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Despite a first-round exit in the playoffs, the Denver Broncos have to be happy with the way their 2024 season played out. However, with an abundance of contracts expiring at the end of the season, another offseason of change lies ahead. Even with an active free agency looming, no roster lasts a summer without forming cut candidates and the Broncos are no exception in the 2025 NFL offseason.
In 2024, the team successfully transitioned out of the failed Russell Wilson era to rookie quarterback Bo Nix, leading to its first postseason appearance since 2015. Nix's promising debut gives Denver a lot to look forward to in the future, particularly in his pairing with head coach Sean Payton. Yet, the star of the team remains lockdown cornerback Pat Surtain II, who received the 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
Surtain and Nix, both 24, are far from the only young players the franchise is excited to build around. Marvin Mims, Audric Estime, Troy Franklin and Riley Moss are all key players also under 25. Twenty-seven-year-old rookie Devaughn Vele also gave the team reason to believe in his chemistry with Nix moving forward.
Following their 10-7 finish, the Broncos have no reason not to believe in their budding title hopes in 2025. The AFC West has become arguably the toughest division in the NFL, but Denver was much closer to the top in 2024 than it appeared on paper. A lot of turnover is in store for the Mile High fanbase to keep track of, including the Broncos cut candidates that will inevitably rise throughout the 2025 NFL offseason.
RB Jaleel McLaughlin
Once Nix got past his initial struggles, the Broncos' running game, or lack thereof, became their gaping offensive liability. Veteran Javonte Williams entered the year as the starter, but Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime and Tyler Badie all received their share of opportunities throughout the year. If Denver truly had its way, none would return in 2025, and an entirely new backfield would take over.
Williams, who led the team with a pitiful 513 rushing yards, enters free agency in 2025. Even on a team-friendly deal, there is virtually no reason for the Broncos to bring him back after three consecutive stale seasons. As rookies, Estime and Badie have the longest leashes, particularly the former. That leaves McLaughlin as the middleman with one year remaining on his contract.
After an encouraging rookie year, McLaughlin took a dramatic step back in 2024. The explosiveness and vision he showed as a rookie were practically non-existent, leading to a significant drop-off in efficiency. One year after averaging 5.4 yards per carry in 2023, McLaughlin posted just a 4.4 average in year two. He received 37 more carries in his second season than he did as a rookie but only ran for 86 more yards.
Ahead of his third year with the team, McLaughlin is still on his rookie contract, giving him just a $903,000 cap hit in 2025. If he receives walking papers over the summer, money is hardly the issue. But even with his cheap deal, if the Broncos add any much-needed backfield help over the offseason, McLaughlin would appear to be the odd man out and potentially a late roster cut in the fall.
DE John Franklin-Myers
From a pure production standpoint, John Franklin-Myers had the best season of his six-year career in 2024. In his first season with the Broncos, Franklin-Myers notched a career-high seven sacks. The total marked the third time in the past four years he recorded at least five sacks.
For a power-rushing defensive end, Denver could not have asked for much more out of Franklin-Myers. However, pass-rushing is not one of the team's needs during the 2025 NFL offseason. Franklin-Myers' seven sacks were fourth on the team in 2024, as Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper and Zach Allen all surpassed him. Of the primary pass-rushers, Franklin-Myers' seven sacks were the fewest.
Being the fourth-best pass-rusher on the Broncos' elite defense does not make Franklin-Myers a cut candidate, but his contract might. One year after Denver acquired him from the New York Jets, Franklin-Myers is set to make another $7.5 million in 2025. That is not a huge cap hit, but on a team that already has a surplus of pass-rushers, his skills are not as desired as they might be elsewhere.
Since the Broncos only gave up a sixth-round pick to get him, releasing Franklin-Myers would not be much of a loss. In a 3-4 defense that does not ask a lot out of power rushers like Franklin-Myers, his absence would not be felt as much as it might be by other teams. However, with how successful he was in 2024, Denver is unlikely to cut him unless they desperately need to create cap room.
TE Adam Trautman
As they look to commit to the development of Nix, the Broncos are expected to put serious effort into bolstering their pass-catching corps in the 2025 NFL offseason. Most of the key players from the 2024 team will return, including Courtland Sutton, Adam Trautman, Mims, Vele, and Franklin. As expected, Sutton led the way with his second career 1,000-yard season.
Regardless of the returning assets, tight end was a noticeable liability in 2024. As former third-round pick Greg Dulcich quickly flamed out of the rotation, Payton experimented with Trautman, Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull. The veteran Trautman eventually emerged as the starter but accounted for just 188 receiving yards on the year.
A career journeyman, Trautman provided a reliable set of hands for the rookie Nix. Yet he has always been known as more of a blocker than a receiver in his career and hardly elevated the Broncos' receiving room. During his collegiate career at Auburn and Oregon, Nix thrived with athletic tight ends, potentially giving general manager George Paton something to ponder over the offseason. If that is the case, Trautman and his $7.5 million contract may find it hard to make the final roster in August.
If Denver's midseason release of Dulcich in just his third season proved anything, it is that Trautman's roster spot is far from safe entering the 2025 NFL offseason. Adkins, 25, is the only other tight end currently contracted through 2025. But more importantly, the Broncos will likely pursue the position over the offseason, making Trautman a viable cut candidate.
