Back in February, Sean Payton spoke about the Denver Broncos needing to improve in "the middle" of the defense, which emphasizes the linebackers and safeties. Since then, the Broncos are rumored to be ready and willing to spend at linebacker to find an upgrade to pair with Alex Singleton.
The linebacker market has been insane so far this offseason. The explosion of the linebacker market started with Zack Baun re-signing with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Baun's deal averages $17.5 million per year. He played an integral role in the Eagles' path to the Super Bowl and was a favorite for Broncos fans, mainly due to his familiarity with Payton — the head coach of the New Orleans Saints when they traded up to draft the linebacker.
Since then, the soon-to-be 35-year-old Bobby Wagner signed a deal worth up to $9.5 million for one year to remain with the Washington Commanders, Derrick Barnes signed for $$8.5 million annually with the Detroit Lions, and Terrel Bernard re-upped for $12.5 million annually with the Buffalo Bills. Each new contract ranks in the top 15 in annual pay at linebacker, with Bernard ranked the sixth-highest and Baun at third-highest.
All of them re-signing is good news for the remaining free agents. Players like Nick Bolton, Robert Spillane, Jamien Sherwood, Lavonte David, Dre Greenlaw, and Ernest Jones IV, among many others, are set to hit the open market. When a player hits the market, they can negotiate with any team, obviously, which can help them secure a bigger contract.
The linebacker contracts handed out thus far are a good baseline for many of these impending free agents. As the Broncos look to upgrade the position, this isn't great news because even if they were willing to spend big on linebacker, they're now in a position where they'll have to be willing to go even deeper into the Walton/Penner ownership group's purse.
Another option for the Broncos, if they don’t want to spend at the current market rate, is to look ahead to the NFL draft. Alabama's Jihaad Campbell and Georgia's Jalon Walker could move up the Broncos' big board. They're versatile linebackers who could be effective in the Broncos' defensive scheme, but they'd come at a draft cost compared to the free-agent market.
Investing a Day 1 or 2 draft pick into a linebacker doesn’t flow with what many Broncos fans want, which is a running back or tight end. But Denver may look to sign band-aid solutions at linebacker if the team is unwilling to spend big in the booming free-agent market.
There was a strong belief that the Broncos were willing to make a splash at linebacker in free agency. That may still be true, even as the market explodes, but the Broncos likely didn’t expect it to go gangbusters.
That could cause the Broncos to change their plans as free agency opens on March 12, with the legal tampering period starting March 10. Time will tell what kind of impact these signings will ultimately have on Denver's free-agency plans, but there's no doubt they'll have some influence.
