Kage Casey is a Garett Bolles fan.
Soon enough, he might be a left-side partner with the Broncos veteran, too.
Casey, the Denver rookie fourth-round draft pick, prides himself on versatility.
He manned the left tackle position for three years at Boise State, starting 41 games for the collegiate Broncos there.
He knew NFL teams would be potentially interested in seeing him kick inside to guard, so he played inside during the Senior Bowl. Then, at his pro day, he figured it couldn’t hurt to show off the ability to play center, too. He snapped for part of it, adding a potential fifth spot to his repertoire.
And when he landed with the Broncos in the draft, he knew all about the club’s left tackle.
“Playing tackle, I’ve watched Garett a lot,” Casey said earlier this month after Denver’s rookie minicamp. When he was drafted, Casey called Bolles, “a guy I try to model my own game after.”
Casey spent Denver’s rookie minicamp earlier this month playing mostly left guard, he said.
“He’s got flex, guard/tackle flex,” head coach Sean Payton said. “He is one of those guys who we felt could do a lot and even go inside and play center. I think we’re working him in at guard and tackle.”
When OTAs begin next month, of course, the Broncos are likely to roll out a quintet of highly paid veterans across their offensive front, with Ben Powers next to Bolles on center Luke Wattenberg’s left flank.
There is a natural wonder about Powers’ longevity on the top line for several reasons. He missed 10 games last year with a torn biceps, though a remarkable recovery got him back into the lineup down the stretch and into the postseason. He is the only Denver starter up front who is not under contract beyond this fall. Broncos general manager George Paton said earlier this offseason that the team is conscious of not aging across its line all at once.
At a glance, Powers looked like a salary cap casualty candidate this spring, entering a contract year with a cap hit of $18.16 million, the second-highest on the team behind right tackle Mike McGlinchey ($23.78 million). If there was any talk of a pay-cut, though, Powers didn’t blink. Denver informed him ahead of free agency, sources told The Post at the time, that they planned to keep him at his original contract terms and cap number.
Powers may be the most likely first change on a front thatap had remarkable continuity through Payton’s tenure here, but Denver is trying to be ready for whatever comes its way. Thatap part of what makes Casey and Denver’s next wave of linemen an interesting story heading into the summer and toward training camp.
What the Broncos have essentially done is try to give themselves as long a runway as possible. If McGlinchey and Bolles keep playing at a high level further into their 30s, thatap great. At the same time, Denver can get out of either contract before the 2027 season without too much pain.
If, in the worst-case scenario, the Broncos had to turn over three spots after 2026, they now have at least three initial candidates: Casey, Alex Placzewski (under contract through 2027), and Frank Crum (restricted free agent in 2027).
That trio, too, each has experience playing multiple positions. Denver thinks Casey could play any of the five. Palczewski has started at right tackle and left guard for the Broncos. Crum has filled in at both tackle spots, too. Alex Forsyth, entering the final year of his rookie contract, has been the trusted backup center to Wattenberg and has started ably over the past two seasons.
Those four could easily round out a nine-man opening 53-man roster come August, assuming good health across the board. Denver’s started each of the past two years with nine plus a heavy dose of practice-squad players. Perhaps this year the roster construction will allow — or demand — 10 offensive linemen to make the initial cut.
There are others who are interesting, too, like undrafted rookie free agents Tyler Miller and Gavin Ortega. Payton said earlier this month that Denver had draftable grades on linemen it signed as free agents afterward.
“You want to surround yourself with good people and you can only go as far as who you surround yourself with,” said Miller, a massive 6-foot-9 tackle who had options after the draft. “At the end of the day, that visit, learning what (run game coordinator Zach) Strief and (offensive line coach Chris) Morgan have to say and how they teach, I really liked it.”
Then there’s the veteran set of Calvin Thorckmorton, Matt Peart and Michael Dieter along with 2024 seventh-rounder Nick Gargiulo coming off a major injury last year.
Even landing a practice squad spot among this group won’t be easy. The complexion later this summer will be constructed with some balance in mind: Whatap best for the 2026 season and what sets the Broncos up with the best options and flexibility for the future?
Casey, for his part, is in line to be a key to both.
