The Denver Broncos aren’t done cleaning house after cutting quarterback Russell Wilson.
Denver finished 8-9 in 2023, the franchise’s 8th consecutive losing season, and heads into an offseason with a lot of uncertainty.
One of the roster questions has now been answered, as NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero has reported that the Broncos are not tendering defensive lineman Jonathan Harris as a restricted free agent.
The #Broncos informed DL Jonathan Harris they aren’t tendering him as a restricted free agent, per source. Harris played in all 17 games last season, starting five, and now hits the open market at age 27.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 6, 2024
Harris played in all 17 games last season and is now an unrestricted free agent at age 27.
The five-year veteran played the last four years in Denver after entering the league in 2019 as an undrafted free agent and is coming off his best season, playing all 17 games for the first time and collecting 43 tackles and his first career sack.
Harris played 47 percent of Denver’s defensive snaps this past season and now has some leverage in free agency coming off his first consistent role in a defensive rotation.
The Broncos will now look forward to improving a defense that struggled last season, allowing 24.3 points per game which was sixth-worst in the NFL.
They also surrendered the third-most rushing yards in the league, which is likely a major reason why upgrading the defensive line is a major priority.
The front office will need to get creative, as Spotrac has the Broncos as $19.2 million over the cap, worse than everyone but the Buffalo Bills.
Zach Allen just finished the first year of a 3-year, $45 million deal and posted just five sacks, while defensive tackle D.J. Jones is heading into the final year of a 3-year, $30 million deal after posting just two sacks in each of the past two seasons.
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