The Denver Broncos have risen from the depths of the NFL and built a contender. But now comes the hard part… keeping as much of that intact as possible.
Regardless of how the 2025 season goes for the Broncos, the team will have several key players scheduled to hit the free-agent market this offseason. Among those, the names of Courtland Sutton, Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers stand out. However, there is one player who may need to be prioritized over all of them and that is edge rusher Nik Bonitto.
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report, while identifying one move every team needs to make this offseason, agrees.
“Bonitto is one of the league’s most underrated pass-rushers. He has increased his sack total every year since his 2022 rookie campaign. Bonitto isn’t on the same tier as star pass-rushers Micah Parsons, T.J. Watt and Aidan Hutchinson, who could soon sign megadeals. Yet, according to The Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson, the Pro Bowl pass-rusher could command more than $20 million annually on a new deal.
With Bonitto coming off a 13.5-sack campaign, Denver should look to pay him this offseason because he can significantly increase his contract demands with another Pro Bowl year”, wrote Moton.
There are some strong points in there, but Moton hits it on the head with that last sentence. If the Broncos wait to sign Bonitto to a new deal and he goes out and has another year like last year or even better, he could get into the unaffordable range. That is a risk that the front office should not take.
Nik Bonitto Career Stats
| Season | Defensive Snaps | Total Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | Forced Fumbles | Fumble Recoveries |
| 2022 | 357 | 14 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 524 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | 708 | 48 | 13.5 | 1 (ret. for TD) | 2 | 1 |
Remember how surprised George Paton was to get Bonitto where he did in that draft? With Bonitto getting better with every season, he could be on his way to becoming one of the league’s breakout players. The Broncos need to make sure he is on their roster if that happens.
Currently, Spotrac shows a projected market value for Bonitto next season at $23.6 million annually. That is high, but it is the going rate for a productive pass-rusher in today’s NFL. The Broncos could likely get him to agree to an extension for considerably less than that if they do it as soon as possible.
That could easily mean that down the line, at least one of Sutton, Franklin-Myers or Allen will have to be turned loose as teams can’t afford to pay everyone. But of the four players, Bonitto should be the first to get a new contract from the Broncos.
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