Broncos Carry $67M of Salary Cap Charges for Russell Wilson and Players Not on Roster

The Denver Broncos have not been very active in free agency so far this offseason, but that's because they will be paying multiple players to play for their opposition.

ESPN's Jeff Legwold noted that after the releases of quarterback Russell Wilson and safety Justin Simmons along with the trade of receiver Jerry Jeudy, the Broncos are shelling out a significant amount of money to players on other teams.

"The Broncos currently carry just over $67 million worth of salary cap charges for players no longer on their roster, $53 million of that this year from Wilson's departure," Legwold stated.

Denver retained a handful of its own free agents and added safety Brandon Jones (three years, $20 million) and defensive end Malcolm Roach (two years, $7 million) from the open market. The team's approach so far is a stark contrast to last offseason when it handed out three of the 11 biggest free-agent contracts to non-quarterbacks.

"We're not going to be as aggressive as last year,'' Broncos general manager George Paton said earlier this offseason. " ... We're going to just be more measured and try to fill specific positions and specific needs throughout the team."

It will not be easy for the Broncos to improve their roster this offseason. Denver will be hoping to end an eight-year playoff drought in 2024.