Broncos restructure contracts of Zach Allen, Ben Powers to create cap space

After restructuring the contracts of Ben Powers and Zach Allen, the Broncos have about $46.35 million in available salary cap space.

Entering Day 2 of the NFL’s free agency negotiating window, the Denver Broncos continue to create salary cap space through simple restructures.

The latest moves: Denver restructured the contracts of defensive lineman Zach Allen and guard Ben Powers, ESPN’s Field Yates first reported Tuesday. The two transactions will save just shy of $20 million in salary cap space this season.

Allen and Powers both had their base salaries ($14.25 million) converted into signing bonuses. Their salaries are lowered to $1.125 million and the signing bonuses will be prorated over the remainder of their contracts, lowering their 2024 cap numbers.

Allen now has three void years at the end of his deal (2026-2028) and Powers has two void years (2027-2028). The Broncos get instant relief now, but the team is kicking the cap hits down the road. Allen is now scheduled to have a cap hit of $12.225 million in 2026 when his contract voids and Powers will have a cap charge of $4.35 million when his deal voids in 2027.

The NFL’s salary cap is expected to increase every year, so those void years shouldn’t be too difficult for Denver to handle, but it’s worth mentioning that the Broncos are saving cap space in 2024 at the expensive of future years.

At the time of publication, OverTheCap.com estimates that Denver now has about $46.35 million worth of cap space in 2024.

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Broncos’ sack leaders from 2023 season

Jonathon Cooper (8.5) led the Broncos in sacks in 2023, followed by Nik Bonitto (8.0) and Zach Allen (5.0).

The days of Von Miller recording double-digit sacks seem like a distant memory for Denver Broncos fans.

The Broncos are going to need more from their pass rush in 2024 after an underwhelming campaign from Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto last fall.

In terms of sacks, Denver’s third-best pass rusher this season was Zach Allen, an interior defensive lineman who recorded five sacks in 2023. That’s a good total for a defensive tackle, but the fact that the Broncos did not have a third edge defender with five or more sacks is alarming.

Consequently, bringing in a top pass rusher should be a priority for Denver this offseason. Before free agency and the draft arrive, here’s a quick look back at the Broncos’ leaders in sacks from the 2023 season.

Josey Jewell won’t use finger guns celebration in 2024 after fines from NFL

After inconsistent rulings from the NFL in 2023, Broncos LB Josey Jewell will retire his finger guns celebration.

Denver Broncos inside linebacker Josey Jewell — nicknamed “The Outlaw” — plans to retire his finger guns celebration after being fined by the NFL for using it during the 2023 season.

Jewell was originally fined $13,659 for “unsportsmanlike conduct” (the celebration) against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8. Jewell pointed his finger guns up in the air like a cowboy, but the league does not permit “any act resembling shooting a gun.”

Jewell appealed that fine and the NFL rescinded it.

Jewell then assumed he was in the clear, and he used the celebration again against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14. That assumption was wrong.

The league fined Jewell $13,659 for his second “offense.” The linebacker appealed again, but his fine was only reduced by 20% to $10,928.

“He’ll have to retire it because we like our money,’’ Jewell’s agent, Jack Bechta, told The Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson last week. “We’re just disappointed with the inconsistency from the league.”

So, unless there’s another twist in the saga, we’ve seen the last of Jewell’s signature celebration.

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15 takeaways from the Broncos’ first season under Sean Payton

Here are 15 quick takeaways from Sean Payton’s first season with the Broncos.

After starting 4-11 last season, the Denver Broncos fired first-time head coach Nathaniel Hackett with two games remaining. Jerry Rosburg then took over on an interim basis and the club split their final two games to finish the year with a 5-12 record.

After firing Hackett, the Broncos’ new ownership group wanted to go big, so they agreed to trade first- and second-round draft picks to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a third-round pick and the rights to head coach Sean Payton last January.

While Denver did not qualify for the playoffs, the team did take a step forward in Year 1 under Payton, improving from 5-12 in 2022 to 8-9 in 2023. That marked the team’s best record since 2017. The next step is posting a winning record and qualifying for the postseason in 2024.

So, what did we learn from Payton’s first season in Denver? Here are 15 quick takeaways from the Broncos’ 2023 season.

Broncos and Lions bring diverging defensive trends to a key Saturday night matchup

When the Broncos and Lions face off on Saturday night, it will be a story of two defenses that have changed dramatically.

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When the Denver Broncos and the Detroit Lions face off Saturday night at Ford Feld in Detroit, it’ll be one team fighting to maintain their division lead (the 9-4 Lions), and another trying to make a dent in the postseason picture after a horrible start (the 7-6 Broncos).

And in this case, we’re talking about two defenses that have gone in decidedly different directions in the second half of the season. That’s a good thing in Denver’s case. The Broncos ranked dead last in Defensive DVOA in through Week 9, and they rank sixth since. It’s even better for Vance Joseph’s defense against the pass — a team that ranked 32nd in Pass Defense DVOA through Week 9 now ranks third.

In the Lions’ case, it’s no bueno. Detroit started the season ranked eighth in Defensive DVOA through the first nine weeks, and they rank 28th since. The Lions ranked eighth in Pass Defense DVOA in the first half of the season, and they’re stuck at 28th since.

How can two NFL defenses go so strongly in different directions so quickly? Let’s go under the hood.

5 Broncos who deserve to make the 2024 Pro Bowl

These five Broncos players should make the Pro Bowl this season. Denver also has a few players worthy of honorable mentions.

Fan voting for the 2024 NFL Pro Bowl has opened and several Denver Broncos players are worthy of national recognition.

The Pro Bowl Games will feature a flag football game again 2024 with Peyton Manning (AFC) and Eli Manning (NFC) returning as coaches. Last season, Elis’s NFC squad defeated Peyton’s AFC team at the Pro Bowl.

Last year, cornerback Pat Surtain was the team’s only representative at the All-Star game. Surtain is likely to make the Pro Bowl again this season, and he might be joined by several teammates.

In addition to Surtain, Denver’s secondary also features star safety Justin Simmons, who previously made the Pro Bowl in 2020.

On offense, guard Quinn Meinerz has been turning heads this season and wide receiver Courtland Sutton keeps scoring touchdowns. The Broncos also have a key special teams player worthy of a Pro Bowl nod.

Honorable mentions: Quarterback Russell Wilson, defensive lineman Zach Allen, cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian, outside linebacker Baron Browning, running back Javonte Williams and fullback Michael Burton.

2 Broncos players were fined by NFL for finger gun celebrations

The NFL fined Broncos LB Josey Jewell and DL Zach Allen $13,659 each for their finger gun celebrations against the Chiefs.

A pair of Denver Broncos defenders were fined by the NFL during their bye week break over the weekend.

Broncos inside linebacker Josey Jewell and defensive lineman Zach Allen were both fined $13,659 for unsportsmanlike conduct against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8, according to ESPN’s Jeff Legwold and others.

After Jewell sacked Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the third quarter, the linebacker — nicknamed “The Outlaw” — celebrated by pretending to shoot in the air with finger guns. Allen joined in with his own finger guns.

As Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports pointed out on Twitter/X, the NFL will fine players for “any act resembling shooting a gun.”

The play was negated by a defensive holding penalty called against Denver’s secondary, so the sack does not count toward Jewell’s stats. The linebacker officially finished the game with five tackles, one pass breakup and one forced fumble. Allen totaled four tackles and a half-sack in a 24-9 win.

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Broncos DE Zach Allen dubbed a ‘phenomenal player’

“Zach [Allen] is a phenomenal player,” Broncos OLB Jonathon Cooper said of his new teammate.

After a quiet Bronco debut in Denver’s preseason opener two weeks ago, new defensive lineman Zach Allen made a much bigger impact against the 49ers in Week 2 of preseason.

Allen played 26 snaps against the 49ers and he made them count, totaling three tackles and one sack. Allen also helped teammates other teammates like pass rusher Jonathon Cooper get free by drawing attention up front.

“He brings a lot,” Copper said of Allen after the game in San Francisco. “Obviously, Zach is a phenomenal player. I feel like he’s getting better week-to-week and I feel like adding someone like him on a d-line has been a great help. The pressure that he can bring in the inside just makes it easier for us on the edge.”

After totaling 34 quarterback hits and 9.5 sacks over the last two seasons (28 games) in Arizona, Allen signed a three-year, $45.75 million contract with the Broncos. So far, he appears capable of living up to that contract.

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Broncos DE Zach Allen named one of NFL’s most underrated players

Zach Allen “could be the primary disruptor” on the Broncos’ defensive line this season.

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Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar recently published his list of the NFL’s top-32 most underrated players and Denver Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen made the cut.

Farrar describes the underrated players on the list as “secret superstars” — players who are “not given their proper due” by fans and pundits.

For the Broncos, he believes that player is Allen, who just signed a three-year deal with the team this offseason after spending the first four years of his career with the Arizona Cardinals.

Here is part of Farrar’s commentary on Allen:

The 6-foot-4, 281 Allen had his best season to date in 2022, with six sacks, 15 quarterback hits, and 14 quarterback hurries in 427 pass-rushing snaps. Allen’s sacks came everywhere from the edge to aligned over the guards to true nose-shade alignments — so, like his mentor, he’s developed into a guy who can harass quarterbacks from any place you’d like. … 

The recent addition of Frank Clark does something for a Denver defensive front in need of pass rush, but it’s Allen who could be the primary disruptor.

That’s a pretty promising endorsement for the 25-year-old defensive lineman. Allen is listed on the team’s roster as a 3-4 defensive end, but he can also play further inside, similar to the role Derek Wolfe played during his time with the team.

Fans will get their first on-field look at Allen when training camp begins next month.

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The NFL’s All-Underrated Team: One Secret Superstar for all 32 teams

From Matt Milano to Denico Autry to Tyler Lockett to Tony Pollard, here are the NFL’s most underrated players by team.

Why are great players underrated in any sport?

There are all kinds of reasons. In football, it could be that the guy playing your position is even better than you are, and he’s been doing it longer. Maybe we only have the attention span for one great player at your position Maybe you’re on a team that doesn’t get much national praise, or you’re part of a unit that… well, stinks… and you’re one of the few bright spots. Or, you’re just getting started on the ascent, and the world hasn’t quite caught up yet.

No matter the reason, there are many NFL players who ply their trade at an exceedingly high level, and they’re not given their proper due. Here, we look to rectify this in 32 individual instances with the most underrated player for every NFL team. Some of these guys have been doing it the right way in the shade for a long time for their teams; a few are new in their uniforms.

No matter why, all 32 of these NFL players deserve more love than they get, and here’s why. Here is every NFL team’s most underrated player.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated).