The Denver Broncos are doing a lot of contract work these days, even though they did most of their heavy lifting intros area back during the season. That was when they handed out extension to key team members, which left others hanging in the wind.
One of those others was safety Brandon Jones, who was labeled a potential cap-cut casualty in a rundown by Thomas Valentine of Pro Football Focus. It’s a surprising choice, and well worth a deeper dive.
There’s certainly nothing with Jones the player. He’s been described as a versatile, high-motor safety who can play deep, line up in the slot or down in the box. He had a breakout season in 2024, making 115 tackles and three interceptions while posting strong coverage grades. Jones is also considered a reliable tackler who gets downhill quickly when diagnosing runes, and he’s comfortable playing the box, too.
So what’s the problem? Simply put, the Broncos have too many good players to pay them all, and Jones could be one of the odd men out. Jones also doesn’t generate a lot of turnovers, and that’s an area where coach Sean Payton wants the team to improve.
The Broncos went out and signed Talanoa Hufanga to add physicality, and that certainly worked out well. Hufanga added another level of physicality to Denver’s secondary, although, he, too, struggled with turnovers, dropping multiple interceptions that could easily have been big plays.
Making Jones a cap cut would save $7.5 million, which doesn’t sound like much given what the safety brings to the table. But the Broncos only have $28 million in cap space available right now, so moves will have to be made.
The guy who got paid in Denver’s secondary was Pat Surtain II, which made sense given that he was Defensive Player of the Year last year. The status of the cornerback on the other side, Riley Moss, is up in the air right now given that Moss is a controversial player who committed some costly penalties to go with his otherwise steady, consistent play.
The defensive add that’s coming is at inside linebacker, and according to Valentine, part of the reason the Broncos are considering cutting Jones is to set up the eventual extension for quarterback Bo Nix. That seems premature given Nix’s current injury status and his seemingly problematic relationship with Payton, but these days cap cuts often come from out of nowhere in the NFL.