The Denver Broncos had expressed interest in star dual-threat RB Travis Etienne Jr. before he signed with the New Orleans Saints in free agency.
It’s been an interesting offseason for the Denver Broncos, especially after coming up just short of the Super Bowl in 2025.
After a dominant 14-3 season that took the Broncos all the way to the American Football Conference Championship against the New England Patriots, one might figure that the Broncos would try to make some sort of free agency splash like many close teams tend to do to get over the hump.
That could still happen, but many of the top free agents are off the board at this point and the Broncos are the only team in the National Football League that has yet to sign an external free agent since the negotiation period (also called legal tampering period) opened on Monday.
That’s damning, because the Broncos got as close as you can get to the big game without getting there and haven’t done anything except re-sign some players and watch others walk for a big payday.
The biggest loss for Denver is losing defensive tackle John Franklin-Myers to the Tennessee Titans on a lucrative three-year, $63 million deal, but that was expected because the organization wasn’t willing to meet Franklin-Myers’ asking price. The team did bring back linebackers Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad as well as running back J.K. Dobbins, though, all key players to the team’s great 2025 run.
While there was mutual interest for Dobbins to return to the Mile High City, it now seems like a pivot move.
New Orleans Saints sideline reporter Jeff Nowak revealed that running back Travis Etienne Jr., who signed a four-year, $52 million contract to play for his home team, had interest from the Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs prior to his agreement with the Saints.
“Travis Etienne told me the Chiefs and Broncos were two teams showing interest in free agency, but once the Saints entered the picture the decision became fairly simple,” Nowak wrote on X Friday.
Dobbins is a great player and was an integral part of Denver’s identity as a rush-heavy team early in the 2025 season, but he is one-dimensional. He isn’t a dual-threat RB like Etienne is and hasn’t played a full season in the NFL.
Etienne has hit the 1,000-yard mark in three out of four seasons, including two 1,100-yard seasons, with the lone miss being the 2024 season when he split carries. Etienne also has 168 receptions for 1,338 yards and seven touchdowns as a receiver in 66 games.
Dobbins hasn’t hit that coveted mark, although he was on pace to shatter the threshold prior to his season-ending foot injury in Week 10 and the year before when he had 905 yards in 13 games.
Dobbins made the Broncos offense a lot better than what it was without him, but Etienne would have been the type of offensive playmaker this team has been seeking.