Derek Wolfe explains exactly what he’s looking for in his next contract

DENVER — With fewer than 96 hours left before the 2020 free-agent scramble begins with the start of the legal tampering period, defensive end Derek Wolfe — the third-longest tenured player on the Broncos roster — said he has not received a contract offer from the Broncos.

“Nothing,” he said in a conversation with Eric Goodman and me on Mile High Sports Radio Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m not angry or surprised. It’s the NFL. I’ve said this many times. It’s a business,” he continued. “I can be loyal — when you do something for somebody, you do something loyal, I do that without any expectations, so I don’t expect anything in return for that loyalty. It’s business. They’ve got to do what’s best for the Broncos, and I understand.”

And Wolfe has to do what’s best for him after posting a career-high 7 sacks. All of them came from Week 6 onward, when Vic Fangio’s defense began to truly click.

“I feel like I’m hitting my prime,” he said. “So many things in my life have changed. I have a whole different outlook now that I have a daughter and a family. I have a whole different responsibility as a man. All it’s done is matured me. It’s actually unlocked things that I didn’t even know I was capable of, and I can feel myself even getting better than I was.”

Wolfe said he was just recently cleared after recovering from the elbow injury he suffered late in the Broncos’ Week 13 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. 

“I’m lifting all the weights previous to the injury,” he said. “It’s almost like it didn’t happen.”

That injury halted his advance towards the NFL’s pass-rushing elite. From Week 6 through the end of the regular season, Wolfe was one of five players who averaged at least one sack per game. The others were Arizona’s Chandler Jones, New Orleans’ Cameron Jordan, Pittburgh’s T.J. Watt and Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams.

“I was in a defensive scheme that opened up the pass rush for me and made it so I wasn’t always doing something for someone else or running outside to keep contain,” he said. “And I didn’t get to play a lot of third downs this year, because we were in a three-man front and they put Dre’Mont Jones out there to be the middle guy, and you can’t get a lot of pass rush in there anyway.“

Wolfe said there would “absolutely” be some sadness if he ends up leaving the Broncos, not only because of his fondness for the only team he has known as a pro, but because Fangio and his scheme utilized Wolfe so well.

“I don’t want to have to leave, but this is going to be my last contract,” he said. “I have to take advantage of it. When else am I going to have the opportunity in my life to make this kind of money? So I have to maximize my opportunities.

“I’m not trying to break the bank anywhere,” he continued. “I know my worth and what I deserve to be paid. I know what I bring to a team and what I bring to a locker room. I just want to be compensated for that.”

Because he delivered stellar play last year before suffering a season-ending ankle injury, Wolfe added he does not want to sign a contract that will pay him less than $9.75 million per year.

“That’s the floor,” he said. “I’m not going to pay for less than what I got last year, that’s for sure.”

Wolfe just completed a four-year, $36.7 million contract. Last year, his salary-cap figure was $10.925 million according to OvertheCap.com, based on an $8 million base salary, the prorated portion of his signing bonus ($2.375 million), a $500,000 roster bonus and a $50,000 workout bonus.

Because of that contract and the rookie deal under which he played from 2012-15, Wolfe said he does not feel disrespected by the Broncos.

“They’ve made it so I can take care of my family for the rest of my life,” he said. “I became a man here. I grew up here. I came here as a 22-year-old boy and now I’m married with kids. You’re not going to hear me say anything bad about the Broncos or the organization. I’ll forever be a Bronco.”

That said, unless something changes regarding the status of the Broncos’ overtures and interest toward Wolfe in the coming days, he faces moving on to another team in 2020.

If that happens, Wolfe hopes his new team sees the Broncos on their schedule. 

“I just hope I get a chance to play them,” he said. “I’ll go out there and try to play the best football game I can play, and I’ll try to make them regret not keeping me. That’s what will motivate me in that moment.

“But afterwards, I’m going to show everybody love. It’s all love. It is what it is.”

It’s a love that won’t end, even if it looks like his years as a Bronco will in the next several days.

“Colorado’s my home, but there’s no problem in going and living in another city for a while, just for six months out of the year,” he said.