When the Denver Broncos signed inside linebacker Alex Singleton to a one-year, minimum-salary contract last spring, the defender was expected to contribute primarily on special teams in 2022.
Due to several injuries at linebacker, though, the Broncos ended up starting Singleton on defense in 12 games. The 29-year-old linebacker took advantage of his opportunity and led the team with 163 tackles, marking a new career high that topped his previous best of 137 in 2021.
Singleton is now scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 15 and Denver would like to bring him back for the 2023 season.
“He’s just a baller,” Broncos general manager George Paton said of Singleton at the NFL combine on Feb. 28. “We signed him to be a really good special teamer, compete for the starting job… He started the year and then he just took off. He’s just a football player. We’d love to have Alex back. He’s a great leader, has a nose for the ball, players gravitate towards him. We’d like to have Alex back.”
Singleton has a projected market value of $5 million per season. That would be a significant increase from his $1.115 million salary cap hit last season, but it wouldn’t be a bad price for a starting-caliber linebacker in today’s market. The NFL’s free agency negotiating window will open on March 13.
