Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Facing Tough Decision With Alex Singleton?

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

Are the Denver Broncos facing a tough decision regarding Alex Singleton as they prepare for the 2025 season? With NFL Free Agency approaching, Singleton's name has been thrown out a few times as a potential cap casualty, but why does that not make sense for the Broncos defense as he makes his return from an ACL injury. Could Mike McGlinchey restructure his deal before March 18th, and could we see the Broncos give John Frankllin-Myers a contract extension? Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos. WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today -- Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBroncos?sid=YouTube Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedingerFollow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With NFL free agency right around the corner of the Denver Broncos have plenty of salary cap space, but they could restructure some deals and there are some players who could be capped casualties. We'll take a look at three names that people are talking about as it pertains to the Broncos offseason. We'll break that down much more here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening in Broncos country? time it is. It's time for a brand new episode. Locked on Broncos, part of the Lockedon

Podcast Network, where it is your team every day. Thank you so much to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for making us your first listen of the day, however you choose to do so. Make sure you subscribe or follow for free wherever you get your podcast. So you never miss out on fresh daily Broncos news content coverage analysis and more every single day all year long, even throughout the entire off season, because Broncos country, for the true fan, there is never in offseason. I'm Cody. Roarck Credential Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. Joined, as always by Sarah Bettinger.

Site expert over there, predominantly orange.com. And look, we got a lot to talk about here on today's episode of the show here as we look at. The Broncos navigating the start of NFL free agency. Who are some cap casualty candidates or restructured candidates on this roster? John Franklin Myers' name was brought up by NFL.com, but we'll tell you why that's not an option here for Denver. Mike McGlinchie, a potential restructure candidate, will dive deep into his contract. We're going to kick things off by looking at a possibility.

And one of the things has been talked about this off season, will the Broncos cut Alex Singleton going into the off season? This is some questions that we have here. We're going to break it down on today's show. So, Sarah, let's kick it off here with obviously the premier topic. When we look at the linebacker situation, Alex Singleton's name has been brought up several times throughout the off season as a potential cap casualty,

someone that they could potentially cut as they look to make more salary cap room space. I'm stuck here because look, I don't think that Denver should do it. But when you look at the financial aspect of it, you look at him coming off the ACL injury, you have to wonder what the plan is for Singleton here with all those, you know, factors and circumstances kind of going, you know, summarizing him with the injury there. I would say the reason I don't think it'll happen, Sarah, on my end is because I think Denver's got a good enough salary cap space. They're not in the position that they were last year where they had to release Justin Simmons as part of the Russell.

Wilson thing. Right. And Alex Singleton has zero dollars in guaranteed salary. So I mean, the thing with him right now, Cody, is that the Broncos are in a whatever they want to do sort position. He counts over $6 million against this year's salary cap. As a matter of fact, as I'm looking at over the cap right now, he counts exactly $6.913 million against the salary cap with a potential of $5.58 million in savings and only $1.33 million in dead cap if they cut him. So the Broncos could save over $5.5 million by cutting Alex Singleton. But again, you have to factor in. Is that salary cap hit of just under $7 million?

Is that really prohibitive to what you want to do this off season? And because Singleton has no guarantees on his deal, does it really hurt the Broncos anything to keep him around? Like to add cap space right now, Cody, it would mean that the Broncos have a clear plan in place to spend a majority of the, what, 42 roughly million that they have available according to over the cap. And George Payton has gone on record earlier this year saying they have 52 million in salary cap space, which means he knows something that we all don't. And so I can't help but wonder what would be the motivation of cutting Singleton other than it would have to be a football related move at this point, right? because it's not necessarily, man, we need these cap savings desperately. Because the Broncos really, they don't at this point in time.

They can afford to wait when it comes to Alex Singleton. They don't need to cut him right now. They could add cap space, as we're going to talk about later, without cutting anybody. And that's the reality of their situation right now. And so there's no desperation to cut Singleton. The only reasons it would make sense is obviously the injury that he had last year and the fact that he's 32 years old this coming season. Well, and I wanted to ask you another question because remember what they did with Tim Patrick last year, essentially they kind of ripped up his deal and kind of came up with really a new one, like in terms of that one year deal.

And ultimately, Tim ended up getting released after, you know, throughout the training camp roster cut process at that point there. But for a guy like Singleton, obviously coming off the ACL injury, I found it interesting, our good friend Mike Cliss put it out there when he did his little free agency preview over at 9News.com when he was looking at like, okay, hey, Alex Singleton, the Broncos are looking for a guy. that can run to pair with Singleton there. So part of me is thinking, okay, hey, at this point, an Alex Singleton release or a cut, I think would be surprising here, to your point about it wouldn't really necessarily help the Broncos. I mean, it does create some space, but it doesn't necessarily do anything that moves the needle for them

that they can't achieve, I think, by other means of a restructure or even getting some guys, some contract extensions here. And I think when you look at the outlook of the position as is, we already know, thankfully, George Payton, Sean Payton answered the question that they viewed Drew Sanders as an inside linebacker. So there is a solidified spot there. There's one guy there. Lavelle Bailey's the other guy. Now you have three unrestricted free agents. I think if you were to go on from these three unrestricted free agents and you cut Alex Singleton, it really puts, I think, a lot of pressure on the Broncos to get inside lineback. Right? Because that wouldn't just be one signing. They would

have to do two or three signings at that position, maybe even drafting a player at some point, in order, I think, to make the comfort level and the confidence level at that position be a little steady. Yeah, and George Payton said at the scouting combine on Tuesday that, like, they are going to add at this position, basically, is what he kind of said, right? I mean, I don't want to put words in his mouth, but when he was talking about Drew Sanders, he said that they're going to add competition at that spot. And I think you got to make it tough for both of these guys, Drew Sanders and Alex Singleton, to start for your team this coming year. And for Singleton, I like the idea you brought up, Cody, of kind of the Tim Patrick method, which was, man, the Broncos could have saved, I think, what was it, like 11 million or so last year by cutting Tim. And instead, they saved, I think, a little over half that or something like that.

Like, I can't remember the exact number, but just by restructuring his deal, ripping it up, giving him a new deal to basically pay him in whatever was owed dead money wise, something like that. And so why not do that with Singleton? and why not say, hey, you're slated to count roughly $7 million against this year's salary cap. We could save almost $5.6 million by cutting you. So let's split the difference here. We'll give you $2.5 million or $3.5 million, and it'll slash it'll give the Broncos a little bit of cap space. Help them sign their draft class.

Help them put a, you know, a little something here towards who knows what it could be. I don't know what it is. But it could be anything that you use that for. It's valuable cap savings in the long. run and keeping Singleton around, it kind of gives you the option to say, look, we don't necessarily, we don't want to put all our cards on the table, right? And we don't have to do that. Singleton can start for you in if need be. And he could play a high level of special teams for you. So there's no really need to cut him completely without having solutions in place. And it takes away

your leverage leading into free agency, which is something you don't want. Well, I was laughing a little bit inside because you brought up like salary cap space for rookies. I always laugh every year where I was like, oh, they got to have at least $10 to $12 million to sign their rookies. I was like, I always laugh at that notion there that you have to allocate around $10 million for that. It changes. I mean, based on who, you know, who you sign, where you obviously draft them at, things along that line. Then you're undrafted rookie free agents. We're talking about really the high level deal, if I'm not mistaken, isn't around $250,000 signing bonus usually for like an undrafted guy.

So it's like why like $10 million that makes me laugh a little bit. when you look at it. But I think the bigger question here at the end of the day, regarding whether or not the Broncos cut or keep Alex Singleton is with him coming off the ACL, which he's made tremendous progress in his recovery. He's running. He's doing rehab every single day at the team facility is, do you feel like he can still play at the high level in which he was? Like here's the thing. For some of the physical traits that maybe Alex Singleton lacks at the lineback position, this guy makes up with his heart, his grit, his effort, intensity. He's a smart football player. He doesn't necessarily have to be the most physical guy there, you know, because he is anywhere the football is, Alex Singleton is there in pursuit. And I think there was a little bit of a narrative about him that he misses a lot of tackles. And I think if you go back and you look at pro football reference, he doesn't miss a lot of tackles there. And I just think overall, Denver is in a position right now. I think you need a veteran guy like Alex Singleton on your roster. Can he produce at the same level? I mean, I wouldn't be shocked if he comes into trending camp on a little bit of a pitch count there.

and maybe even to start the season, but you bring in competition. It elevates that, you know, that room. You're going to have a brand new inside linebacker coach to boot with that. That room, as you and I have talked about, is overgoing really a pretty big reset minus Singleton right now. Mine is Drew Sanders and LaVelle Bailey. Those are the only three guys you have on the roster guaranteed right now. So I'm very curious to see what the Broncos do with Singleton. I personally do not believe that they should move on from him.

If anything, Sarah, I more so am on board with the idea of, hey, can you approach him about maybe redoing his deal here and see what he brings to the table here in 2025, which will anticipateably be the last year on his contract. So for me, I think that's where Denver is going to have to look this offseason. Broncos country. How do you feel about Alex Singleton? Is he coming off the ACL injury? Do you think that he can still play at a high enough level?

And what do you think the Broncos should do? Should they keep him or should they maybe look to move on without any real grandstanding plan right now at that position? Make sure you let us know here on Locked on Broncos. but we're not done yet, Broncos country. We're going to take a look right now at whether or not the Broncos could approach Mike McGlinchie for a potential restructure of his contract. What would that look like?

What are the guaranteed numbers for 2025? You'll get that much more here on today's episode of the show. The Denver Broncos could add over 10 million in caps based by making one move, and it's not a roster cut. No, Broncos country. The team could restructure Mike McGlinchie's deal and potentially add another couple of starters in free agency as a result of that. Cody and I on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos,

is going to tell you exactly what that could look like and how or why they would be motivated to do that. But first, I want to say thank you to all you everyday listeners out there that make Lockdown Broncos your first listen of the day every single day. And if you're not already an everyday listener, hey, hit subscribe. It costs you nothing. It's for free. You can do it right now. It would take a couple of seconds. Really help out the show. Hit subscribe. Get us at the top of your algorithm. So you don't miss a single ounce of Denver Broncos. Broncos news content coverage and more this offseason. And as it relates to Mike McGlinchie, Cody,

I was doing a little digging on his contract situation for this year. You always look at, you know, what's the guy's cap hit? What's his base salary? How much money is he guaranteed this coming season? I was fascinated to find out that Mike McGlinchie's base salary in 2025 of a whopping 17.5 million. I mean, the dude's getting paid a million dollars. and then some every single game that's played this season. That base salary of $17.5 million is fully guaranteed this year for McGlenshy as of March 18th,

which as we know is a little over a week after the legal negotiating period of free agency begins. And so can't help but wonder if the Broncos would be motivated since that money is already basically fully guaranteed for this year. It makes McGlinchy maybe the most obvious restructure candidate since. you could kick that can down the road. And this is why it's a great thing to have cash rich ownership in a sense, right? Because you can front load that bonus there.

And then you can add void years to the deal essentially on the back end and continue to do that. And right now, I think when you look at it, McGlinchie's got the highest overall salary cap hit, I think on the roster in 2025. When you look at the highest contract, he's up there. Right. And obviously, luckily the Broncos, I felt like Mike played really well last year, Sarah, because remember in 2023, you and I were. sitting here saying, you know, hey, like Mike McGlinchy was good for a large portion of the season,

but, you know, the penalties were an issue. There are a few times where he had gotten beaten. I didn't feel like Mike had any of those moments where he was a reason the Broncos offense was going backwards. I thought having a quarterback like Bo Nixon, I think this also goes to Sean Payton's point about how sacks really are a quarterback stat at this point. You look at the difference between Boe Nixon and Russell Wilson and how maybe Mike McGlinchie, Garrett Bulls both played in the offensive line played.

I think it's a significant difference there. I thought Mike McGlensy did a really good job and look for him to suffer that MCL injury, go on injured reserve, missed that time and really come back with not even like a full practice there. Like remember, it was after that Los Angeles Chargers game. And Devin now had to prepare for the Saints on week seven Thursday night football. Denver didn't have any full official practices. Everything was an estimated walkthrough to come back off of the walkthrough, go through and play

the game there. I was impressed with McGlinchie who played at a higher. level than I thought he did in his first season with Denver. And then obviously now it's like, okay, Sean Payton talked about it. You know, the Broncos, they get to the playoffs, they losing the wild card round. Okay, hey, you know, they had a good season. They had some missed opportunities. But none of that matters now because Sean Peyton and George Peyton, they have flipped

the proverbial board over with all the pieces around. And now they're saying, we're starting over at this point as we build for 2025. Can't help but think, look, Mike McGlinch, she's a big part of what they plan to do here. They've talked about the investment in the offensive line where they're at. Asking McGlinchie to restructure at this point not only creates more salary cap space for you, but it allows you to add more pieces, whether it be on offense or defense that can maximize the window that you have now here with Bow Nix going into his second season. And because you're already committed to that 17.5 million as of March 18th,

like this isn't a situation where, hey, we get to see after, is he healthy after training camp? Is he healthy after the preseason? You are guaranteeing $17.5 million for this coming season as of March 18th, which means that you've already probably thought about the restructure that's going to happen this year. And now you can add that cap space. Actually, Cody, if you do a little digging on over the cap, what I find very fascinating is that the Broncos can add up to, I think their total was over $111 million in total cap space just by restructures.

and over the cap has done digging into every contract in the league in terms of what's the maximum restructure number for every player that's that's capable or eligible for that. The Broncos could jump all the way up to over 111 million in cap space this year. That's with $33 million, excuse me, in total dead money at this point. So I think that that's not obviously going to happen. They're not going to restructure every contract. But in case anybody's wondering about flexibility or how easily the. salary cap is manipulated, that question always comes up when we're discussing hypothetical moves

or trades or signings or things like that. People are like, well, we don't have enough money to do that. Folks, trust us. There's people out there that are not Broncos fans. I've done the research that I've proven that this team has the flexibility to do whatever it wants over the next handful of years. And the reason why kicking the can down the road is not a bad idea in this instance is, like I said on yesterday's show the percentage of the cap that the whatever the restructure

bonus would be, you know, spread out over the next five or six years. The reason why it's not a big deal is because the percentage of the cap gets lower and lower and lower every year that you're taking that hit. Smart teams are doing this, Cody. Smart teams are doing the void years. The Eagles are doing it. The chiefs are doing it. I know the Saints got into trouble with the Drew Breeze situation and they don't have a quarterback, but if the Saints had a quarterback, their situation wouldn't be as pronounced as it is. So I just think with McGlinchy, you could save potentially over $12 million.

That's where like the maximum the Broncos can save according to over the cap in terms of a restructure. They could save between $10 to $12.1 million. And I think that's a no-brainer. And that's, that would give us the figure that George Payton said back in January, right? I mean, the Broncos right now, they're at $42 million according to the estimates.

If you restructure McGlinchie, that would put you at $52 million roughly. So, I mean, that would set you up to do whatever you want in free agency. Well, and on top of that, too, we all know the NFL. They're trending towards an 18th regular season game. We've seen some of the rumors about, you know, NFL games where they're going to end up streaming next year, whether it's Netflix, all these other things. That only increases the salary cap revenue that is obviously going to impact the National Football League.

I wouldn't even be shocked, Sarah, if we see the salary cap jump up to $295 million to even $300 million in the next two to three years. years with where things are heading with the growth of the game, with the audience. I mean, the NFL continues to dominate the ratings. The numbers don't lie there. That factors into it there. These partnerships that are obviously coming up. You talk about all the sports betting things that are investing money into the NFL as well as the other sports leagues.

It makes sense that it's trending in that direction. And to your point, every year, you know, the bill looks a little bit different. It's almost like putting things on layaway. It's like, hey, I'm buying this, but I'm paying for it later on. But I'm paying in increments versus paying the. the full thing up front. So I think where Denver's at is in a good spot here. I wanted to ask you,

because this is an honor script of obviously players we're talking about. What would it look like for Ben Powers and his deal as a potential restructure? I'm very curious about that because obviously, you know, the left guard position, I don't think he was talked about a lot last year, which is obviously a good sign. I think he played relatively well last year. I think really Denver's biggest question mark on the O line really was the center

position. I liked what I saw from Ben Powers. Also, he's a guy that was also a big money free agent by Denver a couple years ago when they also signed Mike McGlinchie. Yeah. So according to over the cap, the potential there is for him to save up to $7.74 million on a restructure, Cody. And I don't know exactly how they break down those figures or where they exactly get it from. They're looking at different aspects, I think, of base salary as well as, you know, what money has, what money is still non-guaranteed that could be paid out as guaranteed money this coming season.

So Ben Powers is a guy that he could be restructured in that way and save you some money over $7.7 million. So that's another potential right there if the Broncos want to do that because they believe that they're set at these positions. And don't be surprised in the near future. I mean, the year after we saw Mike McGlinchy sign his deal, Cody, he redid part of his contract to add cap space, right? So don't be surprised if you see it from Quinn Miners down the road or Pat Sertan or players like that who have been given contracts. already. They've already been given guaranteed money. That's the benefit of having cash rich ownership right now is that the Broncos can do whatever they want with these long-term deals. Yes, you're kicking the can down the road, but you're also building for the future and present.

So I just think that's the way of things in the NFL. It's the way of things are trending. It's smart move for the Denver Broncos to do that. So there's certain cases that call for extensions and there's certain cases that call for restructures, guys who have just been given big money deals, think of those guys as restructure candidates, guys who are at the end of their big deals, think of those guys as extension candidates to potentially add cap space for this team. Nick Benito, Cortland Sutton, Zach Allen,

some names to obviously there. John Franklin Myers, obviously someone we're going to talk about here in a little bit on today's show. And also as well, it's like with those guys that just got the big extensions, Sarah, they're team guys. Like they'll gladly take,

hey, you're going to give me a signing bonus to create salary cap space? Sign me up for it. I'll do it. I would take $18 million as a signing bonus. Just say, hey, thank you so much for helping us create salary cap space. The Broncos could do all that. But NFL.com a couple weeks ago brought up John Franklin Myers' name as a potential cut candidate here for the Broncos. We'll tell you why this would be a crazy thing for the Broncos to even entertain or think of here on today's episode,

Locked on Broncos. John Franklin Myers, a cut candidate before the NFL offseason begins on March 12th. That's wild. NFL.com put something out not too long ago, suggesting that the Broncos could look at cutting John Franklin Myers. We'll tell you why it's crazy here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos real quick. Thanks to all the everydayers out there. Thanks for making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so, you know every single day when you wake up, your boy, Sarah and Cody, we got a brand new episode of Lockdown Broncos for you on your commute to work or if you're sitting at your office and you want something to get you through the day,

you know you got us. We always will bring you Broncos content wherever you're at. appreciate you so much for rocking with us, making the show exactly what it is, even throughout the entire offseason, where there might not be a lot happening, but there is a lot of moving pieces. It goes back to one of my favorite quotes from the Boondock Saints, Sarah. It's like, we're like 7-11. We're not always open, but we're always doing business. That's where we're at here. And obviously the Broncos, they're in the business of doing business. John Franklin Myers was brought up by NFL.com two weeks ago saying, hey, this is a cut candidate here for the

Broncos because it's going to create salary caps base. And I can't help but vent on this a little bit, right? Because I feel like a lot of these people who don't really know the teams, they look at maybe, okay, contracts, they look at, okay, what's obscure in terms of length remaining on a deal versus the money that they're making. Oh, that guy, he's a cut candidate at this point. I think if anybody watched the Broncos last season and saw John Franklin Myers, they'd be like, if the Broncos were to cut JFM, that would be like what the Jets did.

Like, thank you, Jets, for trading JFM to the Broncos. You're getting a great player who really fell into the laps. Like this, in my opinion, Sarah, JFM to Denver last year was the steel of the entire NFL offseason from a player standpoint. I think it's ridiculous that they would even entertain. Again, if they think about it, it's dumb to entertain cutting JFM. It is. I mean, I get where NFL.coms, whoever wrote the post, Cody, I get where they're coming from. Fantasy analysts or something like that.

Yeah, fantasy analysts. I'm not sure who it is. but, you know, John Franklin Myers has a cap 10 million this year, which is pretty large. You know, I get that. And cap savings of 7 million. So you're looking at 3 million in dead money. So the person who's making that article is saying, okay, who's got the biggest combination here of cap hit plus cap savings and lowest dead money, right?

That's what we're looking for. And so that's what that person did. And they took what they thought was the lowest hanging fruit, but they picked maybe the guy that makes the least amount of sense when you talk about potential cap cuts, because John Franklin Myers had a career high seven sacks for the Denver Broncos last year was outstanding for this team. And look, George Payton told us when he met with the media at the scouting combine, he said that when they graded last year's roster, the two highest graded units of any on the team were the offensive and defensive lines. And you already have a big name

free agent set to hit the market in DJ Jones. So you're talking about the potential that DJ Jones will test the market and potentially sign elsewhere, but then also cutting John Franklin Myers. So you're saying effectively, as this writer, you're saying that the Broncos would take from what they believe is their strongest unit last year and cut two of their most important guys or let go of two of their most important guys. I just,

I don't think that's wise business. I think that's roster malpractice. And I would be more so looking at, hey, let's add a couple more years to Franklin Myers' deal here and see if we can't keep him around into his early 30s. Well, and I think that's really where we're looking at.

at right now. Like the next logical discussion here for JFM was, hey, extend him, right? Imagine Denver takes care of Zach Allen, JFM, Nick Benito. You keep those guys that are very important on your front line of that defense there. You keep them in here long term as you already got guys like Jonathan Cooper locked up. DJ Jones could come back on a one to two year deal. But you're also like Sean and George Payton both also said at the combine as well is that they believe that their trenches are the strengths, but they also believe in continuing to add to that. Like, you can never have enough. Like we talk about it so much about you can ever have enough cornerbacks, you can never have

enough edge rushers. The principle now around the NFL is you can never have enough depth at your defensive line. I mean, Denver went out and they got Malcolm Roach. And obviously, we saw Jordan Jackson take a massive leap in his game last season. And I think that there's room on that defensive line where the Broncos can obviously upgrade and improve. And I think that involves maybe moving on from Ennio Mo Azareke. I think Denver can add a player who can give them more at that position than any can at this point to me cutting that, as you said, I would be furious. I mean, we would do a breaking news episode of the Broncos were to entertain moving off from

JFM and say, what are they doing when George Payton and Sean Payton have clearly said, we love what we have here. It's the strength of our team. We believe in adding depth to it to make it even better and stronger going forward here. It's wild. So I think JFM is more so an extension candidate here of this offseason than anything else. Yeah, and it's important to remember, too, that the Broncos are currently projected at over 130 million in next year's salary cap.

So that's where the- No dead cap? There's no dead cap, zero dead cap for the Broncos next year. So we'll have a party on the show at the beginning of the 2026 league year, I suppose, to celebrate that. But look, the reality is, is that they're in a prime position to extend guys for the next window of time. It doesn't have to be a five or six year extension for guys. You can really help the team now and into the immediate, relative immediate future,

two to three or two to four years by just slapping an extension on a guy and kicking the can down the road of when you have to come to the decision of cutting him. That's just the reality the Broncos are currently living in now that they're coming away from the Russell Wilson deal and into the meat of Bo Nix's rookie quarterback contract. That's a huge situation for them to have a hundred and three, 30 plus million on next year's cap. It means that they can, they have flexibility, ultimate flexibility over the next two to four, maybe two to five years to extend whoever they want to.

And two years from now, let's say 2027, we're having the same conversation. That's where John Franklin Myers might be a cut candidate because he'll be what, 30, 31, 32 years old, something like that. So that's where you have those discussions, not when the guy is 28 and coming into the best years of his NFL career playing on a very team friendly deal. Yeah, no, I agree with you as well. And also it goes back to, and I don't think we touch on this enough, the youth movement that Denver had to embrace last year, they have so many young guys on this roster, Sarah, that allows them, I think, that ultimate flexibility. Right.

If these young guys play up to their potential, I mean, Denver is getting good value from those players and those positions. And you look at estimated market value from some of those guys as obviously time goes on. Denver is going to be in a good position to extend some of the younger guys years down the road, which in return, we talk about the higher, salary cap space every single year and more wiggle room. Well, now that just extends it even further. You know, you get rid of the dead cap after this season. You already have an anticipated number going into next year. But then let's say you get some extensions done this year,

that makes it even more big, you know, not even more bigger, but even more wiggle room here for George Payton, Sean Payton to maneuver. And I'll say this, one thing that George and Sean talked about, and specifically more so George at the NFL Combine, when talking about building around Bonnix, she said, we need to build the right way. And it's not necessarily like adding the best wide receiver is going to help with Beau.

It said, we need to make the best team overall around Bo, the better, you know, as best of a defense as we can, the best special teams that we can. And also the best offense that we can around Bo. It's not just, hey, can we get Bo Nix this guy? It's how can we make this whole entire team better so that they can compete down the road? That's the strategy. And I think that's the mindset here of this Broncos team, which, Sarah, I'm excited about it, man.

I've had Broncos fans message me comment on. TikTok videos about the level of excitement that they have, that they haven't had about this franchise for a, you know, eight, nine years in a sense. And that it's actually tangible. They feel it. They believe in it more importantly. That to me, I think, has me more fired up than anything. It's, it's the most exciting time since 2012, 2013, right? When it was kind of the beginning of the Peyton Manning era. I mean, at the back end of the Peyton Manning era, it was more so of like anxiety and stress of wondering, like, are they going to be able to do this before Peyton's career is over? But at the beginning of that, it was, you know, everybody's just dreaming of who

could we, who could we sign next? Who could we bring in next? I mean, there's no limit to the possibilities because guys are going to want to play for Peyton Manning or play with Peyton Manning. Guys are going to want to play in Denver. I think now the reality is that the Broncos are a destination team again. They're going to be on the list for just about every team. And we know George Payton promised it when he was hired back in 2021. We're going to be in on every deal. Now the Broncos are actually a name to watch in those sorts of situations. So where like, man, players are going to want to go there.

The ownership got the cash on hand. You got the training facility. You got the training staff that's keeping guys on the field. I think now you've got the quarterback, obviously, with Bo Nix that players around the league are going to want to play for Bo Nix. And I think that that's going to be a huge, huge factor this offseason contributing to the excitement level. It's just something we haven't experienced in Broncos country for a really long time. And the idea of this two or three years ago would have been crazy. Like if we would

have went back three years ago on this very day talking about the Broncos, I don't think we would have this level of optimism and also excitement about where they're going. I think it's a complete 360 from the Nathaniel Hackett era now to what Sean Payton has done in just his first two seasons as the team's head coach. I mean, it's a drastic difference. And I think this is something where, as I mentioned, Broncos fans, they tangibly feel that way and they believe it, more importantly. But Broncos, country, we want to know your thoughts on today's episode of the show. We discussed Alex Singleton, whether or not the Broncos should keep him or move on from him to create some salary cap space,

whether or not Mike McGlens, you'll be a restructured candidate and the idea of cutting John Frank Lamar's, would be wild here. Let us know your thoughts on today's episode of the show. But Broncos, country, one thing you can guarantee is Sarah Bedinger, myself. We'll be back tomorrow for a brand new episode of the show. Plus, you're going to get an NFL squad episode here on the locked on Broncos feed. With that said, Broncos country, we appreciate you so much. We'll see you tomorrow for a brand new episode of the show.