NFL rumors: Speculations intensify on Broncos' former 1st-round pick as potential cap casualty

This former first-round pick by the Broncos could end up being a cap casualty in the aftermath of Russell Wilson's release.

The NFL offseason provides a golden opportunity for 32 franchises to either push their chips to the middle of the table and go all-in on competing, or brighten up their outlook by trading more established players for future assets. But it is also a time where front offices have to make difficult decisions which are oftentimes driven by financial reasons. This is the exact predicament the Denver Broncos find themselves in as they look to make some cuts to alleviate their salary cap crunch.

And one former first-round pick for the Broncos may end up being a cap casualty. According to Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette, “there's been speculation” that offensive tackle Garett Bolles, the 20th pick of the 2017 NFL Draft who hasn't played for any other team than the Broncos, could be cut so the team can get his non-guaranteed $15.75 million contract for 2024 off the books.

However, this is merely pure speculation at this point. Tomasson added that the Broncos appear to be leaning towards keeping Bolles, as the “odds are that he will be back”. The Broncos have a few ways to shed some salary commitments anyway, so they may have to look towards those options first before letting go of a man who started all 17 games for the team last season.

For starters, instead of cutting Garret Bolles outright, they could look to restructure his deal, along with others', to give the team more financial breathing space. The Broncos can also decide to cut DJ Jones and Tim Patrick; the former is underperforming, and the latter has struggled with injuries, so they could end up being post-June 1 cuts.

At the end of the day, the Broncos are looking to embark on a new era, as they have made the major decision to cut quarterback Russell Wilson after a rather tumultuous two seasons in the Mile High City. Head coach Sean Payton has high hopes that he can make it work for the Broncos in 2024 after their play as a team picked up towards the end of the season, and now, it'll be interesting to see which moves they pull off to give them some financial wiggle room.