Kris Bryant’s last at-bat in Rockies pinstripes happened a year ago this past Sunday. April 12, 2025. Haven’t seen him since.

“Hey, look, I get it — baseball is a business,” Bryant’s father Mike told me during a short conversation last spring. “They want (Kris) hitting 40 home runs and hitting .300 … you got your Todd Heltons for that, and you’ve got your other guys. Kris is happy. When it’s all said and done, (Denver fans are) going to look back on Kris favorably.”

As a person? Without a doubt.

As a contract? As an investment? No chance.

Which is where the Broncos enter the picture, riding to the rescue on The Penner Sports Group, fronted by Broncos owners Carrie Walton Penner and husband Greg Penner, now possesses a 40% stake in the Rockies. As reported by The Post’s Patrick Saunders last Friday, the Walton-Penners are the largest minority investors for Colorado’s Major League Baseball team, topped only by the Monfort family, who retain team control.

The Broncos needed leadership and money to get out of the darkness and back into the AFC Championship Game. The Rockies need … well, everything. But more money and better leadership would be two welcome steps in the right direction.

Because, lest we forget, the Broncos had to bottom out before starting their three-year climb. The Penners and Waltons went all-in on Russell Wilson. They got a 5-12 train wreck in 2022 to show for it, all while fans counted down the play clock. At home.

Sean Payton wanted to wash his hands of Russ, who was clearly toast. So the Broncos ate $85 million in dead cap money over the ’24 and ’25 seasons for cutting Wilson, the kind of hit that’s supposed to punish a franchise for its free-spending folly.

Only a funny thing happened: The Broncos got better. Much, much, much better. And fast. Bo Nix hit. Nik Bonitto hit. Jonathon Cooper hit. Quinn Meinerz hit. Brandon Jones hit. Talanoa Hufanga hit anything within six feet of him. A lot of shrewd drafting, a pinch of smart free-agent signings and good coaching hoisted the Broncos from outhouse to penthouse.

The road is longer for the Rockies, who’ve lost 100 or more games for three straight seasons and will flirt with a fourth. The NFL is designed for parity, competitive socialism at its finest. Major League Baseball is the last of the major North American sports leagues without a salary cap.

But the Broncos couldn’t move forward until they chucked Wilson’s contract overboard and let Payton build a roster in his image.

And any hope for a new dawn in LoDo, any tailwind that pushes the Rockies forward, starts with getting Bryant’s seven-year, $182-million contract off the stinkin’ books. And as quickly as possible.

Not his fault, mind you. Nice guy. Amazing dude. Bryant’s spirit, like his smile, was always willing. His body, alas, had other ideas.

Since signing with the Rockies in March 2022, KB23 has played in only 170 games over the first four years of his deal. In what’s amounted to basically a full season of stats over the last 48 months, KB’s Colorado line to date is 632 at-bats, 29 doubles, 17 home runs, 61 RBI, a .244 batting average and a .695 OPS.

In other words, for $26 million per season, the Rockies have gotten 42 games a year of (.244 career batting average, .695 career OPS) in the middle of the order.

The surface takeaway from the Walton-Penner family’s investment was that all that sweet Walmart dough would wipe away debt. Most MLB clubs lost some serious change with the collapse of regional sports networks — the Rox reportedly collected at least $57 million from AT&T SportsNet in 2023, the last season of their old TV contract.

Given inflation, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that $57 million in March 2023 would’ve been worth $58.98 million in March 2024, $60.39 million in March 2025; and $62.4 million in March 2026.

That’s an estimated $181.7 million shortfall for the Monforts, even before factoring in returns from the direct-to-consumer/subscriber model. You need cash to patch the wound and stop the bleeding.

The other purple elephant in the Monforts’ room, of course, is Bryant, a deal that’s aging the way

A bad idea at the time looks even worse now. Counting this season’s salary, the Rox still owe Bryant, now 34, another $81 million through the end of the 2028 season.

Word leaked that Bryant was signing with Colorado the same day that Wilson was introduced as the new QB savior of the Broncos in Dove Valley — March 16, 2022, a date that will forever live in Front Range infamy.

The Waltons and Penners quickly saw the error of their ways, although it helped that NFL contracts aren’t guaranteed beyond the signing bonus. MLB deals are. Bryant is repped by Scott Boras, and baseball divorces aren’t cheap. An injury settlement feels like the most logical path at this point. Which is why it’s also not hard to picture the Monforts asking Walton-Penner and her husband if they’d like to chip in to help the Rockies get past their version of the Wilson deal.

“It’s just been very frustrating (here),” the elder Bryant told me. “We came in with high expectations for him to really enjoy himself and it was killing him (to not play). Then to listen to the B.S. that goes along, people running their mouths about how he wasn’t worth the contract …

“It’s not like he was trying to play at 80% (health). He was trying to play at 50%. You can’t do that in this game. There’s just too many good pitchers. It’s a brutal game.”

With brutal realities. If the Broncos can make two of the worst deals in Denver sports history go away, that would be almost as impressive as sticking a fork in the Chiefs’ AFC West dynasty.

“I’m listening to things that are happening so that it sounds better,” Greg “Hoffer” Hoffius, hunched over in Section 401, top o’ The Rockpile, told me on Friday while the Phillies were using the right-field scoreboard at Coors Field for target practice. “But I just watched the first half-inning, and I was like, ‘What?'”

Philadelphia 10, Bleak Street Bummers 1. Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen surrendered a touchdown in the top of the first. The Phils tacked one more each in the second and third. The Local 9 didn’t record a scoreless inning until the fourth.

What the heck happened to “our 2-4 start is better than the usual 2-4?”

“That’s narrative every year, right?” Hoffius said. “‘Hey, we killed it in spring training.'”

They spent Friday afternoon crushing souls. The Rockies’ Mickey Moniak lost Bryson Stott’s flyball to short right in the Colorado sunshine, playing it into a double and a 3-0 deficit.

“That was a good start,” Hoffius groused.

Brandon Marsh launched a 454-foot home run into the bullpen trees. 6-0.

“Oh, wow,” Hoffius’ buddy Ryan Masters said.

Double. Ground out to third. Trea Turner, batting for the second time in the half-inning, singled to right. 7-0.

“There ya go,” Hoffius quipped.

“Here we go,” Masters countered.

“No biggie,” Hoffius said.

Philly 7, Colorado 0. Where’s Bo Nix when you need him?

“It was sad,” Hoffer sighed. “It was crazy.”

Hoffius digs his Rockies through thin and thinner. Honest. He’s been coming to Coors for more than two decades, four or five games a year, almost always Opening Day, if he can swing it.

“I don’t pay attention like it used to, to be honest,” Hoffius continued. “And this is not that great. I don’t know. You just quit doing it. You know, after a while, you’re like, ‘Dude, they’re not going to do anything.'”

Except, maybe, break your heart.

“Wouldn’t it be cool to be, like, proud to be a Rockies fan?” Hoffer wondered out loud. “Right?”

Not this month. Not yet. Not when you’re taking your own crowd out of the game from the jump.

“I don’t know that (the Rockies) aren’t not spending money. It just doesn’t seem like it,” Hoffius said. “When you see what the Broncos did, they brought in the Waltons (the Walton-Penner Group) and they went, ‘Bam, bam, let’s fix this (expletive).'”

They also paid Russell Wilson to go the heck away, more or less, nipping a franchise-QB mistake squarely in the bud. Not the Rox. While we’re comparing historically awful 2022 contracts, the Rockies continue to keep a seat warm for Kris Bryant.

“I go to Nuggets games. I got to Avalanche games. It’s awesome to win,” Hoffius continued. “At the end of the day, the (Rockies) ask, ‘What’s our bottom line? ‘We’re still making the money. Are we going to make any more money with a better team?'”

With that, half the crowd went nuts again. The Philly half. 8-0, bad guys.

No baseball community dies harder, without reward, than the Rockies faithful, spring after spring. You feel for those who wear their purple hearts on their sleeves, such as Denver super fan Gregorio Banuelos, better known ’round these parts as “Mexican Elvis.”

About 90 minutes before the first pitch, I watched as a Phillies fan, head-to-toe in red, pinstriped replica garb, ran up to Banuelos on Blake Street and wagged a cocky, condescending finger in his face.

“You are losing!” the interloper shouted. “You’re losing!”

“The Rockies are going to score 22 runs on you, just for that,” Banuelos countered.

Poor Elvis. For most of the last seven years, Coors Field has been Banuelos’ Heartbreak Hotel.

“You know, I couldn’t care less,” Elvis shrugged. “Because I still support my home team. And I’m going to tell you something. I like when somebody says something like that. You know why? It makes them more excited. If everybody goes for the same thing, it’s not going to be any fun.”

9-0.

9-1.

10-1.

This is fun?

“They started slowly, but they’re going to figure it out,” Banuelos said. “I know they’re going to figure it out.”

It’s the hope that kills you. One April at a time. Even random TV shows are taking potshots now. Hoffius was watching the on Hulu recently when two characters, a young man and the title character,

YOUNGSTER: You’re real bad at this, bro.

DECKER: OK.

YOUNGSTER: Seriously, if breaking into cars were baseball, you’d be the Rockies.

DECKER: Well, maybe if I had a better teacher.

Hoffer just shook his head.

“I mean, that’s like, A-B-C, dude. Like, prime time, 7:30 (at night),” he said. “You’re like, ‘Ow. Wow.'”

10-1? Ow. Wow. New year. New players. New front office. New coaches. To Hoffius, Dick Monfort’s world looks just the same.

Stop the nonsense. Deflate the egos.

With the NFL preparing to lock out its officials as labor talks stall, you know who gets penalized: the players and fans.

Very little moves the needle between the flurry of free agent signings, trades and the draft, but this story deserves your attention.

The most popular American sport, long recession-proof, forever immune to greed’s side effects, is prepared to stain its legacy.

Again.

Remember the start of the 2012 season when the league used replacement refs? Of course you do.

Fans started profanity-laced chants at decibels never heard before in NFL stadiums. Players took to social media, demanding the imposters from “Foot Locker” stop ruining the game.

It came to a breaking point with the on Monday Night Football, pitting the Seahawks against the Packers. Russell Wilson threw a desperation pass to the end zone that Packers safety M.D. Jennings appeared to intercept, pinning the ball to his body as he rolled on top of Seahawks receiver Golden Tate.

Two players. One Ball. Two different calls. Ruh-roh.

Upon further review, shared possession was ruled, giving the Seahawks a victory. It was the last game the substitute refs worked. The NFL’s face reached an intolerable shade of rouge.

Fourteen years later, the NFL and the NFL Referees Association appear determined to lose credibility again with each blown call.

Labor talks can be uncomfortable. But this is nonsensical. From both parties.

The NFL can give the officials whatever they want, but rich owners did not amass their fortunes by wasting money, unless it is on paying fired coaches and failed quarterbacks.

The league has the power to squash the little guy. It does not mean it should.

The NFL got its message out this week through ESPN and NFL Network, now under the same umbrella, casting the officials in a poor light for their refusal to want accountability and consequences for underperformance.

Scott Green, the NFLRA’s executive director, fired a missive that laid bare the current acrimony.

“Apparently ‘League sources’ are continuing to put out false and misleading information instead of wanting to meet at the negotiating table,” Green said. “The bottom line is our officials work for the wealthiest sports league in America, with profits that far exceed any of the others. That����ap normally a point of pride for the NFL. However, our officials are substantially under-compensated when compared to baseball and basketball umpires and referees.”

The NFL wisely issued a memo to all teams prohibiting public comment on the talks, so even off-record conversations are scarce this week.

The officials are not blameless. They want to be compared to MLB umps and NBA refs, but conveniently leave out that those folks are full-time employees. The NFL officials should be as well.

The game is now played by athletes bigger, stronger and faster than ever imagined. The officials’ physical fitness and mental awareness must meet higher thresholds, and that will not happen if they work from August through January.

According to the NFL Network, the league offered its game officials a six-year labor deal with 6.45% annual growth rate in compensation. The NFL Referees Association countered with 10% and $2.5 million for marketing fees.

The NFLRA asking for marketing money might be the funniest thing I have ever heard in a labor proposal. Who is wearing a referee jersey besides Rob Lowe, sitting in the stands waiting for a FOX cutaway to promote a new TV series?

Refs need to get over themselves. Nobody tunes in to see them, despite some wearing schmedium shirts to show off their biceps and microphones to hear themselves talk.

They are necessary, but the sport will go out without them. If there was any doubt, think back to COVID-19. The NFL did not miss a single game.

Per Sports Illustrated, refs make an average of $205,000, with huge bumps for the crew working the Super Bowl. The job is difficult, no doubt. But good luck finding part-time work for roughly $11,000 per week. So, when the officials make concessions non-starters, it is no wonder the alarm is sounding.

Time for Warren Buffett to get the owners in the Casa Grande ballroom and run a cost-benefit analysis on the value of undermining the league’s integrity in a sport in bed with gambling against the price of paying officials.

The NFL has to show some elasticity for the good of the game. The officials have to be realistic about the hill they stand on.

Forgot the marketing nonsense. Go to the annual raises proposals and split the difference.

Good NFL officials are not walking the streets or working college games. Anyone who watched Pac-12 after dark knows all about ref shows.

Still, the NFL appears ready to flex its muscles.

The league will not get caught with its pants down this time around. In 2012, the NFL was caught off guard, forced to pluck unqualified replacements, some of whom were fanboys of specific teams and another of whom was a competitor in the World Series of Poker.

It was embarrassing, suggesting that there were no background checks. The officials’ performance reflected carelessness in the process.

According to ESPN, the NFL has begun recruiting refs and is prepared to begin training them on May 1, with the CBA set to expire on May 31.

At the meetings here, the expectation is that the NFL owners will approve safeguards for games using replacement refs, such as replay enhancements.

Great. Just what we need. Longer games. Nothing screams buzzkill like 15 reviews.

The NFL is too big to fail. But is failing to reach an agreement with the refs worth putting out a dishonorable product?

Both sides have a responsibility to protect the sport.

If September starts with replacements throwing yellow flags, the players and fans will be the ones throwing in the white towel.

Last Tuesday, soon-to-be free-agent running back J.K. Dobbins was working out in the Broncos’ facility when he got a buzz from Payton to come up to his office. Dobbins finished, wandered up, and sat with Denver’s head coach for a simple conversation that’ll form the genesis of how Denver’s not-so-new-look run game will produce in 2026.

Payton told Dobbins that he was his guy, a source familiar with the situation told the Denver Post. That said enough. Being a Payton Guy has extended NFL lives and poured millions upon millions of dollars into loyal bank accounts. Being a Payton Guy, as former Saints linebacker Scott Shanle told The Post last year, is a “badge of honor.” And Payton has praised Dobbins to reporters throughout the year, enamored with the spirited presence of a running back who chose specifically to rehab a midseason Lisfranc injury in Denver to stick around the team rather than have surgery elsewhere.

“Losing J.K., obviously, was a tough loss,” Payton said after Denver’s season ended. “He brought a lot more to the locker room than you would know.”

And Payton made clear he didn’t want to lose Dobbins come 2026, the source said, in that March 3 conversation. The reality of Denver’s situation was slightly more complex. Jets star running back Breece Hall loomed as a potential free-agent option; asked if the Broncos would’ve gone after Hall had he hit the open market, a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking told The Post the decision would’ve been a “no-brainer.” But New York .

Other top options, from Kenneth Walker III to Travis Etienne Jr., quickly fell off the board during the early week’s legal-tampering period of free agency. Dobbins remained, as his own market started to climb. And the Broncos moved quickly to secure their 2025 leading rusher, and certified Payton Guy, on a two-year deal.

That single sequence has encapsulated Denver’s dealings — or lack of them — through the first week of free agency. The reigning No. 1-seeded Broncos are approaching unprecedented levels of run-it-back roster retention. As of Friday, Denver is the only team in the NFL to not have signed a single external free agent. Not only that, but the Broncos have signed back 16 of their own 22 players set to hit free agency since late February.

The sheer wave of Payton favorites re-upping on minimum deals — tight end Nate Adkins, fullback Adam Prentice, receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, running back Jaleel McLaughlin — has washed in heaps of online vitriol from Denver’s own fanbase. Internally, the Broncos’ brass went into free agency aligned without expecting to make a massive splash in the market. Externally, the Broncos’ lack of activity gives the impression of an organization that is relying fully on its Payton-era foundation for a Super Bowl leap, for better or for worse.

The reasons for this week’s developments are multifaceted. But the overall reality is simple, lying in the hands of the head man still pulling the strings despite passing off the play-calling reins.

Asked their impression of the Broncos’ approach, one NFL assistant coach told The Post: “Sean obviously likes his football team.”

Growth inside the building

There’s plenty left to play out, from the trade market to April’s draft. Denver, after all, first signed Dobbins in June 2025. But data indicates the Broncos have taken a particularly unique strategy on the first go-around of the free-agent carousel.

According to player data collected and analyzed by The Post, Denver currently has 94% of its total snaps from the 2025 season under contract. In the last 10 years, no team that’s made the AFC Championship Game has gone into the following season retaining more than 83.2% of its snaps from the previous year (the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs set this mark).

“Good call,” one NFL agent, speaking on condition of anonymity, remarked. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Denver, of course, was the furthest thing from broken in a 14-3 season in 2025. The issue: its offense, by all accounts, was continually bent out of shape. Payton fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and receivers coach Keary Colbert after a 14th-place finish in points per game in 2025 and appointed a separate play-caller — 31-year-old Davis Webb — for the first time in his 18-year head-coaching career.

At the NFL Combine, Payton was asked whether coming so close to a Super Bowl appearance influenced him to consider a big offseason swing or simply to stay the course. He directly acknowledged that the Broncos played the margins too thin in a season of white-knuckle moments at Empower Field.

“From my lens, we won a lot of games by one score or less, right?” Payton said then. “And I’m not naive enough to think those games couldn’t have swung, and you could grab any two or three. But where’s the meat on the bone?

“The meat on the bone,” he continued, “exists with our takeaways. That has to improve. Our run-game consistency, our meat on the bone relative to a number of things that we won despite maybe — not being as good as others.”

That has quickly become the defining quote of Denver’s offseason, for better or worse. Despite Payton’s acknowledgement that the Broncos couldn’t simply stand pat, they have simply … stood pat. In fact, they’ve only lost production. Defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, who was everything from a key pass-rusher to a behind-the-scenes mentor, left for a monster three-year, $63 million deal with Tennessee. Backup safety P.J. Locke went to Dallas. Denver cut linebacker Dre Greenlaw to save cap room.

There are a few explanations for this confusing puzzle. Piece together hints from across the past year, and Payton and general manager George Paton are clearly focused on development from young, cheap talent under a new-look staff. That starts, of course, with a continued third-year leap from quarterback Bo Nix.

Payton made it clear at the combine that Nix wasn’t a factor in the decision to pass play-calling duties to Webb; people close to Nix, though, have told The Post that Nix was generally supportive of the move.

“There’s certainly things we want to be better at,” Payton said at the combine, speaking on Denver’s offensive operation. “But it����ap also being quicker. And look, it����ap only if there’s someone that you feel like is good enough to do that, and (Webb) will have that opportunity.”

The Broncos are also plenty high on their young receiving corps of Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr. and Pat Bryant, with the potential to hand-pick another weapon come April: Indiana star Omar Cooper Jr. visited Denver for a pre-draft visit on Friday. Rising second-year back RJ Harvey will have every opportunity to show he can improve as a runner from an equally dynamic and shaky rookie season. 2025 third-round pick Sai’vion Jones, who received just 39 snaps in the middle of a logjam in his rookie year, could also make a push in training camp for Franklin-Myers’ role on the defensive line.

Denver has room for growth in its tight-end crop, too, despite preserving a middle-of-the-road group for 2025. Veteran Evan Engram is tight with Webb dating back to their shared playing days in New York, and Engram had a 58-yard catch-and-run in Webb’s preseason play-calling showcase against the Cardinals in August. 2025 seventh-round pick Caleb Lohner, meanwhile — a raw big body who spent his rookie year on the practice squad — is training in Texas this offseason with former Packers Pro Bowl receiver Donald Driver, Lohner’s uncle Mike told The Post.

Another possible hidden wrinkle to Denver’s offseason: the 2027 draft is already generating substantial buzz in the NFL. The Broncos will likely receive a fourth-round compensation pick in ’27 with Franklin-Myers’ departure, which becomes particularly valuable given the strength of next year’s class. This would not be a foreign strategy.

The Jaguars, who’ve also been notably quiet in free agency, have let star running back Travis Etienne and linebacker Devin Lloyd walk specifically to acquire 2027 draft capital.

“I think on its surface, you would think, ‘Oh, OK, you’re going to make picks in 2027,'” Jacksonville . “Whereas, in reality, those draft picks and having more of ’em actually allows you the luxury of remaining in the hunt at different intervals throughout the entire calendar year, for acquiring players.”

Cap considerations

The Post sourced 10 different NFL agents for their thoughts on Denver’s lack of activity early in free agency. The clear consensus from those sitting across the table: the Broncos haven’t taken a bad approach, given they were a Bo Nix fractured ankle and an AFC title game winter wonderland away from a Super Bowl appearance.

“They had a great season,” one agent texted. “It makes sense to me to build off of what you already have.”

“Why would you not bring that entire team back (?)” another agent texted. “Good chance they win it all if no Injury (sic) and maybe even just if no blizzard.”

“It is odd,” another agent mused. “They probably see it, like — it’s not worth overspending on anybody.”

That point is key. Two NFL sources who spoke with Denver earlier in the week told The Post that the Broncos weren’t willing to spend more than $10 million per year at running back and $6 million per year at tight end. That ruled out the dynamic Etienne, who signed for four years and $52 million with New Orleans. That also ruled out Chig Okonkwo — a skilled tight end the Broncos called about, according to a source — who ended up signing for three years and $30 million with the Commanders.

That’s not stinginess for the sake of stinginess. At his end-of-season presser, Payton likened the Broncos’ financial freedom from Russell Wilson’s contract to renovating one’s house.

“If I said I’m going to give you $50,000 to decorate your home, or $200,000, your home’s going to look nicer, I think, if you’re a decent shopper,” Payton said.

Denver, though, really has closer to $50,000.

Much of the Broncos’ cap room has already been gobbled up by a rollicking run of long-term extensions across the past year, locking in core pieces from Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto to Luke Wattenberg and Malcolm Roach. The Broncos really haven’t had much to spend after extensions for Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, Dobbins and Trautman — and need to keep an eye towards possible in-season extensions for key players like Mims, Riley Moss, and Ja’Quan McMillian.

The Broncos, too, may have to consider future renegotiations with All-Pros Pat Surtain II and Quinn Meinerz, who Denver extended at such bargains in 2024 that both are now making well below their market value. Surtain’s now the fifth-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL via average salary, and Meinerz .

The draft and the trade market still beckon, and Paton and Denver’s front office head into April with enviable capital: nine total picks, after being awarded two seventh-round compensatory picks for losing free agents in the 2025 offseason. There’s still time, as owner Greg Penner said in late January, for the Broncos to be “opportunistically aggressive.”

Thus far, though, Denver’s been all opportunistic and hardly aggressive.

Full disclosure: The basketball wonks in the Grading The Week (GTW) offices were fans of the Michael Porter Jr.-for-Cam trade last summer. Again, not because it was a fair swap of talents. It wasn’t — the Nets got the guy with the bigger frame and far sexier upside. It was a “win” because it got MPJ’s bloated contract off the books and enabled the Nuggets to grab the cap space to land three more veteran players (Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., Jonas Valanciunas) in the process.

But what’s often said about Christian Braun applies to Johnson, too — he’s got to show up offensively within the flow of the offense, not get down when the shots aren’t falling, and find ways to contribute when the moment finds him. Because it inevitably will.

Cam Johnson’s rebound — B

From last Saturday through Friday, the up-and-down In three games prior to the Nuggets’ visit to the Lakers on Saturday night, Cam was averaging 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 3-point makes per contest. He put up 17 points and three treys in a rout of Houston and added another 15 points in a huge win at San Antonio late Thursday night.

Here’s why that matters, and why coach David Adelman has remained in Johnson’s corner through thick and thin this season: The Nuggets look like a title contender when Johnson contributes offensively — and are more of a play-in level team when he doesn’t.

Heading into Friday night, when Johnson scored at least 11 points in a game, the Nuggets were 15-4 (78.9% win percentage), and 26-22 when Cam was 10 points or less.

When Johnson made at least five field goals in a game, the Nuggets were 13-4 (76.4% win percentage), 28-24 when it was four makes or fewer.

When Johnson drained at least two treys, they were 13-6 (68.4% win percentage), 28-20 otherwise.

“It����ap been a tough year for the Nuggets in the clutch, which is something that we’re not used to seeing.” former Nuggets coach Michael Malone, now an ESPN analyst, offered up on the “NBA On ESPN” halftime show Wednesday. “And they’ve got 17 games to go to try to figure it out.”

They figured it out in San Antonio. If they can get Johnson figured out for the stretch run and the postseason that follows, hold on tight.

Broncos’ free agency start — D

Oh, we’ve heard all the caveats by now. There’s time. You just went 14-3. The selection wasn’t that great. The locker room is full of good players and good guys who get what Sean Payton, Davis Webb, Vance Joseph and Darren Rizzi are all trying to do. And we get all that. And we get that, as of last Friday afternoon, per OverTheCap.com, the Broncos still had $22.3 million cap room for ’26 to play with — even after bringing almost everybody back.

Yet there are good reasons why ����apountry was more than a little alarmed at the alacrity with which GM George Paton and coach Sean Payton seemed to sit on their respective hands during the opening  days of the NFL’s free-agent signing period.

Why? Two words: Rookie contract.

QB Bo Nix has a cap hit of $5.1 million in ’26 and $5.9 million slated for ’27. That’s going to change. Joe Burrow had a $9.87-million cap hit in 2022, the third of his four-year rookie deal. On Burrow’s second deal, If Nix continues to trend upward, and health permitting, he should, the Broncos are going to have another Russell Wilson-sized cap number to deal with in a few years.

Which is why they may regret not spending while they were in a period of flexibility “between” big-time/franchise-level QB cap numbers. Especially when you’ve got a Super-Bowl-worthy roster that’s, quite literally, only one or two playmakers away from winning it all — and only one or two offensive playmakers in particular. But, hey, we can get admittedly panicky in the GTW offices, so maybe that’s just us. Although based on our emails and social media exchanges since Monday night, it’s definitely not just us. At all.

The Broncos had just won a tough free agency battle for Dre Greenlaw.

San Francisco put on the hardest of sells on to try to keep the talented linebacker — head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch flew to Texas to try to talk him out of leaving — but Greenlaw ultimately chose the Broncos.

By the time training camp started, Greenlaw had already missed the entire offseason program due to a quadriceps injury sustained in April, but Denver head coach Sean Payton still had reason to puff his chest out when asked about winning the free agency battle.

Broncos NFL free agency 2026 tracker: J.K. Dobbins, Alex Singleton are back, but Broncos cut Dre Greenlaw

“When you get in the competition, those competitive juices are (flowing),” he said in late July. “You’re trying to put your best foot forward. … Two years ago, I don’t know that we win that battle. I don’t know that we do. But we did (this year).”

One year later, Greenlaw is gone. This time around, Denver opened the legal tampering period from a different posture. They checked on external players but declined to push offers far enough to convince anybody to jump.

They watched from the beach as the first wave of free agency crashed ashore.

The action Denver did take: Continue a run of retention that dates back 18 months by agreeing to two-year contracts for running back J.K. Dobbins and inside linebacker Alex Singleton.

They served as an encore to a four-deal Sunday that saw Denver retain inside linebacker Justin Strnad, tight ends Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins and quarterback Sam Ehlinger.

The Broncos also informed Greenlaw of his release, a source said, leaving Singleton and Strnad once again atop position group Greenlaw was signed 12 months ago to upgrade.

That sequence in and of itself is a lesson NFL clubs, players and fan bases learn over and over again, year after year. Free agency can be great, but it is not a sure bet.

Players that end up on the open market typically have some form of baggage, be it the burden of injury, underperformance, age or something else.

Sometimes you hit. Sometimes you don’t. Overpaying is part of the deal.

The Broncos have hit more than they’ve missed in free agency the past three years, but this time around, they apparently didn’t like what they saw enough to wade out into anything resembling questionable waters.

Keeler: If J.K. Dobbins is Broncos’ Plan A, Bo Nix deserves better Plan B than RJ Harvey, Tyler Badie

General manager George Paton forecast as much last month at the NFL Combine despite noting the Broncos had flexibility and would operate with urgency.

“And yet you have to be measured and selective and make the right decisions,” Paton said then. “You can’t just go crazy just because you came three points from the Super Bowl. We’ll be aggressive in that approach, but really measured and trying to make sound decisions.”

Taking that kind of approach to free agency is prudent, understandable, logical and probably smart more often than not.

The Broncos, assuming they can make it to where they want to go in 2026 without outside upgrades, however — particularly to their offensive playmaking— would count as none of those descriptors.

After all, Payton only weeks ago acknowledged Denver could be proud of a 14-3 season and simultaneously take a sober view of it.

“From my lens, we won a lot of games by one score or less,” said the coach, whose team went 12-3 in such contests between the regular and postseasons. “I’m not naive enough to think those games couldn’t have swung. And you could grab any two or three. Where is the meat on the bone? The meat on the bone exists with our takeaways. That has to improve. Our run game consistency. Meat on the bone relative to a number of things that we won despite maybe not being as good as others.

“I think that����ap the only way to look at it relative to this team writing its own chapter and getting us to where we want to go, which is obviously a game and a half further than where we went.”

After one day of free agency, then, the question becomes exactly how the Broncos will put themselves in a position to leave less meat in 2026.

Not willing to break the bank

They still have plenty of options, even if the list is shorter than it was at 9:30 a.m. Monday morning.

When the bell rang on the legal tampering period, players started coming off the board quickly.

Sources told The Post Denver had interest in running back Travis Etienne and wide receiver Jalen Nailor, for example. Those players fetched $13 million per year each from New Orleans and Las Vegas, respectively.

Denver clearly wasn’t willing to go that high. Instead of Etienne, they circled back with Dobbins and got a two-year deal done.

Denver has agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth a total base value of $16 million for Dobbins, sources confirmed to The Denver Post. A source said the contract comes with $8 million fully guaranteed in the first year -- with an additional $2 million available in incentives — and $8 million non-guaranteed in 2027, with a total potential value of $20 million with incentives across the life of the contract.

The best inside linebacker available, Jacksonville’s Devin Lloyd, agreed to terms with Carolina on Monday night. Las Vegas, as one example, overhauled its room by agreeing to major deals with Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker in a matter of mid-afternoon minutes. The Broncos locked up guys they know well and who are trusted implicitly by defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

They did similarly with Trautman and Adkins on Sunday as it became clear, sources say, that free agent options at tight end were in line to return to their original teams, command strong deals or both.

There are still interesting receiving options on the market, but Denver remains bullish on its group and next month’s draft has a strong crop of possibilities, too.

So instead of splashing around in new pools on Day 1, the Broncos ran it back. That won’t remain the case indefinitely. They will invariably bring in new players via free agency and then infuse their roster with new draft picks, too. They could swing a trade along the way, too, be it a major one or a minor one.

In all, though, they clearly believe in the roster they put together that led them to a 14-3 record, the No. 1 seed in the AFC and then within four points — and perhaps a Bo Nix ankle fracture — from the Super Bowl.

Over the past 18 months, Denver has poured more than $400 million into extensions on their own roster. At some point, if you build your team right, that becomes the primary way in which you spend money.

The Broncos are in the healthiest financial shape they’ve been in years after finally shedding Russell Wilson’s dead cap charges, but they’ve already used a substantial amount of that money on their own players.

As Payton and Paton said, that����ap a strong position to work from.

It also won’t be enough, which sets up an intriguing second stanza as the week progresses and a critical seven weeks through the NFL Draft.

“I don’t think I’m ‘injury-prone,'” the Broncos tailback, a free agent who’ll reportedly return to Denver on a two-year deal, told us in January. “Because I think when you’re ‘injury-prone’, you get hurt, like, any way possible. But things that I’ve had are called unfortunate events.”

Dobbins is a delight to watch and even more fun to talk to. But he sure does stumble into unfortunate events an awful lot for an NFL lead back, doesn’t he?

Over six seasons as a pro, Dobbins has appeared in 15 or more games just once and in 13 or more only twice. He logged 10 strong games in orange and blue a year ago before a foot injury ended his 2025. He’s made eight or fewer appearances three different times (2021, 2022, 2023). Since 2021, he’s already undergone surgeries to repair an ACL and a foot.

If you’re coach Sean Payton, and you’re trusting this ride, best have the right insurance to go with it.

In Dobbins’ case, that’s not RJ Harvey. That’s not Jaleel McLaughlin. That’s sure as heck not Tyler Badie. Running it back with Dobbins means you’ll get half a season of elite, RB1 production. It also means you’ll need to grab another RB1 for the seven or eight weeks in which Dobbins won’t be available.

Someone who can work it the way Dobbins does between the tackles. Someone who can run in the snow. Someone who can push the pile and turn a 3-yard loss into a 2-yard gain.

The Broncos needed Dobbins in the playoffs. Quarterback Bo Nix needed Dobbins in the playoffs. Dobbins wasn’t there.

You have to prepare — and assume — that he won’t be again. You have to plan accordingly. Which means either you:

• Rest Dobbins until Week 5 or Week 6, so you’ve got those tires fresh for when you really need them;

• Sign or draft , a good inside rusher who’ll be there for all the games that Dobbins won’t.

The problem isn’t that the Broncos aren’t good. They still are. The problem is that their peers used Monday’s legal tampering window to get better.

The Chiefs signed former Seattle tailback, Kenneth Walker III, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, on a three-year, $43.05.million-dollar deal. Ex-Jacksonville lead back Travis Etienne went to New Orleans on a four-year deal worth $13 million annually. Another free-agent back, Tyler Allgeier, landed a two-year, $12.25 million contract with Arizona. Kenneth Gainwell got two years, $14 million from Tampa Bay.

And yes, of those four, only Etienne and Walker offer a clear upgrade over Dobbins, who rushed for 772 yards last fall over 10 games with the Broncos.

The issue isn’t quality. Dobbins was great last fall when defenders stacked the box. He was good on first and second down. He can block. He can catch. He pairs well as “Mr. Inside” with Harvey’s “Mr. Outside.” His teammates dug him, and vice versa.

The former Ohio State standout has averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry in any season he’s recorded more than 10 touches. He’s a sure-fire 1,000-yard rusher if you can count on him for 17 games.

But that’s the thing: You can’t.

Planning for more than 11 contests out of Dobbins, something only produced twice over his first six NFL seasons, isn’t just arrogant. It’s ignorant.

He’s a top-6-in-the-league, lead-back hammer. For about three months. He’s the Broncos’ Aaron Gordon. You have to use what tread is left wisely.

Because like Gordon, this team wasn’t the same without him. After Dobbins was shelved before Week 11, the Broncos still had seven more regular-season games on the fight card and two more postseason tussles — and would’ve been three if Nix had been healthy.

And one of the reasons Nix wasn’t healthy was that the signal-caller had to pick up more slack in the run game once Dobbins was gone. In those eight games immediately after No. 27 was injured, the Broncos’ QB1 led the team in rush yards in two of those eight games and in rush attempts once. Bo’s ankle went kablooey at the end of the win over the Bills, and the rest is sad, sordid history.

There are miles to go in free agency yet, granted. But Monday’s disappointment stems from the promises made by management and ownership. The Russell Wilson cap hell is over. What happened to “opportunistically aggressive,” as CEO Greg Penner termed it? What happened to “pushing it” on the open market, as general manager George Paton promised?

Fortune rarely smiles twice on the same backside. The Broncos were 12-2 in one-score games during the regular season. That’s hard to sustain. In 2024, Kansas City went 11-0 in tilts decided by eight points or fewer. The Chiefs had a 1-9 mark in one-score contests last fall. That’s a volatile way to win games, not a reliable one.

Paton will argue that running it back with Dobbins was cost-effective, that it gives the Broncos flexibility. For whom? For when? Nix isn’t going to be on a rookie contract forever. If history has taught us anything, it’s only a matter of time before Dobbins’ gears start slipping again

.

Three decades ago, there were Jordan Rules implemented by the Detroit Pistons. Now, there are the Jokic Rules carried out by Lilliputians.

It is not basketball.

It is part strategy, part WWE. It seems inspired by Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, who famously said, “when you knock us down we’re going to get up, and on the way up we’re going to bite a kneecap off.”

If the guards like Utah’s Keyonte George and the Lakers’ Marcus Smart focused on fronting Jokic, it would be understandable. But they purposely box their butts into his legs, trying to get Jokic to tumble over or trip on his own feet. That is not defense. That is some Humpty Dumpty bull(bleep).

The Jazz and Lakers followed the same blueprint that is almost guaranteed to reappear Monday night in Oklahoma City. Alex Caruso relishes making Jokic miserable. He is an elite defender. And should be above this gimmick. He likely won’t be.

Teams have no incentive to stop if the refs don’t enforce the rules. Jokic doesn’t help himself by complaining, a habit he has fallen back into over the last month. But, he has the right to defend himself with the way he is getting defended.

One solution is for Jokic to fall forward when they back into his knees, squashing anyone and anything below. It would be worth it if not for the fact that Jokic is coming off a knee injury, and any slight twist or tweak could end the Nuggets’ season.

So what is the answer if the refs continue to let guards harass the big man?

Screens and picks. And more screens. And more picks. It will look weird. But if Bruce Brown or Aaron Gordon sets a blind pick as Jokic goes to the corner that will ease the appetite of the defenders to latch onto the center’s legs like yapping Chihuahuas. Running motion across the face of the defenders will also put them on notice for a screen or an “accidental” bump to the chest.

Jokic will always inspire inventive ways to stop him. This, though, has to stop. The refs need a more active whistle, and the Nuggets players need to protect Jokic from defenders and himself.

Russell vs. Sean, part 4 or 5?: Russell Wilson clapped back at Sean Payton. This passive-aggressive feud continues to feature smoldering embers. For those keeping score, Payton took a shot at Wilson after the Broncos beat the Giants, saying, “I was talking to (Giants owner) John Mara, and I said, ‘We were hoping that that change would have happened long after our game.'” It was meant as a compliment to Jaxson Dart.

Understandably, Wilson did not see it that way, tweeting, “Classless … but not surprised. Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media.” OK, fair. So, why is Wilson still talking about it four months later? Wilson said recently on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast that, “I know who I am as a competitor, as a warrior, as a champion, and you know, I’ve beaten Sean, too. You know, like we’ve been in the same place and the same thing. … Just don’t disrespect me.”

This reminds me of when George Constanza was devouring food in “Seinfeld,” and co-worker Reilly quipped, “You know George, the ocean called, they are all out of shrimp.” Constanza failed to volley, and planned a Firestone snow tire night weeks later to exact revenge. He repeated his eating habits, and the ocean line followed. Constanza countered with “The jerk store called and they are all out of you.” The comeback fell flat. Wilson had a better retort, but it was too late. And frankly, where was this courage in 2023 when Payton unloaded on Wilson at Detroit? Payton makes enemies. No question. But if you are going to come at him again, there should be a statute of limitations.

There is always some refurbishing and refreshing to do, however.

Head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton, in the past month, have each expressed confidence in Denver’s roster and also acknowledged that there are areas in need of upgrade.

The Broncos must find more offensive playmaking. They must fill some gaps at linebacker, running back and tight end.

That quest starts in earnest this week, as Denver considers whether to push to retain any of its impending free agents and then hits the legal tampering period with all free agents beginning Monday.

As an organization, the Broncos boast the best salary cap health they’ve had in years. Russell Wilson is finally, officially off their books when the 2026 league year begins on March 11.

Denver as of Thursday sports just $1.2 million in dead salary cap, the third-lowest mark in the NFL after Chicago traded receiver D.J. Moore to Buffalo.

Payton pointed to that reality after the season when asked about Denver’s ability to improve this offseason.

“If I said I’m going to give you $50,000 to decorate your home or $200,000, your home’s going to look nicer, I think, if you’re a decent shopper, if you have more money.

“The same takes place with our sport.”

Denver’s basically debt-free, but the club has also already spent some of its decorating money.

In fact, last year the Broncos went into free agency with about $40 million in cap space. They could do so again this season by moving money around, restructuring a couple of contracts and perhaps cutting a player or two — some of that kind of work is expected in the coming days — but at the moment they’re sitting at around $21 million in space, according to OvertheCap data.

The Broncos have been on a big run over the past 18 months, rewarding 10 of their own players with long-term deals. They got a jump on free agency, in a way, over their bye week last fall by getting deals done with a trio of impending free agents in C Luke Wattenberg, DL Malcolm Roach and K Wil Lutz.

“Just think if we didn’t get those guys wrapped up, what we’d be facing,” Paton said last month at the NFL Combine. “Every offseason is a little bit of, ‘Wow, how are we going to feed…’ But if we didn’t have all those guys done, just think of how much more daunting the offseason would be. It����ap really important to get ahead of it.”

Then Denver used another $5.8 million in space to place a second-round restricted free agency tender on nickel Ja’Quan McMillian, though that number would change if Denver works out a long-term deal with him in the coming months. The Broncos also agreed to a two-year, $9.5 million deal with Alex Palczewski on Thursday and they’ll need about $4 million in space for their draft class next month, based on their current selections.

With those numbers in mind, here is a non-exhaustive list of players the Broncos could look to if they’re trying to create more cap space.

Cut/restructure candidates

OL Ben Powers

ILB Dre Greenlaw

Greenlaw signed a three-year deal last spring, but it was essentially one year, $11.5 million and we’ll see. Now, we’re about to see. Greenlaw played well when he was on the field, but staying on the field was an issue. Cutting the linebacker would save $6 million on the cap and incur $4.33 million in dead cap. It����ap really just a matter of if the Broncos want him back on the roster in 2026.

TE Evan Engram

Engram’s deal was a two-year pact last spring, but it came with stronger guarantees than Greenlaw’s. Cutting the veteran would save $3.8 million on the cap but incur $10.33 million in dead cap. Certainly not impossible for Denver to swallow, but it also doesn’t make much sense unless the Broncos really think his skills are diminished or they have a ready-made replacement. At the moment, they do not.

OL Matt Peart

A fairly straightforward one here. Peart was signed last spring as a swing tackle, but Palczewski and Frank Crum both showed signs of promise during the season after Peart tore his MCL in Week 6 in London. Denver can save $3.225 million and take $750,000 in dead cap by releasing him.

Extension candidates

S Brandon Jones

Jones is entering the final of a three-year, $20 million deal that����ap been a bargain for the Broncos. He did miss the stretch run of the regular season and the playoffs with a torn pectoral, but he’s been a high-quality player for Denver. Jones carries a $9.243 cap number into 2026, which could be dropped substantially with an extension. If the Broncos want to explore other safety options on the market or think they’ve seen Jones’ best ball, they could save $7.41 million and take $1.83 million dead by cutting him.

WR Marvin Mims

Mims is entering the final year of his rookie deal and carries a $6.12 million cap number. That����ap not huge, obviously, but an extension would likely bring it down some. Payton’s talked about finding more touches for Mims, but part of the challenge in an extension is the sides agreeing on appropriate value given Mims’ on-again, off-again usage so far and his terrific return ability. Perhaps a mid-season revisit makes more sense.

Hold the line

RT Mike McGlinchey

The Broncos have Palczewski under contract for two years after Thursday’s agreement, but they’re not likely to cut McGlinchey and incur $15.325 million in dead cap along with $8.45 million in cap savings. Especially after McGlinchey played arguably his best football in 2025. In fact, a short extension might feel tempting because of the quality of play and the potential to lop $10 million or more off the 2026 cap. The prudent move, though, is to get through the upcoming season with McGlinchey at his current, team-high $23.775 million cap charge and decide what the future at right tackle looks like from there.

Howdy Parker from the Western Slope!

This old fan bought his season tickets in 1971. Needless to say, I have witnessed the lows and highs of our Broncos. Currently, us fans have a lot to be thankful for. We have a better than great ownership; an accomplished head coach who is a teacher; a defensive coordinator who should have been hired this off-season as a head coach; a league-wide respected general manager; and an amazing group of talented high character athletes on offense, defense and special teams.

But what happened in our 2025 NFL Draft? NFL.com rated our draft a C+ good for 23rd of the 32 teams. We invested our 20th pick in the 1st round in a quality defensive back who only started 5 games. We already possessed an elite, loaded secondary. We did not address critical needs for RB or TE with our 20th pick. Our best draft pick may have been our punter Jeremy Crawshaw. Can Paton and Payton learn from this poor showing and help the team more this off-season? Bo has to be moaning …

— Bronco Bill, Grand Junction

After one year, how do we feel about the pack part of the ’25 draft? Will Sai’von Jones, Que Robinson and Caleb Lohner be productive for the Broncos?

— Mark, Centennial

Let����ap open up this week with a double. Thanks to B.B. and Mark for writing in and asking, in slightly different ways, about the Broncos’ 2025 draft class. We’re through a full season and obviously knee deep in 2026 draft stuff, so it����ap as good a time as any for a preliminary revisit.

The common refrain from Denver head coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton is that it takes three years to know for sure about a draft class. So let����ap start by acknowledging that this group is far from a finished product.

There will always be conversation about whether the Broncos should have gone a different route at No. 20 than selecting defensive back Jahdae Barron. The club, though, had him graded as one of the 10 best players in the class. They saw it as a value too good to pass up. The bet here is, even with Ja’Quan McMillian as an extension candidate over the next 12 months, that Barron will be a factor in his career. The Broncos love him, he can play anywhere and he got good experience in Year 1, even though he didn’t play as much as some first-rounders do.

Denver could have taken Tre’Veyon Henderson at No. 20 and talked about trying to trade back and take him later in the first round. They were not going to take Omarion Hampton at No. 20 even if Barron had been gone. They liked LSU tight end Mason Taylor, too, though not enough to take him that high. The tight end Denver wanted the most was Michigan’s Colston Loveland, though he went No. 10 to Chicago.

RJ Harvey isn’t a finished product, but he’s got real ability and the Broncos loved his vision coming out of UCF. They believe he’ll get more efficient in the down-in, down-out run game to pair with his dynamic ability in the passing game and in the open field. Harvey led all rookie RBs in touchdowns and, of the 20 drafted after him, only Chicago’s Kyle Monangai (947) and Houston’s Woody Marks (911) had more offensive yards than Harvey’s 896. He’s still got a ways to go, but that����ap a pretty good starting spot.

In the third round, WR Pat Bryant contributed right away at receiver and DL Sai’Vion Jones, as expected, was more of a developmental project. Sixth-round punter Jeremy Crawshaw has a chance to hold his job for a long time and seventh-round TE Caleb Lohner remains a lottery ticket who will be back with the Broncos this spring and summer.

The real surprise of the draft was fourth-round OLB Que Robinson. He flashed as a pass rusher right away in camp and produced in games every time he got a chance. His sack against Drake Maye in the AFC Championship Game was eye-popping.

After the season, Paton said the former Alabama edge, “may have the most upside of anyone in our draft class.” He’s an explosive rusher, but he’s also already one of the Broncos’ more stout edge players against the run, too.

Denver’s got enviable depth on the edge, but Robinson will be a Year 2 breakout candidate.

There’s no guarantee everybody in the class turns into a really good player and, of course, some of the ultimate grading of this group will depend on exactly what Barron’s role becomes and how extensive his impact can be. There’s not a guaranteed star in the class, but there are a couple of candidates. Perhaps some hoped for more Year 1 juice, but I think you can see a pretty straightforward path to the first six picks all being multi-year contributors on their first contracts.

All in all, that feels like a good spot to be in as a group after a year.

Hey Parker, in your last mailbag, you said the Broncos’ biggest priority is finding a top-tier tight end. Who is out there right now that we could land? Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq is a great first-round option, but I think we have to move up to get him. Or do we go through free agency and target someone like Cade Otton or Kyle Pitts?

— Mark, Arvada

Hey Mark, thanks for writing and great question. I agree with you on Kenyon Sadiq. Not impossible that he’s there at No. 30, but that probably was a stretch all along and it became less likely when he tore up the combine last week. Sadiq ran a tight end-record 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash at 241 pounds and paired it with ridiculous jumping numbers — 43.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot-1 broad jump. He’s a freak.

Kenyon Sadiq had one of the best days ever by a TE at the Combine:

40-Yard Dash: 4.39 (best ever by a TE)
Vertical Jump: 43.5’’ (second-best ever by a TE)
Broad Jump: 11’1’’ (third-best ever by a TE) |

— NFL (@NFL)

It won’t be Kyle Pitts for the Broncos, either. Atlanta franchise tagged him.

There are several options in both the draft and free agency, but the general sense of people I talked to at the combine is that this isn’t a great offseason to need a tight end. There aren’t many — or any — surefire, high-level options.

Next up after Sadiq in the draft are players like Ohio State’s Max Klar and Vanderbilt����ap Eli Stowers. In free agency, options include Tampa’s Cade Otton, a pair of former Ravens in Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar or any number of other free agents.

Otton is interesting. He played 50% inline in 2024 but only 34% inline this past year. He was lined up in the slot 49% of the time and out wide 16.6%, according to PFF data. If Denver thinks he can be efficient in the passing game and also solid as a blocker, he might be as good an option as the team has this offseason.

One other quick thought: We’ll see who gets released this week. Remember that Evan Engram wasn’t a free agent until Jacksonville released him four days before the legal tampering period began last year.

What guardrails are in place to ensure the Broncos don’t end up with a similar salary cap situation to the New Orleans Saints? I know Sean Payton loves his veterans, and it’d be great to be more active in free agency now that Russell Wilson’s dead money is gone, but what will be done so that the mistakes Payton made with the Saints aren’t repeated?

— Eric, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Hey Eric, thanks for writing in and good question. The Broncos very much do not want to end up in the same spot that New Orleans did.

The Saints’ situation was not all on Sean Payton. And, frankly, the club probably wouldn’t have ended up in such dire straits without COVID-19. They were pushing money out aggressively as Drew Brees aged, trying to make sure they loaded up each year in an attempt to win another Super Bowl. They might have been able to walk the tightrope — or at least not get completely hammered — if the cap wouldn’t have taken an unforeseen step back in the wake of the pandemic. Even if they had ended up in some form of a salary cap straightjacket, it wouldn’t have been like this, where it takes years and years to unwind.

That����ap what pushing money out into the future essentially is: Risk. Every team accepts at least some and some teams accept a lot. A global pandemic that caused the only drop in the cap in the modern era wasn’t likely, but it happened. More common: Injuries, underperformance or age cause teams to jettison players before they’d planned to and the acceleration of prorated money causes a big dead cap hit.

The Broncos, like pretty much all teams, are using bonuses, proration and void years to manage their cap currently. They’re on an interesting run over recent contract extensions in using option bonuses throughout deals, too. More on that coming later this week.

Overall, they appear to have a good plan for managing their cap in the short term and long term. That doesn’t mean they’re immune to it going awry, but they’ve got a coherent plan and they’ve so far stuck to it.

I should say, I don’t think this is a Sean Payton vs. the front office situation, either. There are a lot of people involved, from Payton and general manager George Paton to CEO and owner Greg Penner to VP of football administration Rich Hurtado and football administration and strategy manager Rob Simpson.

If you want to build something successful and sustainable, you have to be smart, strategic and aggressive, but you also have to be disciplined.

Denver has enviable financial wherewithal, the cap room to be flexible and the stability in personnel atop their football operation that makes following a plan and process easier — though not a guarantee.

Time to name the new stadium what it is: Mile High Stadium. The Walmart family doesn’t need the money from naming rights. Doesn’t the Rob Walton group still have around $70 billion, and the Walmart heirs have a combined worth of around $450 billion? What is $5 million a year in naming rights to this family? You want to make a lasting name for yourselves? Call the stadium what it is in our hearts, Mile High Stadium.

And call the entertainment area around it Mile High Village or Bronco Town or any number of names (hire me, I’ll come up with it). Just don’t say the name Burnham Yard one more time. It sounds like the name of a dump.

— Dan, St. Louis, Mo.

Hey Dan, thanks for writing in. I’ll go ahead and put you in charge. Consider it done. Thank you for your service.

Really, though, the name will be an interesting conversation at some point down the road — perhaps multiple years down the road. What you’re saying would be interesting, but the bet here is the club will not forego naming rights. Businesses don’t just give up millions in annual revenue, even if the folks who own it could afford the hit. In fact, I’d imagine the Broncos will have a bunch of suitors, whether that����ap Empower or somebody else. Logic would also dictate that the naming rights on a brand new building that the Walton-Penner Ownership Group hopes is a crown jewel in the NFL will cost substantially more than the current $5-6 million per year.

I know that supposedly Sean Payton “loves” Jarrett Stidham but after his immobility and indecisiveness were exposed against New England, it’s obvious that if Bo Nix is injured, the Broncos would be lucky to beat any NFL team. Should the Broncos look to add a backup QB whose skill set more closely resembles Nix’s?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Hey Ed, thanks as always for writing. Not sure I entirely agree with you on this one. Beating New England in an AFC Championship Game is a little bit different than trying to win a game or two in the regular season. Like almost any team that has a franchise-type quarterback, Denver would be in trouble if it lost Nix for an extended period of time. But the Broncos think they could survive a stretch with Stidham and I tend to agree. It matters, naturally, what else is happening around the quarterback. Is the OL healthy? Are the backs healthy? If Stidham’s playing the AFC title game with J.K. Dobbins and Troy Franklin, maybe it looks a little bit different.

All of that said, though, I do think there’s at least a little intrigue in the QB room this spring. Will Sam Ehlinger be back as the No. 3? If not, who will Denver circle as a guy to get a look at? Is there any trade interest out there for Stidham? This conversation might have been a lot different had Denver beaten the Patriots, but there are still a couple of things to sort out.

Is there any future for Drew Sanders here? He had a lot of buzz when he was drafted. But since then, he’s done nothing here. Is this year his last chance in Denver?

— Mike, Denver

Hey Mike, thanks for writing in. It is indeed likely Drew Sanders’ last chance with the Broncos because 2026 is the final year of his rookie contract. Denver, really, has interesting decisions to make for different reasons on each of its top three picks from the 2023 class: Mims, Sanders and cornerback Riley Moss.

For Sanders, the challenge this year is just to stay healthy and play. If he stays healthy and is a good linebacker, hey, that����ap terrific and a pleasant surprise. If he’s a quality special teams player, you’ll take it. Then decide what the future looks like after that.

Sanders played in all 17 games as a rookie in 2023 but has played in just four out of 34 regular-season games since then (all at the end of 2024). He had the Achilles tear in the spring of 2024 and then the training camp foot injury that ultimately cost him all of 2025.

That is a lot of development time missed and a lot of lost ground to make up.