Potential free agent targets for Broncos
Team already added depth along both lines this week
In explaining the Broncos’ decision to release veteran kicker Brandon Mcmanus on Thursday, coach Sean Payton acknowledged that money played a part.
It comes down to “musthaves” sometimes, he said, and Denver didn’t think Mcmanus fit that category when compared to the $3.75 million it could free up against its 2023 cap by jettisoning him with a post-june 1 designation.
Denver will need to sign a kicker, of course, so that will chew into the available money to some degree, but that’s not the only position Payton has his eyes on.
“The transactions continue here from now until training camp,” he said. “There may be a player of two that we are still looking to sign. We factored a lot of that in and then we made that decision.”
NFL Players Association data for the Broncos wasn’t fully current as of Thursday evening, listing $10.943 million in space but 93 contracted players. Let’s ballpark it and say Denver is likely sitting somewhere around $10 million in room to work with. It’s always nice to roll some of that over to the next year (the Broncos did that with about $10.6 million last year), but the team can be active in looking for veteran help either on the remaining free agent market or via trade in the next couple of months.
The Broncos added depth on both lines already this week in bringing back offensive tackle Cam Fleming and signing defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster.
Here’s a look at five veteran free agents who could potentially help the Broncos. You’ll notice a positional theme.
Edge Justin Houston: Broncos fans will remember Houston well from his dominant days in Kansas City.
He spent the past two seasons in Baltimore and, at 34, can still bring punch rushing the passer. He logged 9.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hits in 2022 while playing 44% of the Ravens defensive snaps. Is he a 60-snaps-per-game guy these days? Nope. But put him out there for 20 per game in pass-rush situations and watch opposing offensive lines still pay attention to him.
Edge Leonard Floyd: A 2016 first-round pick by Chicago, Floyd had nine sacks for the Rams in 2022 but was a cap casualty given his big salary and lack of remaining guaranteed money. He’s started 107 games in his career and has 47 career sacks. His best three years sackswise came over the past three, beginning with 10.5 in 2020, 9.5 in 2021 and nine last year.
Floyd wouldn’t necessarily have to be an everydown player for Denver, but he would provide some passrush juice to a group that has real questions. Floyd has 187 tackles (28 for loss) in three years with the Rams, who ran a similar defense under Raheem Morris to what Vance Joseph will have in Denver. He’ll turn 31 two days before Denver’s season-opener, but his market should start to heat up as camp draws closer.
Edge Yannick Ngakoue: Like Floyd, Ngakoue is a veteran pass-rusher who could provide stability in a group that’s been beset by injuries. Ngakoue has started 15-plus games in six of his first seven pro seasons. The Broncos’ top edge man, Randy Gregory, has played more than 12 games only once in his career. Ngakoue is younger than Floyd at 28 and posted 10 sacks in 2021 for Las Vegas and 9.5 last year in Indianapolis.