Follow every signing and trade with The Athletic’s live coverage of 2025 NFL Free Agency
Broncos coach Sean Payton describes the NFL offseason as a puzzle. You push the names of all the players on your roster into the middle of the table. Then, you evaluate how new additions in free agency and the NFL Draft will fit into the picture. You decide which of your current pieces no longer fit.
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Hopefully, by training camp, you have something resembling a coherent picture. The Broncos believe it can be something more. A portrait of a championship contender.
“Our expectations are high,” Payton said. “We don’t shy away from it.”
Live updates: Free-agent news from across the NFL
Top 150 free agents: Tracking where everyone lands
Best still available: Who’s still on the board?
Free agency primer: Players, teams to watch
This will be a continually updated home for Broncos free-agency news and analysis as it happens. Before it all begins, though, here’s a quick recap of what you need to know.
March 10
LB Dre Greenlaw agrees to terms
Veteran linebacker Dre Greenlaw has agreed to terms with the Denver Broncos, according to a league source. The three-year deal is worth $35 million, according to a team source.
When healthy, Greenlaw has been one of the most disruptive linebackers in the NFL. Even while playing only 34 snaps last season, Greenlaw picked up nine tackles and demonstrated the side-to-side ability that Denver was coveting for Vance Joseph’s defense. He’ll immediately fit into a starting role, likely alongside fellow veteran Alex Singleton, who should be ready for training camp after suffering an ACL tear in Week 3 last season. The Broncos also have expressed confidence that third-year player Drew Sanders can play a role at the position.
But Greenlaw brings different traits to the position. In 2023, he had 120 tackles and 1 ½ sacks during the regular season and added two interceptions in the playoffs before suffering an Achilles tear while running onto the field early in the Super Bowl. Greenlaw missed most of last season while he recovered from the injury, then injured his calf during his second game back.
Broncos lose leading rusher
The Broncos will officially be searching for a new lead back in 2025. Javonte Williams, who led Denver with 8.2 carries per game last season, has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL Network first reported.
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The Broncos have made no secret about their desire to upgrade a backfield that didn’t consistently produce last season. They still have a trio of young backs on their roster — Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estimé and Tyler Badie — but will almost certainly add another running back in next month’s NFL Draft and could also pursue a depth piece elsewhere in free agency.
Williams, a second-round pick of the Broncos in 2021, had a fantastic rookie season. He rushed for 903 yards and four touchdowns despite sharing the workload equally with veteran Melvin Gordon. But Williams suffered a severe, multi-ligament injury early in the 2022 season and has averaged only 3.6 yards per carry in the two seasons since returning.
Still, general manager George Paton left open the possibility of Williams returning, noting his ability as a pass protector. The Broncos will have to make sure they have that role covered as they piece together their backfield in the coming days and weeks.
S Talanoa Hufanga agrees to terms
Former All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga has agreed to terms on a three-year contract worth up to $45 million with the Denver Broncos, league sources confirmed to The Athletic. The deal includes $20 million in guarantees. Hufanga brings a talented, physical presence to Denver as the team was determined to add to the back end of its defense this offseason.
Hufanga will immediately slot into a starting role next to Brandon Jones, giving defensive coordinator Vance Joseph two safeties he can freely interchange in alignments within the team’s run and pass game schemes. Jones and Hufanga are capable blitzers who can be used as chess pieces to disguise pressures.
Perhaps most importantly, Hufanga (6-foot, 200 pounds) brings the kind of physical edge and toughness the Broncos have been intentional about trying to add to their roster since Sean Payton took over as head coach in 2023.
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TE Evan Engam visits
The Broncos on Monday were set to host tight end Evan Engram for a visit at their team facility, a source with knowledge of plans confirmed. Denver is free to meet with the 30-year-old before the start of the new league year because he was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, making him immediately free to sign with any team.
Engram, who had shoulder surgery in December, has been one of the league’s most prolific receivers at the position since being drafted in the first round by the New York Giants in 2017. His 496 receptions rank fourth among all tight ends in that span. He is fifth in receiving yards (4,922) and tied for 11th in receiving touchdowns (25).
Injuries limited Engram to nine games in 2024, but he played in at least 15 games during each of the four prior seasons. He set career-high marks in receptions (114) and yards (963) in 2023.
OT Matt Peart returning
The Broncos are set to re-sign offensive tackle Matt Peart to a two-year deal, according to a league source, securing an important depth piece on Denver’s offensive line.
Peart, whose contract is worth $7 million, played in all 17 games for the Broncos last season and made two starts. He also played 18 percent of Denver’s special teams snaps, mostly on the field-goal protection unit.
The Broncos have enjoyed good health among their starting offensive lineman the past two seasons. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey has missed five games since 2023 and center Luke Wattenberg missed four games last season, but those are the extent of the injuries to starters. Still, Payton and general manager George Paton have prioritized experienced depth in building their offensive line. The Broncos also have Alex Palczewski and Frank Crum on the roster at tackle.
Pre-free agency moves
The Broncos on Sunday agreed to terms on a three-year deal with defensive tackle D.J. Jones, securing a key member of Denver’s defensive front. The deal is worth up to $39 million and comes with $26 million in guarantees.”
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In addition to the Jones, the Broncos on Sunday agreed to terms on a two-year, $12 million extension with backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, a league source confirmed. The deal with Stidham, who was the No. 2 quarterback behind rookie Bo Nix last season, comes before the veteran was set to hit unrestricted free agency.
Stidham originally signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Broncos in 2023. He started two games at the end of that season before backing up Nix for all 18 games in 2024, playoffs included.
Zach Wilson, the third-string quarterback, is set to hit free agency Monday. Though Denver would like to sign Wilson and reconstruct a quarterbacks room that grew close last season, the 25-year-old figures to have offers as a No. 2 quarterback — or even a starting candidate in a training camp competition — elsewhere in the league.
The Broncos also agreed on Sunday to terms on an extension with long snapper Mitchell Fraboni, a league source confirmed.
The Broncos previously tendered five exclusive rights free agents: cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian, outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman, tight end Lucas Krull, defensive lineman Jordan Jackson and safety Devon Key. The contracts are league-minimum, one-year deals, and EFRAs are not eligible to negotiate with other teams.
The Broncos last week announced they had also hired eight new assistants to Payton’s coaching staff and had added new titles for a handful of others. Among the new coaches: special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, veteran offensive line coach Chris Morgan, who will assist Zach Strief, and Todd Davis, the former Broncos linebacker and Super Bowl 50 champion who will work in quality control on the defensive side of the ball.
The Broncos filled their tight ends vacancy by moving Austin King into that position from his previous role as Strief’s offensive line assistant. Issac Shewmaker, a defensive quality control assistant the past two seasons, has been promoted to linebackers coach. Strief, Rizzi and secondary coach Jim Leonhard have also been named assistant head coaches. Quarterbacks coach Davis Webb added the title of passing game coordinator, a vacancy created when John Morton left this offseason to become the new offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions.
(Photo: Morgan Tencza / Imagn Images)
