Denver Broncos' Salary Cap Breakdown by Position

Properly managing the salary cap is one of the most difficult tasks an organization faces in the NFL each season. But the teams who do it well are the teams that usually challenge for championships.

This offseason, the Broncos will face one of their biggest challenges in manipulating the salary cap in order to keep key free agents and have a little extra spending money.

Will Peyton Manning's contract strap the team in that endeavor, or will they be able to come to new terms with the star quarterback?

That is just one big question the team will have to answer as we head into free agency.

But you want to know exactly what the team's salary cap looks like and how the team can work around it, right? Well, here you go.

All salary cap information taken from Spotrac unless otherwise noted. 

Quarterback

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Only two teams in the league will be paying out more to the quarterback position in 2015 than the $23.1 million the Denver Broncos will hand out.

But you why that is the case. Peyton Manning is due $21.5 million this coming season. In fact, he accounts for 14.5 percent of the team's entire salary cap. That is, if he decides to play in 2015.

But does anyone really think he won't?

Manning will be back, but he should strongly consider giving back some of the money he is owed, allowing the team to put it toward keeping key players around.

Manning has always been a team a player and has always spoken of having a great team atmosphere. John Elway shouldn't just ask Manning to take a pay cut, it should be expected.

Running Back

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The Broncos have just $3.6 million tied up in the running back position for next year—the least of any of the team's positional units. Having several undrafted running backs helps.

No running back on the roster is due over $1 million. However, if C.J. Anderson has another year like he did last season, he'll be looking for an extension with a pay increase.

In 2014, Anderson stepped up to run for 849 yards and eight touchdowns. He added 34 receptions for 324 yards and another two touchdowns. That all led to him making an appearance in the Pro Bowl.

The Broncos may have some questions at the running back position heading into next season, but from a financial standpoint, things look good.

Wide Receiver

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Obviously, getting something done with unrestricted free agent Demaryius Thomas will be of utmost importance to the Broncos this offseason. He is easily one of the most attractive names set to hit the market.

"

Broncos set to use franchise tag on Demaryius Thomas if necessary, per @RapSheet http://t.co/pQbQTSnRkS

— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) February 11, 2015"

But beyond Thomas, the Broncos will pay out just over $11 million to the wide receiver position in 2015. Half of that will go to Emmanuel Sanders, a player who definitely deserves it after his 2014 campaign.

Sanders caught 101 passes for 1,404 yards and nine touchdowns. He was arguably the best free-agent acquisition of the entire offseason last year.

The next highest-paid wide receiver on the team is Andre Caldwell. Though he is due just $1.5 million next season, he doesn't play a very significant role in the offense.

If Wes Welker doesn't return, Caldwell may finally be given the chance to earn more snaps but don't expect that to happen. He has shown no consistency during his entire tenure in Denver.

Tight End

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

The Broncos have just one tight end under contract for the 2015 season—Dominique Jones. If you've never heard of Jones, don't feel bad. He has just two career receptions.

The Broncos have three players—Julius Thomas, Jacob Tamme and Virgil Green all set to become unrestricted free agents. It's nearly improbable that the Broncos re-sign all three players, but will they bring back any of them?

"

Did you know that all 3 of the Broncos TEs - Julius Thomas, Virgil Green and Jacob Tamme - are free agents at the same time?

— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) February 10, 2015"

Because of his ability as a blocker, Green must be re-signed. The Broncos can bring him back for much less than the price tag that Thomas will command. Whether Tamme will be back could go either way.

Tight end should be one of the biggest areas of concern for Elway and his staff during the offseason. They'll need to take the approach that Thomas will be playing elsewhere next season and plan accordingly.

Offensive Line

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The Broncos are scheduled to pay out $22.2 million to the offensive line next season, the third-highest positional unit on the team.

The offensive line was also the most scrutinized group of the 2014 season and the organization will have to decide if they have the right players in place for the offense that Gary Kubiak and Rick Dennison are going to want to run.

Orlando Franklin is one of the team's biggest free agents and they will have to work hard to get him back. That could force the team to make an interesting decision with left tackle Ryan Clady, who is set to make $10.6 million next season.

"

My goodness, Ryan Clady looks like a shell of his former self. Still not recovered from last yrs foot injury or something else? #broncos

— Les Shapiro (@LesShapiro) January 11, 2015"

To a lesser extent, Manny Ramirez is due just over $3 million next season. But with Will Montgomery set to hit free agency, cutting Ramirez would leave the team without a center.

They could try to bring back Montgomery for cheap or see what they have in last season's sixth-round draft pick out of Boise State, Matt Paradis.

A final option, and probably the best one, would be to try to draft a player like B.J. Finney out of Kansas State. They could get Finney in the fifth round.

Defensive Line

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

DeMarcus Ware played very well for the Broncos last season, racking up 10 sacks in his first year with the team. But he will be 33 years old when the 2015 season starts. Is he worth the $8.66 million he is scheduled to make?

Ware is still one of the league's premier pass-rushers. Denver's job will be to place the right pieces around him in order to maximize his ability.

Sylvester Williams is not one of those pieces.

Williams has struggled in his two years in Denver and the fact that he was a first-round pick may be the only thing that keeps him around going forward.

Terrance Knighton, Mitch Unrein and even Marvin Austin have all played better and shown more ability to help the team at the defensive tackle position than Williams has.

Speaking of Knighton, the Broncos will have to spare as much cash as they can in order to keep him in Denver. Knighton was as big a reason as any for Denver's success in defending against the run last season.

As for Williams, the fact that the Broncos would be forced to eat just north of $3 million in dead money next season will likely keep him around. But unless he has a major turnaround, he may become a permanent fixture on the bench.

Perhaps Wade Phillips can get more out of him that Jack Del Rio did. 

Linebacker

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Von Miller is the only Denver linebacker under contract for 2015 that is scheduled to make over $1 million. However, he will bring in a staggering $9.7 million.

There is no doubt that Miller is worth that number when he is healthy. He can be one of the most disruptive defenders in the league.

But the Broncos will face some big decisions at the linebacker position, specifically as it relates to re-signing Brandon Marshall and Nate Irving.

Marshall must come back. He was excellent in 2014. Filling in for Danny Trevathan, Marshall led the team in tackles and an argument can be made that he was the team's defensive MVP.

As for Irving, that's where things get tricky.

There is no doubt that Irving is a talented player, especially against the run. But he is also very inconsistent and during what looked like his best year as a pro in 2014, he was knocked out of the season with an injury.

Is he worth the gamble? That is the question Elway will have to answer and he'll have to do it soon.

"

#Broncos showing interest in Clemson's Stephone Anthony is intriguing. 'Specially with Nate Irving an UFA.

— Chad Jensen (@ChadNJensen) January 25, 2015"

The Broncos may just be better off looking for another inside linebacker in the draft.

Secondary

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The $23.8 million the Broncos will hand out to the secondary next season accounts for the most they will give to any positional unit.

Still, eight teams in the league will pay their secondaries more, so it doesn't appear the Broncos are spending too much. Most of that money will go to Aqib Talib, Chris Harris and T.J. Ward.

That seems to indicate that unrestricted free agent Rahim Moore could be looking for work elsewhere, unless the Broncos want to tie up even more money in the secondary.

The question will be, is there sufficient depth at the safety position to allow Moore to get away? The team has David Bruton and they could try to move Kayvon Webster back to the free safety position.

Then there's always the draft, where a player like Durell Eskridge would be an excellent selection.

Special Teams

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Do the Broncos need a kickoff specialist and a field-goal kicker on the roster next season? The answer should be no, but which direction do you go?

Connor Barth kicked very well after being brought in late in the season, but he doesn't have a strong enough leg to handle kickoffs. It seems like a stupid problem to have, but it's one the Broncos need to fix.

But the team's punter, Britton Colquitt, could be the real problem in terms of the salary cap. Colquitt is set to make $3.75 million next season, more than all but four punters in the league.

Colquitt has been good for the Broncos, but he didn't have a great 2014 season. His 44.2-yard average was a career low and he had a net average of just 37.6 yards per punt.

"

Should Britton Colquitt really be Denver’s ninth highest paid player? http://t.co/nAAKg2lQ7Y #broncos

— IAOFM (@IAOFM) January 22, 2015"

The Broncos could find a cheaper option out there and let Colquitt go. One way or another, they need to come up with two guys who can punt, kick field goals and handle kickoffs.

They can't waste a roster spot on a guy who does nothing but kick the ball off.