Calvin Anderson
OT Billy Turner
OT Cam Fleming
OL Dalton Risner
OL Tom Compton
TE Eric Tomlinson
TE Eric Saubert
TE/FB Andrew Beck
RB Latavius Murray
RB Mike Boone
RB Marlon Mack
DL Dre’Mont Jones
DL DeShawn Williams
LB Alex Singleton
LB Dakota Allen
CB Darius Phillips
DB Kareem Jackson

Denver also has a handful of restricted and exclusive rights free agents. We’ll have more on those designations in the coming days.

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Broncos seem unlikely to place franchise tag on Dre’Mont Jones

The Broncos seem unlikely to give Dre’Mont Jones a $19.73 million tag — unless they are confident a long-term extension would soon follow.

The NFL’s window for 2023 franchise tags opened on Tuesday. Teams can place a one-year franchise (or transition) tag on one player between Feb. 21 and March 7 ahead of the NFL’s free agency negotiating window that begins on March 13.

For the Denver Broncos, the only logical candidate for a tag this year is defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones, but even he seems unlikely to get the designation. Tagging Jones as a defensive end would cost the Broncos $19.73 million in 2023 salary cap space.

Denver might make such a move to buy more time in negotiations (something they did in the past with safety Justin Simmons), but that would be a risky decision. If a player receives a tag, their team has until July 15 to negotiate a long-term extension. If a multi-year deal is not signed before the July deadline, the player is locked in to play on the tag that season.

So if the Broncos placed a tag on Jones and weren’t able to get an extension done before mid-July, Denver would take a $19.73 million cap hit this season. It’s hard to imagine the Broncos being willing to do that.

Jones has a projected market value of about $14.5 million per year, so the team could realistically give him an extension and end up with a much lower cap hit than the tag would carry.

Denver has not yet made a decision on Jones’ tag status, and they probably won’t make a decision until closer to the March 7 deadline. Unless they are confident it’s just a stepping stone toward a long-term deal, though, the Broncos seem unlikely to use the tag on Jones this spring.

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Projected contracts for 5 of the Broncos’ in-house free agents

Here are the projected market values for the Broncos’ top five in-house free agents this offseason.

The Denver Broncos are projected to have about $13,698,473 in salary cap space this offseason, but the team could bring that number up to $57,218,495 by restructuring select contracts this spring.

More than $57 million worth of cap space would allow the Broncos to make some splashes during NFL free agency, but fans in Denver shouldn’t forget that the club has several in-house free agents who should be re-signed as well.

If the Broncos re-signed defensive lineman De’Mont Jones, guard Dalton Risner, linebacker Alex Singleton, safety Kareem Jackson and tackle Cam Fleming at their market values, it would cost the team about $38,350,578 in 2023, according to projections from Pro Football Focus and Spotrac.com.

Here’s a quick look at the projected market values for five of Denver’s free agents this offseason.

Broncos DL Dre’Mont Jones ranked 15th on ESPN’s list of top NFL free agents

ESPN ranks Broncos defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones as the 15th-best free agent this offseason.

If the Denver Broncos are going to re-sign their top in-house free agent this offseason, they will likely have to fend off competition from other teams.

Broncos defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones is ranked No. 15 on ESPN’s list of the top 50 NFL free agents this spring (subscription required for link).

Jones is the third-highest-ranked defensive lineman on Matt Bowen’s list, behind Javon Hargrave (No. 3; Philadelphia) and Daron Payne (No. 4; Washington). He is the second-highest-ranked free agent in the AFC West, trailing only left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (No. 2; Kansas City).

Jones is an interior defensive lineman who split his time between defensive tackle and defensive end in Denver’s 3-4 defense last season. Jones had a career year in 2022, totaling 47 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 10 quarterback hits and one forced fumble in 13 games last year.

Jones is now set to become an in-demand free agent in March, and he might prove difficult to re-sign for Denver if other clubs drive up his price. The Broncos could try to re-sign Jones before free agency begins, but the defensive lineman will likely want to test the open market.

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Here’s the full list of upcoming Broncos free agents

Which Broncos players are scheduled to become free agents in 2023? Here’s the full list.

The NFL’s new league year will begin on March 15, kicking off 2023 NFL free agency. Before making any cap-saving moves, the Denver Broncos are projected to have about $13.6 million worth of salary cap space this offseason.

In addition to looking for talent elsewhere, Denver might first turn its attention toward its own in-house free agents.

Here is the complete list of every Broncos player scheduled to become a free agent this spring, courtesy of Spotrac.com.

Broncos unrestricted free agents

Player
OT Calvin Anderson
OT Billy Turner
OT Cam Fleming
OL Dalton Risner
OL Tom Compton
TE Eric Tomlinson
TE Eric Saubert
TE/FB Andrew Beck
RB Latavius Murray
RB Mike Boone
RB Marlon Mack
DL Dre’Mont Jones
DL DeShawn Williams
LB Alex Singleton
LB Dakota Allen
CB Darius Phillips
DB Kareem Jackson

Broncos restricted free agents

Player
QB Brett Rypien
DB P.J. Locke
DB Esssang Bassey
LS Jacob Bobenmoyer

Broncos exclusive rights free agents

Player
LB Jonas Griffith
P Corliss Waitman
OLB Jonathan Kongbo
OL Quinn Bailey

Broncos general manager George Paton and new coach Sean Payton will have a “collaborative” partnership this offseason to improve the team’s roster ahead of the 2023 NFL season.

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