The Broncos are committed, it seems, to preserve most every possible piece of their locker room from 2025.
Denver has agreed to terms on a one-year deal to bring back TE Lucas Krull, a source with knowledge of the deal told The Denver Post. It’s a veteran-minimum contract worth $1.145 million in base salary, coming with an $100,000 signing bonus, a $100,000 bonus for making the initial 53-man roster, a $5,000 per-game bonus and up to $200,000 in additional incentives, the source said. The deal is contingent on a completed physical.
The 27-year-old Krull had a largely lost season in 2025, playing just three games and recording two catches for 15 yards before suffering an ultimate season-ending Jones fracture in his foot. In 2024, though, Krull led all Denver tight ends in receptions with 19. The Broncos had opened Krull’s 21-day window to return from injured reserve at the end of the 2025 season, heading into the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.
The 6-foot-6 Krull originally signed in New Orleans as an undrafted free agent in 2022, before signing to the Broncos’ practice squad in 2023. In three seasons in Denver, he’s amassed 29 catches for 262 yards and a touchdown in 23 active games.
The move ensures that Denver has every single tight end originally on its active roster in 2025 back in the fold for 2026, despite both head coach Sean Payton and the wider Broncos fanbase viewing the TE room as an area for necessary improvement. The Broncos re-signed veterans Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins before the start of free agency, and still have key 2025 signing Evan Engram in the fold as Wednesday marked the start of the NFL’s official free-agency period.
The Broncos also re-upped with reserve defensive lineman Matt Henningsen on Wednesday, a source confirmed to The Post. It’s a one-year, veteran-minimum deal for Henningsen, a sixth-round pick in 2022 who’s spent four years in the organization.
Henningsen missed the entire 2025 season with an Achilles tear, and spent the 2024 season on the practice squad. He played in every game for the Broncos in 2022 and 2023, recording a combined 40 tackles and a sack across the two seasons.
This offseason of retention continues for Denver. The Broncos now have just one player left in free agency — running back Jaleel McLaughlin — who began the season on their 2025 active roster, and have lost just two (John Franklin-Myers and P.J. Locke) to deals with new franchises.
