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With Cody Barton, Justin Strnad and Zach Cunningham all scheduled to become unrestricted free agents in March, the Denver Broncos only have three inside linebackers under contract for 2025 (and there are caveats).
The most notable ILB signed for next year is veteran Alex Singleton, but is 31 years old and coming off a torn ACL. Singleton is currently scheduled to have a $6.9 million salary cap hit in 2025 and Denver could save $5.58 million if the linebacker is released.
So there’s no guarantee Singleton will still be on the roster next fall. Even if he returns on a reduced salary, Singleton might not return to his pre-injury form.
The second ILB* signed is Drew Sanders, but there’s an asterisk because there’s still uncertainty on whether Sanders will play primarily as an inside or outside linebacker. After returning from injury, he played 18 snaps on defense in four games in 2024 as a rotational linebacker.
The third LB under contract is K.J. Cloyd, who signed a reserve/future contract with the team in January after competing on the practice squad in 2024. Cloyd seems unlikely to be more than a rotational backup and special teams contributor if he makes the active roster in 2025.
It’s clear that the Broncos will need to add at least one starting-caliber inside linebacker this offseason, if not two. Even if the team re-signs Barton, Denver needs to add more talent at the position in 2025.