The Denver Broncos are officially open for business as the NFL Free Agency period begins with the legal negotiating period. Free agents are allowed to negotiate deals that can become official with other teams on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. MT.

Denver Broncos NFL Free Agency tracker

To set themselves up for free agency, the Broncos did a lot of roster maneuvering this past week to become cap-compliant. Some of those moves featured the shocking release of veteran safety Justin Simmons and the anticipated release of quarterback Russell Wilson.

The Broncos also released veteran tight end Chris Manhertz to help free up some cap space, restructured Tim Patrick’s deal to keep him in Denver, and traded away former first-round wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.

All of these moves helped set the table for the Broncos to be around $25-28M in operating cap space for NFL free agency, according to Spotrac. Over the weekend, the team also took care of retaining veteran safety P.J. Locke, who will now take over as a starter inside of the Broncos defense this upcoming season.

Keep yourself dialed in at Mile High Sports as we track and monitor every free agency move the Broncos make. Whether the team signs a player, re-signs an in-house player, or a Broncos free agent signs elsewhere, this will help you keep track of every single move they make.

Broncos roster moves so far for NFL Free Agency Frenzy

Here are the cumulative moves the Broncos have made so far that will apply to free agency.

  • Broncos released Russell Wilson.
  • Broncos released Justin Simmons.
  • Broncos released Chris Manhertz.
  • Broncos did not tender Jonathan Harris.
  • Broncos restructured Tim Patrick’s contract.
  • Broncos restructured Mike McGlinchey’s contract.
  • Broncos trade Jerry Jeudy to Cleveland Browns in exchange for 2024 5th and 6th round picks.
  • Broncos re-sign P.J. Locke to two-year deal worth up to $7M.
  • Broncos signed former Miami Dolphins safety Brandon Jones for three years, $20M, $12.5 guaranteed, as first reported by Jordan Schultz.
  • Former Broncos center Lloyd Cushenberry signed a deal with the Tennessee Titans.
  • After initially signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars, kicker Wil Lutz changed his mind and signed a two-year deal to stay with the Broncos.
  • The Broncos have converted $28.5M of Ben Powers and Zach Allen’s contracts to free up cap space.
  • Broncos re-signed fullback Mike Burton to one-year deal.
  • The Broncos are signing former New Orleans Saints DT Malcolm Roach to a two-year deal worth up to $8 million.
  • The Carolina Panthers signed former Broncos linebacker Josey Jewell to a three-year deal.
  • The Broncos re-signed tight end Adam Trautman to a two-year deal.
  • The Broncos re-signed wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey to a one-year deal.
  • The Broncos signed former Washington Commanders linebacker Cody Barton to a one-year deal.
  • The Broncos re-signed linebacker Justin Strnad to a one-year deal.
  • The Broncos signed offensive tackle Matt Peart to a one-year deal.

Denver Broncos add Brandon Jones to secondary

The Broncos addition of former Dolphins safety Brandon Jones is a move that should give them positional versatility on the backend of the secondary. Jones has primarily been an impactful player in the box and is effective as a blitzer, but can also play the middle of the field.

With his arrival in Denver, he, P.J. Locke, and Caden Sterns could see quite a bit of time on the field together this upcoming season when the Broncos are in their dime personnel. Look for Vance Joseph and defensive backs coach Jim Leonhard to be creative with how they utilize these three safeties in 2024.

Wil Lutz returns to the Broncos on a two-year deal

After spurning the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Broncos will have Wil Lutz return this season on a two-year deal. Sean Payton traded for him last preseason and he converted 88% of his field goal attempts (30-of-34) and converted 29-of-31 PATs.

He was consistent for the Broncos special teams unit last season and came up big, including his game-winning field goal on Monday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills.

Mike Burton will be back in 2024

One underrated aspect last season for the Denver Broncos was Mike Burton. On offense and special teams, he brought consistency and energy that had a positive impact in those areas of the team.

Not only is he a high-effort player, he’s viewed internally as an important piece to what will hopefully be an improved rushing attack for the Broncos offense this season. On top of that, he’s also a core four special teams player that Ben Kotwica and Mike Westhoff value.

His return makes the outlook more challenging for last year’s undrafted rookie free agent Nate Adkins, who had somewhat of a red-shirt season.

Malcolm Roach is a boost to the Broncos defensive line

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Broncos general manager George Paton didn’t hold back when he said the team needed to get better at stopping the run. Adding Malcolm Roach is one move that will help the Broncos address that area of concern heading into next season.

The 6’3, 290-pound defensive tackle will likely be the projected starting defensive tackle for the Broncos, where he’ll be asked to hold firm inside the A and B gaps.

This projects Zach Allen and D.J. Jones to start at defensive end. With Roach’s addition, it doesn’t close the door on Denver potentially adding more help inside of the trenches defensively.

Denver Broncos re-signs TE Adam Trautman to a two-year deal

For the most part, it appears that the Broncos are running it back at the tight end position with Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull, Greg Dulcich, and Nate Adkins for now. After releasing Chris Manhertz to free up space, more questions arose about what Denver’s plan would be at tight end.

Trautman is in those plans, and while the move may not be popular in the eyes of Broncos fans, his role may be more clearly defined if the room can stay healthy. After Dulcich’s injury last year, Trautman took on more of the all-encompassing role of the position which saw a drastic decrease in overall production.

If Dulcich remains healthy, you can expect to see a lot of him and Krull as big flex options, which opens up Trautman for a role that could see him become a more consistent option on third down. Still, don’t be surprised if the team adds a tight end in the NFL Draft next month.

Lil’Jordan Humphrey re-signs with the Broncos

The Broncos brought back wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey on a one-year deal. Humphrey’s return puts the Broncos’ receiver room at nine, featuring him, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Marvin Mims, Michael Bandy, Phillip Dorsett, Jalen Virgil, Brandon Johnson, and David Sills.

Humphrey shined as a role player last season, appearing in 17 games for the Broncos and starting eight of them. He hauled in 13 catches on 19 targets for 162 yards and three touchdowns.

Nine of his 13 catches were enough to move the chains for a first down, and he was one of the Broncos’ better-blocking wide receivers last season.

If Denver’s offense can find a solidified signal caller this season, the overall distribution of the passing attack could be much more diversified this year, which could allow Humphrey to shine in a bigger role.

Broncos add former Commanders linebacker Cody Barton to one-year deal

The Broncos added former Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders inside linebacker Cody Barton to a one-year deal on Friday.

Barton’s one-year deal comes after the team lost veteran Josey Jewell to the Carolina Panthers. In Washington, Barton started 13 games last season and registered 121 tackles, one interception, and one fumble recovery.

More than likely, Barton will compete with Jonas Griffith for the starting job in training camp.

Broncos add offensive tackle depth, sign Matt Peart

The Broncos have added a veteran tackle option to the roster on March 20th. They signed former New York Giants Matt Peart to a one-year contract where he’ll presumably be the backup this season to Garett Bolles, with the experience to be a backup to right tackle Mike McGlinchey.

He’s a 6’7, 315 lb tackle who joins players like Demontrey Jacobs and Alex Palczewski as depth options at the position. Peart has appeared in 43 regular season games, starting in seven of them and appearing in two postseason games with the Giants.

The veteran tackle started one game last season at right tackle and appeared in eight games for the Giants, where he logged 133 offensive snaps and 30 snaps on special teams.