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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- As the Denver Broncos crunch the numbers this offseason, big-ticket contracts for some of their most notable players are under scrutiny. The uncomfortable truth is the Broncos are going to need more cap space if they plan on entering the Kirk Cousins derby or if they’re even going to be a major player in free agency beyond what they do at quarterback. They also have to keep the roster deep enough to attract free agents in the first place. That means if they release some veterans in the coming weeks -- or let some of their own free agents move on -- they’ll need some of their younger players to be prepared to fill the gaps left behind. They can't afford to get those decisions wrong. Last season, it was safety Justin Simmons, a third-round pick in 2016, whose readiness to play put the Broncos in position to release T.J. Ward. The Broncos have young players who are similarly ready to step up this year -- players they hope are prepared for more, such as running back Devontae Booker and tight end Jake Butt. Booker, a fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, is headed into the third year of his rookie deal and is scheduled to count $725,848 against the cap for the upcoming season -- far less than C.J. Anderson ($4.5 million). Butt was a fifth-round pick in last April’s draft but missed his rookie season as he continued to recover from a knee injury he suffered in his last game at Michigan. His cap figure ($555,237) is far less than what Virgil Green's would be if the Broncos elected to re-sign Green as an unrestricted free agent. The Broncos face another tough decision at cornerback. While Bradley Roby’s cap figure for 2018 is $8.526 million, it’s still much less than Aqib Talib’s $12 million. The Broncos would save $11 million if they believe Roby is ready to start and release Talib. The Broncos, with 59 players under contract for 2018, project to have roughly $26 million to $29 million worth of salary-cap space with things like their draft class still to be included as well. That puts them below the league average and roughly 18th overall. If they plan to be active in free agency -- especially for a player like Cousins, who is expected to get a deal averaging $30 million per year or more -- they need to make more cap room. Their options include renegotiating hefty contracts or releasing players while keeping an eye on minimizing the impact of “dead money" (salary-cap charges for players no longer on the roster). To make that work, Denver has to be right on players who might be ready to ascend such as Booker, Butt and Roby. Right now, the Broncos have just under $366,000 worth of dead money charges on the books for 2018, a low figure that gives them flexibility some other teams don’t have. Talib's deal is structured in such a way that the Broncos will face a $1 million dead money charge if he's released. The Broncos would take on no dead money if Anderson were released. As president of football operations/general manager John Elway mulls what the Broncos' next moves will be, he hopes to avoid making a 5-11 team weaker before it gets stronger. “I don’t like taking away from strengths" is how Elway put it last month. The Broncos’ salary-cap status could force them to take some risks as they move forward.
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