Broncos' Updated Salary Cap Ahead of NFL FA After Russell Wilson Release, Jeudy Trade

The Denver Broncos remain hard at work making moves to give themselves some cap flexibility to make moves when free agency begins.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the Broncos are sending Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft.

One year after picking up the fifth-year option on Jeudy's rookie contract, Denver will save the $12.99 million in cash and cap space he was owed by moving him in this trade.

The Broncos put themselves in a position where they have to make some difficult roster choices because of Russell Wilson's pending release. They announced earlier this week his release will be made official when the new league year begins on Wednesday.

Wilson's release will come with an $85 million dead-cap hit the team can spread out over two seasons if he's designated as a post-June 1 cut.

The Broncos only have $18.4 million in cap space, so they had to make a lot of moves if they wanted to be cap-compliant and have room to sign players in free agency.

Before agreeing on the Jeudy trade, the Broncos saved about $35 million against the cap by releasing Justin Simmons and Chris Manhertz, as well as restructuring the deals for Tim Patrick and Mike McGlinchey.

In total, the Broncos have saved about $50 million against the 2024 cap.

When you factor in the $35.4 million in dead money that Wilson will count against the cap, the Broncos will be closer to $15 million available that they can use to spend on their roster.

It's not a great situation to be in for a team that finished 8-9 last season, but it's one the Broncos put themselves in when Sean Payton decided Wilson could no longer be on the team when he benched him for the final two games.