The Denver Broncos have tons of star players on their team, especially on defense, but a key member is an aging free agent.
The Denver Broncos have a lot to think about as they digest their season-ending 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the American Football Conference Championship.
Denver’s season was thrilling and the Broncos showed a ton of resilience throughout the season. Oftentimes this team would be trailing during the first three quarters of games and found ways to pull out a late victory, making for an exciting finish more times than not.
The Broncos defense is and has been one of the best units in the National Football League for a while now. General Manager George Paton built a defense chock-full of star players including All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II, All-Pro defensive end Zach Allen, linebacker Nik Bonitto among the rest.
However, the Broncos have an aging star linebacker who is headed to free agency and has played a pivotal role for this defense since 2022. 32-year-old veteran Alex Singleton didn’t have his best season in 2025, but he was still a key member of this historic unit.
Singleton had a crazy year. He was flagged for heightened levels of hCG after a random drug test, a common sign of testicular cancer. While preparing for the Week 10 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Singleton learned that he indeed had a cancerous tumor.
He played the game against the Raiders and had surgery the very next day. Singleton missed just one game and was back out there for the remainder of the season.
ESPN’s Jeff Legwold believes Singleton’s status will have the most impact on Denver’s offseason.
“Singleton led the team in tackles for the third time in four seasons. And despite cancer surgery in November, he was one of just three players on the team's defense to play at least 1,000 snaps (CB Riley Moss and S Talanoa Hufanga were the others),” Legwold wrote Wednesday. “He could lure a bigger short-term offer from elsewhere, but if the Broncos don't keep him, that's a lot of tackles and snaps to replace.”
If Singleton walks, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to Denver. He’s obviously a fantastic player, great locker room guy and a tremendous veteran to have around for the younger players, but the Broncos have a surplus of linebackers and are predicted to take more in the draft.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded Singleton as the 29th-best linebacker this season, low for his standards but not terrible. I think he would be worth bringing back, but it all depends on what kind of contract he is seeking and if he wants to stay in Denver to run it back next season.
His grit and toughness should warrant a lot of interest from other teams if he doesn’t re-sign with the Broncos.