Broncos Roundtable: What should Sean Payton & the Denver Broncos do with all of their extra cap space?

In just a week’s time, the Denver Broncos went from being one of the teams with the least amount of cap space to having plenty of cap space.

Entering the second week of free agency, the Broncos have over $20 million in cap space.

Part of this money was freed up by releasing players such as Justin Simmons, while other significant amounts of cap space were opened up by restructuring and changing the contracts of Tim Patrick, Mike McGlinchey, Ben Powers and Zach Allen.

The Broncos’ salary cap guru Rich Hurtado deserves some praise for taking the Broncos out of the red and giving them plenty of green to work with.

But what should Sean Payton and George Paton do with all of this cap space as the team enters the second week of free agency?

The DNVR Broncos Crew debates.

What should the Broncos do with all of their extra cap space?

Zac: Save it — I know this isn’t the way Sean Payton operates. During his 15 years with the New Orleans Saints, Payton was famous for essentially putting the salary cap on a credit card and kicking the payment down the road.

But one thing Payton didn’t do in New Orleans was rebuild the team midway through his tenure. That’s what appears to be happening in Denver. And during a rebuild, it doesn’t make any sense to spend every last dollar the team has in cap space.

After filling out their roster and getting the players they need for the future, the Broncos should pocket the rest of their salary cap and roll it over into 2025. This will not only help continue to pay off Russell Wilson’s dead cap, but it will give the Broncos more money next year to help them complete the rebuild in just a year’s time.

Stop spending. Start saving.

Henry: Roll it over — The Broncos are in a rebuilding year. There’s no need to make any additions. Every dollar the Broncos have could be better spent in 2025 or beyond.

Despite having only Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci on the roster, the Broncos didn’t jump into the quarterback market. That’s the right move. Blowing $8 million for Jacoby Brissett or $12 million per year for Gardner Minsheew doesn’t make sense. Draft a rookie, save some cash, and see what he can do.

If the Broncos see a young player on the market who could be part of the team’s future, then sure, sign him up. Denver’s cap flexibility allows them to snag a bargain if they see one.

For the most part, the Broncos should fill out their roster with minimum contracts.

RK: Absolutely nothing — The Broncos path to competing next season has become almost non-existent. Of course, they could knock it out of the part in the draft, including hitting on a QB but the odds of replicating what the Texans did last season aren’t great. If you could promise me that was going to happen, then I could make the case for spending that money this year, but at this point, it’s better for Denver to just take their medicine on next season and gear up to start competing again in 2025.

With that being said, it’s not in the Broncos or in Sean Payton’s DNA to sit back, so if they do feel the need to go out and spend their money this year, I would request that they do it on players who are 26 or younger. If you’re going to add players to the roster right now, you should do it with the plan in place that they will be a big part of this team three years down the road.

The pickings are slim, though. Just put the money away. Maybe invest it in Bitcoin.