The Denver Broncos have 18 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents next month, most notably including defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones.
After the NFL officially set the 2023 salary cap at $224.8 million on Monday, we now know franchise tag figures for the upcoming offseason. Here’s the full list for every position, with positions of note to Denver highlighted.
Franchise tag cost per position 2023:
- Quarterback: $32.42M
- Running back: $10.1M
- Wide receiver: $19.74M
- Tight end: $11.36M
- Offensive linemen: $18.24M
- Defensive end: $19.73M
- Defensive tackle: $18.94M
- Linebacker: $20.93M
- Cornerback: $18.14M
- Safety: $14.46M
- Kicker/punter: $5.39M
Jones seems to be the Broncos’ most likely candidate for a franchise tag designation this spring. He is much more a defensive tackle than an edge rusher, but Denver lists Jones as a defensive end on its roster. If tagged as a DT, Jones and the NFLPA would likely fight it, and the Broncos probably wouldn’t want to go through that hassle for a difference of just $790,000.
If tagged, Jones would presumably be tagged as a defensive end, which could cost Denver almost $20 million in salary cap space. Such a scenario can’t be ruled out, but it would be more cost-effective for the Broncos to give Jones a multi-year extension with a lower cap hit in 2023.
Denver general manager George Paton presumably hopes to get a long-term deal done with Jones, but if he’s not able to, a one-year franchise tag to buy time in negotiations remains a possibility. The deadline to place a franchise tag on a player this offseason is March 7.
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