Which Broncos players are set to become unrestricted free agents? originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Denver Broncos‘ season is officially over, coming one step short of reaching the Super Bowl. The focus now shifts to the offseason.
About a month after Super Bowl LX, the new league year will go into effect. The first big event on the calendar is free agency and the Broncos should be looking at targeting some of the offensive weapons that will be available, who could come in and help Bo Nix in 2026.
But first, George Paton and Sean Payton will need to consider their own free agents. Though the team has some restricted and exclusive rights free agents, most of the focus is placed on the unrestricted free agents. What is the difference between a restricted and unrestricted free agent?
Restricted free agents can receive offers from other teams, but the Broncos would have a window of time to match that offer. These players have a tender placed on them, so if the Broncos are to lose that player to another team, they will receive draft pick compensation. For example, if they place a third-round tender on that player and another team signs him to an offer that they choose not to match, they will be given a third-round pick in the draft.
This does not happen very often, which is why most of the focus is placed on the players who are unrestricted free agents. These are the players who will be free to sign with any other team once the new league year starts, which will be on March 11 at 2:00 pm Mountain time.
Denver Broncos 2026 unrestricted free agents
John Franklin-Myers, DL
J.K. Dobbins, RB
Alex Singleton, LB
Justin Strnad, LB
Adam Trautman, TE
Michael Burton, FB
Geron Christian, OL
P.J. Locke, S
Lil’Jordan Humphrey, WR
Sam Mustipher, C
Marcedes Lewis, TE
Delarrin Turner-Yell, S
Quickly glancing at that list, there aren’t many huge names that you would consider “must keep” players for the Broncos.
The team would love to keep John Franklin-Myers in the fold, but will his price tag get too high? Alex Singleton is a tackling machine and defensive leader, but will the front office feel they can get that kind of production out of a younger and cheaper Justin Strnad, who is also a free agent?
READ:4 Broncos players who may have just played their final game with team
The biggest decision could come down to J.K. Dobbins. Dobbins was highly effective when he was in the lineup, but he was lost for the season in Week 10 and has had health issues throughout his career. Do the Broncos re-sign him or look outside the organization for a more reliable option, someone like Breece Hall?
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