Contracts – Thin Air

Evaluation Of The Reoriented 2022 Broncos Offseason Road Map

At the conclusion of each Broncos season, I pave out a road map as to what my suggestions are to improve the roster. At this time of year, most relevant roster decisions have been made. Thus, as always, it’s a good time to evaluate my road map as compared to what the Broncos actually did, keeping me honest and making sure that I address anything I got wrong.

Of course, this year proved exceptional, as my initial road map was steered in a vastly different direction due to the agreement to trade for Russell Wilson before the 2022 league year started. Therefore, this evaluation is instead on the reoriented road map that was tweaked after the Wilson news broke.

Randy Gregory Contract Details

Per Over The Cap:

Year	Base Salary	Prorated Bonus	Regular Roster Bonus	Per Game Roster Bonus	Cap Number
2022	$4,000,000	$2,000,000	$0	$0	$6,000,000
2023	$14,000,000	$2,000,000	$0	$0	$16,000,000
2024	$13,745,000	$2,000,000	$0	$255,000	$16,000,000
2025	$12,745,000	$2,000,000	$1,000,000	$255,000	$16,000,000
2026	$12,745,000	$2,000,000	$1,000,000	$255,000	$16,000,000

2022 Broncos Offseason Road Map, Reoriented

On Februrary 8, I wrote this inside my annual Broncos offseason road map:

I will not consider any acquisition of a quarterback under contract with another team (looking at you, rumors of Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson) as realistic unless and until enough compelling evidence emerges otherwise.

Exactly one month later…yeah, I’ll take “Comments I’m Happy That Aged Terribly” for $400, Alex.

Suffice to say, trading for Russell Wilson is a massive change in direction for the Broncos and their 2022 plans, in a very positive direction. Finally, I can banish what has been at the top of the road map in some form in regularity, just like Brandon Perna wants to banish the carousel graphic:

1. Fix the quarterback position

That strikethrough text feels really good to see.

Nonetheless, there are still important goals remaining to achieve to fully get the Broncos to the best competitor they can be–and that is as a Super Bowl competitor.

2022 Broncos Offseason Road Map

Under the leadership of George Paton, the Broncos decided to go with major changes at coaching. Nathaniel Hackett now takes over at head coach, and will call offensive plays while extensively turning over staff on all three phases of the ball. Knowing the extent of these changes was needed in order to build a proper road map–and even then, there is still a small bit of uncertainty. This road map assumes that the Broncos will hire Ejiro Evero as defensive coordinator after the Super Bowl is over, and will retain much of the structure that the defense had under Vic Fangio.

This road map will also be shorter than most offseasons, as Paton has is already far ahead of schedule in resolving several major questions that were otherwise coming up as outstanding for 2022: Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick were both extended, Von Miller was traded to the Rams before his contract expired, and Graham Glasgow took a significant pay cut very soon after the conclusion of the season.

But make no mistake: there is still plenty of work to do, and that is because the Broncos remain on a playoff drought that is completely unacceptable to the standards of the organization. It is imperative that the team does what is needed to immediately get back to playoff football, where anything can happen once a team is in that tournament.

Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick Contract Details (Preliminary)

Yesterday, Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post released some details on the extensions for both Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick. These details tell us much about the new contracts, and through them, I can take some guesses at some other contract features, with varying levels of confidence. I still cannot square the numbers perfectly on a few aspects, so please consider the contract tables you’ll see below as provisional, and subject to change should more precise information come in.

Planning For The Broncos’ 2022 Free Agents

Next offseason, the Broncos will have a high number of unrestricted free agents to address. As of this publication, that stands at 21 players, and I identify 12 of those that could be important to retain beyond 2021. Normally, I would write up examinations of potential extensions for some of these players. This year, however, I believe there is so much uncertainty with nearly all these players that it would not be worthwhile to offer detailed contract examples at this point. Instead, I believe we need, at the very least, to see how these players do in training camp, and perhaps some regular season play as well, before we can get a better idea on what fair future compensation is, for both the team and the player.

Here’s a list of the players in question, and what we should be looking for on the field to help determine their contractual futures in the NFL.

Evaluation Of The 2021 Broncos Offseason Road Map

Justin Simmons Contract Details

Per Field Yates:

Justin Simmons’ four-year, $61M deal with the Broncos is very straightforward: $15M signing bonus plus salaries of $2M, $15.1M, $14.4M and $14.5M.

He’s played in 2,523 consecutive defensive snaps, longest in the NFL. A great homegrown player.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 21, 2021

Simmons’s contract table can be found beyond the fold:

Ronald Darby Contract Details

Per Aaron Wilson:

Ronald Darby (Broncos) three years, $30M, $19.M gtd, $9M signing bonus, salaries $1M (gtd), $9.5M (gtd), $9.5M; up to $500K per game active roster bonus 2022, 2023
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 16, 2021

Darby’s contract table should look as follows, below the fold:

Shelby Harris Contract Details

Per Aaron Wilson:

Shelby Harris (Broncos) three years, $27M, $15M gtd, $9M signing bonus, salaries $1M, ( gtd), $7.5M ($5M gtd), $8.5M, up to $500K in per game roster bonuses in 2022, 2023
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 15, 2021

Harris’s contract table should look as follows, below the fold: