Denver's Upcoming Week 10 Bye Could Feature Some Contract Activity

When the 2026 NFL schedule was released, Denver Broncos' GM George Paton may have groaned when he saw how difficult the team's first six games were, though he's surely smiling after the Broncos fashioned a 4-2 record against a number of the NFL's most highly regarded teams.

If he had looked a little deeper into the schedule, Paton may also have smiled when he saw that Denver's bye had been scheduled for Week 10, which falls on the weekend of Nov. 15 this season.

The common thought is that the best time for a team's bye to occur is as close to the middle of the season as possible, and Week 10 falls smack dab into the middle of the 2026 game calendar.

Denver's bye also falls during the week of the Nov. 10 trade deadline, meaning that if Paton were to swing a deal for some help for the season's home stretch, nearly full two weeks would be available to get any new players acclimated to the team and coach Sean Payton's system.

Already, some trade rumors have started to percolate, with running back help in the form of Johnathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts and Saquan Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles potentially available, while Barkley's fellow Eagle, Dallas Goedert, is being mentioned as a possible upgrade at tight end.

Whether or not Paton does pull the trigger on any deals during the bye week, he does have a history of other types of activity while the team rests.

Namely, signing high-performing players to contract extensions. Last season, Denver's bye fell a week later and Paton used it to sign kicker Will Lutz, center Luke Wattenberg and defensive tackle Malcolm Roach to enhanced deals.

The Broncos had acquired Lutz from the New Orleans Saints in August 2023 and he has been a reliable kicker since then with 98 makes in 112 field-goal attempts (87.5% success rate), with only two misses in 125 extra-point tries (98.4%).

Wattenberg, a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and Roach, a free-agent signing in 2024, are integral parts of the Broncos' interior offensive and defensive lines. Wattenberg has started 34 of 40 games at the pivot since 2024 and Roach regularly rotates in to play 50% or more of a game's snaps at defensive tackle; he's been on the field for a career-high 57% of defensive snaps so far in 2026.

So, who might be possible extension candidates this year?

Whether by design or coincidence, Lou Scataglia of Predominately Orange nominates three defensive backs as most likely to ink contract extensions a month from now, writing that Denver has "as an elite secondary trio of deserving contract extensions."

Safety Brandon Jones is in the final year of the three-year free-agent pact he singed with Denver in 2024 after four seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Jones' two interceptions, four passes defensed and 43 tackles through six games have him on track to blow past his career highs in all three categories.

Joining Jones in the deep secondary is Talanoa Hufanga, who joined the Broncos from the San Francisco 49ers last season and earned Second Team All-Pro recognition. In five games this season (Hufanga missed Week 6 with an ankle injury), he has two interceptions - a Pick 6 and game-ending interception of Matthew Stafford in the 30-26 defeat of the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 - with three passes defensed and 23 tackles. Hufanga does have one more year on his current deal but an extension is not out of the question.

Finally, cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian is in his fifth season with the team and continues to grow as a play-maker on the back end. His biggest contribution this season was the overtime interception of the Seattle Seahawks' Sam Darnold that set up Lutz for the game-winning FG in Denver's 17-14 victory in Week 6. For his career, McMillian has seven interceptions and 28 passes defensed with 211 tackles and nine sacks, including four last year and two so far this season.