The Denver Broncos are Super Bowl champions. Right now, that is the best feeling in the world. But come next month when free agency opens, Broncos general manager John Elway is going to find it difficult to keep all of his contributors in Denver and replenish the roster with talent .
You see, the downside to winning a Super Bowl is that everyone wants more. More money, more playing time, more, more, more. As a result, it's nearly impossible to keep a Super Bowl core intact for very long. The Seattle Seahawks have been forced to make some tough decisions in order to keep Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman happy. The New England Patriots lost both of their starting cornerbacks to free agency after winning last year's Super Bowl. With a whopping 25 players headed to some form of free agency, will Denver suffer a similar fate?
"At times, the Broncos have been a big player in free agency over the past four years, with Peyton Manning's signing in 2012 and the team's splurge in 2014 that netted the team Aqib Talib, DeMarcus Ware, T.J. Ward and Emmanuel Sanders," ESPN Broncos reporter Jeff Legwold wrote. "But this time around, the Broncos have so many players from this year's Super Bowl team who are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents - such as linebacker Von Miller, defensive end Malik Jackson, linebacker Danny Trevathan, safety David Bruton Jr. and running back Ronnie Hillman - they will spend most of their time and available cash looking inward. They'll start with Miller, who will almost certainly get the franchise tag as they try to work something out in a deal that even John Elway has said would be in the $100 million range."
Though it will be complicated, Miller isn't going anywhere. If the Broncos can't come to terms on a lengthy new contract then they will slap him with the franchise tag for a price around $14 million. That may not leave a ton of room for other defensive players such as Malik Jackson, but that's the type of sacrifice you make for a 26-year-old who has already accrued 60.0 sacks in his career.
What will be most interesting to watch is how Elway handles quarterback Brock Osweiler's free agency. Manning will likely call it a career this offseason and though Osweiler is far from a sure thing, he's likely a better option than a scrap heap free agent or a callow rookie. Given the going rate for starting QBs in the NFL, he could have a high asking price.
The Broncos won't be dabbling too much in free agency this offseason. Instead, they will be trying desperately to keep their Super Bowl caliber core together. How successful Elway is at actually doing that remains to be seen.
