The Broncos must be careful in these situations...
There are a handful of situations on the Denver Broncos roster heading into the meat of the 2025 offseason that require immediate attention. These situations are marked on general manager George Paton's desk as top priorities because if the Broncos don't handle them properly, things could get messy.
Along with team success, a lot of times comes the unfortunate reality of having to make very difficult roster situations. Luckily for the Broncos, they have the cash on hand and the cap space (nearly $42 million right now) to be as flexible as they need to be. There's no need to pinch pennies with the new ownership group and Russell Wilson's contract coming off the books in 2026, but there are still difficult decisions looming.
Let's take a look at a handful of situations that have been widely speculated on in recent weeks and what the Broncos might do in each, because there's a lot riding on these particular decisions.
3 major roster decisions facing the Broncos in 2025 offseason
1. What to do with WR Courtland Sutton
Courtland Sutton is currently entering the final year of his contract with the Denver Broncos, who adjusted his deal not once but twice in 2024. Sutton was the top receiver on the roster last year with a career-high 81 receptions for 1,081 yards and eight touchdowns. In many ways, it felt like the best year of Sutton's career. And yet there was also a feeling that there was some meat left on the bone when the season was over.
The last year of Sutton's contract (2025) counts $20.2 million against the cap with the Broncos on the hook for $13.325 million against the cap regardless of what they do. The savings for cutting or trading Sutton before June 1 would be less than $7 million and barely worth it for the Broncos unless they received a much higher draft pick than expected.
That hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning out more Sutton trade rumors already this offseason, all of them unfounded at this point. Sutton was Bo Nix's favorite target in 2024 so for the Broncos to move on from him, they would have to already have an alternative in place.
The smart move is probably just to add a couple of years to Sutton's deal and take the idea of him leaving Denver off the table completely.
2. What to do with DL John Franklin-Myers
An article from NFL.com recently sparked a lot of discussion in Broncos Country regarding defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, yet another player (of many) entering the final year of his contract in 2025. Franklin-Myers was outstanding for the Broncos last year after being acquired in a trade with the Jets, racking up a career-high in tackles (40) and sacks (7.0).
There's no doubt that Franklin-Myers is part of the core of this Denver Broncos roster but because he has the highest possible cap savings ($7 million) with a relatively low amount of dead money ($3 million), he's being tabbed as a potential cut candidate.
Cutting John Franklin-Myers would be roster malpractice for the Denver Broncos.
They should be looking into ways to secure him for the future as he's still just 28 years old. The discussion becomes a bit interesting when you consider that re-signing Zach Allen at some point is going to have to happen as well, but there's no way the Broncos can justify cutting Franklin-Myers, even with $7 million available in cap savings. No matter what, though, his situation will need to be addressed.
3. The backup QB situation
This one doesn't feel like all that big of a deal because of how good Bo Nix was as a rookie, but there is absolutely no question about the fact that the backup QB situation for the Broncos looms large over this team in 2025.
The Broncos have two quarterbacks -- Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson -- slated to hit NFL free agency. All of the quarterbacks and their wives (as well as Sean Payton and his wife) took an offseason trip to Cabo to get away for a bit. They have become the tightest-knit group on the team and you can't help but wonder if their trip together to Cabo was a last hoo-rah before they inevitably part ways.
Stidham and Wilson undoubtedly want to play. There might be opportunities out there for them to do that in 2025 and if that's the case, the Broncos are going to have to bring someone else in to be part of the quarterback room. Bo Nix needs a quality backup given the fact that just two seasons ago, 67 different quarterbacks started games across the NFL. It's a rough game.
The ideal scenario would be to bring back Wilson, who is younger and stylistically more similar to Nix, while Stidham would go somewhere as a bridge starter in 2025. Wilson can continue rehabbing his overall value in Denver where he is close to family.
But getting this situation right is very important for the Broncos. The voices in that QB room matter tremendously and those guys feed off of each other more than meets the eye for most fans.
