The Denver Broncos came within an eyelash of reaching Super Bowl LX, but changes have already gotten underway as the team fired three members of its coaching staff this week. In addition to relieving offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi of his duties, the team also moved on from wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and running backs coach Addison Lynch.
The Broncos will soon move towards shaking up the roster as the new league year begins on March 11. Between now and then, they could look at some players who would free up big chunks of salary cap space if they were released.
Previously, I took a look at some players who may have played their last game for the team last Sunday and now, Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report has listed some players who could be considered the most likely salary cap casualties for each team.
For the Broncos, Ballentine mentioned two of the team’s top free-agent signings last spring… Dre Greenlaw and Evan Engram. He also threw in Matt Peart, who seems like an obvious choice.
Broncos could cut Dre Greenlaw, Evan Engram to create more salary cap space.
Here was Ballentine’s analysis on the situation:
“1. LB Dre Greenlaw – $6 million (Money Saved by Pre-June 1 Cut)
The Broncos are in a nice spot financially so they don’t have to get too ruthless to clear space. However, it’s worth revisiting the Dre Greenlaw signing. The Broncos inked him to a three-year, $31.5 million contract, but they’ve left themselves wiggle room to get out of it.
The signing was a bet that Greenlaw could put his injury issues behind him, but that wasn’t the case. The 28-year-old was in and out of the lineup this season with groin, ankle, hamstring and quad injuries. He ultimately wound up only playing 58 percent of the snaps in eight games.
2. OL Matt Peart – $3.2 million
There isn’t a ton of money to be saved by parting ways with Matt Peart. Then again, the Broncos don’t have a ton of ways to add to their cap space through cuts. Peart would be a logical target. He was briefly the team’s starting left guard, but he committed three penalties on just 64 snaps before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
It’s a brutal business, but that’s probably ground for the Broncos moving on and using the money to find more high-upside offensive line depth.
3. TE Evan Engram – $3.8 million
It should be noted that letting go of Evan Engram would only save $3.8 million while taking on a $10.3 million dead cap charge. Engram hasn’t been bad enough to warrant that kind money to not play. However, if the Broncos have another tight end target in mind, it would make sense to cut him and use some of that money to go after one.
Ultimately, Engram is scheduled to be the sixth-highest-paid tight end next season. He wasn’t quite the difference-maker he was expected to be, but he’s not a no-brainer to be cut.”
It makes sense to include each of these names in this discussion, but it would be somewhat surprising to see the Broncos move on from either Greenlaw or Engram, particularly the latter.
The case of Greenlaw is a frustrating one. He’s a talented, high-energy player who brings a ferociousness that this defense needs, but he’s just not out there enough. He spent a large chunk of this season dealing with injuries and if the Broncos don’t want to risk dealing with that kind of headache again in 2026, it would be understandable.
READ: Broncos’ Vance Joseph may be down to just one possibility to be head coach in 2026
As for Engram, it was baffling how he was not more involved offensively this season, catching 50 passes for 461 yards and just one touchdown, but he wasn’t completely terrible. The Broncos really need to focus on how to make Engram a much bigger piece of the offensive attack next season and that should be one of the primary goals for whoever becomes the team’s new offensive coordinator.
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