Two Broncos are atop Pro Football Focus’ rankings for their position through 11 weeks. After signing left tackle Garett Bolles to a four-year extension, they have the opportunity to keep them both.
The other, of course, is safety Justin Simmons. He received the franchise tag last March, could not come to terms with the Broncos on a multi-year deal before the July deadline and now is playing out the year on that tag.
The Broncos had a looming conundrum for the 2021 offseason; they couldn’t franchise both. But now that Bolles has a four-year, $68 million deal in place, they have the option of tagging Simmons once again if they cannot reach accord on a long-term deal early in the offseason before the franchise-tag deadline.
Suddenly, one of the biggest questions of the offseason looks like it has an answer.
Furthermore, whether the Broncos need to use the tag to buy time to sign Simmons or they can get it done in March, the Broncos now have an excellent chance of being able to keep the two players most responsible for keeping the team afloat in the midst of an injury- and COVID-19-filled season that is perhaps the most tumultuous in Broncos history.
The biggest gamble on Bolles’ contract is whether he can continue the level of play he has displayed in the last 12 months.
Bolles spent the first 10 games of this season showing that his late-2019 surge was not a false positive. He has been dominant in pass protection, not allowing a sack all year. He’s been a road-grader in run-blocking, demonstrated last week when he flattened a Dolphins defender. And he’s ended his proclivity for penalties; he has just four holding infractions in his last 15 games after being flagged for holding 15 times in his previous 13 games.
“The stuff he is doing is Pro Bowl,” running back Phillip Lindsay said after last Sunday’s win over the Miami Dolphins. “He’s having a hellacious year.”
And if he keeps playing at this level, his contract might look like a bargain. His contract is the fourth-highest among left tackles in terms of average annual outlay — $17 million. But to tag him in March, have him play out 2021 on the tag and then try to sign him after that could have pushed Bolles’ deal beyond $20 million a year if his 2021 performance matches his play this year.
Now the Broncos don’t have to worry about whether Bolles is playing his way beyond the stratosphere and into the thermosphere of contracts. They just have to ensure he sustains his current form.
Bolles’ contract caps one of the greatest comebacks in the history of a franchise whose success was built on them, from “The Drive” to Drew Lock reviving hopes for his future by guiding the Broncos to their biggest second-half home rally in 41 years on Nov. 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The fourth-year tackle himself deserves plenty of credit for taking the narrative and trend on his career and reversing it in barely 12 months. He rededicated himself to film study and intense work on his technique, and the results show in his hand placement and improved footwork and balance.
But the ascent also coincides with the arrival of Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Munchak as the team’s offensive-line coach. He transformed linemen in Tennessee and Pittsburgh into some of the NFL’s finest. Now he has done the same with Bolles, turning an apparent draft bust into the best left tackle in the sport this season.
“I love that man dearly,” Bolles said of Munchak this week. “I give him all the credit in the world because of what he’s done with me and in such a short amount of time, and it’s really nice to know that I have an O-line coach I can rely on and that I can trust and we can talk man-to-man.”
Bolles has his contract. Munchak should get a contract of similar length for his work. And perhaps next comes Simmons, a possibility made more realistic by the ability to get Bolles’ new deal crossed off the Broncos’ checklist.
Building a contender starts with creating an environment in which players can develop, thrive and be rewarded. Re-signing Bolles is a huge step toward that, too.
