Returning from a short absence due to a bone spur in his foot, Nik Bonitto is now atop the Broncos’ extension queue. Denver extended Courtland Sutton and Zach Allen earlier during training camp, moving its other extension candidate’s negotiation to center stage.
Bonitto, who is entering the final season of his rookie contract, is optimistic a deal will be completed but said (via the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson) it is not essential the extension comes before Week 1. The Broncos both completed a big-ticket late-summer extension last year and re-upped two starters in-season.
Denver came to terms with Patrick Surtain on a then-market setting payday days before last season, and the team reached an agreement to extend Jonathon Cooper shortly before the trade deadline — preceding a Baron Browning trade. The Broncos finished their 2024 extension business by giving Garett Bolles another deal, which came to pass in December. It would surprise if the Bonitto deal took that long to complete, but it does not appear a lock he will be paid before the season starts.
The Broncos and Bonitto have been in talks since early May, with steady rumors trickling out about the deal being a priority. Considering Bonitto’s breakout 2024, it is natural the Broncos would want to extend him. The team drafted him before Sean Payton‘s arrival, but current GM George Paton pulled the trigger on the second-round pick in 2022. The Payton-Paton tandem signed off on three deals for 2021 draftees (Paton’s first year with the team), extending Quinn Meinerz along with Surtain and Cooper. It stands to reason Bonitto will have a new deal before year’s end.
It represents a bit of a risk for Bonitto to play out a contract year, but his breakthrough 2024 points to an injury not derailing his place in the organization. The edge rusher market could soon have a new ceiling, however, should the Cowboys pay Micah Parsons before the season starts. Bonitto will not be a candidate for a deal in the Parsons-T.J. Watt–Myles Garrett range, but Parsons raising the bar would stand to help the Denver edge rusher.
Aidan Hutchinson may not have a deal done by Week 1, but if the Lions do come to terms with their ascending 2022 draftee, Bonitto would also benefit by waiting that negotiation out. The Oklahoma alum referenced the rising EDGE market Tuesday, pointing to a potential interest in waiting out the Parsons situation. If the sides do not hammer out an extension by early March, the franchise tag would assuredly come out here.
The Broncos are at just $5.6MM in cap space, but they also have the Russell Wilson dead money coming off the books come 2026. With Bo Nix not extension-eligible until 2027, the team’s recent extensions have capitalized on the rookie-QB contract window. Even though Denver’s window with Nix rookie money is narrower than most such situations (due to the historic dead money from the Wilson mistake), the team has paid several core players since last summer.
In less promising news, the Broncos placed backup interior offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo on IR over the weekend. Payton said Tuesday (via 9News’ Mike Klis) the 2024 seventh-rounder suffered an ACL tear. Denver has the likes of Alex Forsyth and Calvin Throckmorton as interior swingmen, and the team gave UDFA Clay Webb a $225K guarantee this offseason.