3 players Broncos must re-sign this offseason after flaming out of playoffs

The Denver Broncos had Super Bowl hopes and aspirations coming into the playoffs, as Denver had the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs. Following their first-round bye, the Broncos knocked off the Bills in an instant classic in the Mile High City, but the Patriots braved a blizzard to take Denver down in the AFC Championship Game.

Of course, the Broncos’ Super Bowl hopes were severely hampered when Bo Nix went down with an ankle injury at the end of the win over the Bills. Nix has since had surgery, and Jarrett Stidham was forced into action for the conference title game where Denver was already without JK Dobbins.

While the loss will be tough to take, especially with the injury to Nix and the blizzard that eventually brought the AFC Championship Game down to a halt, the Broncos still have plenty to look forward to heading into 2026. Nix improved dramatically from his first season, and Denver is slated to retain a lot of the core of a 14-3 team that stood atop the AFC in the regular season.

However, as with all teams, there are still a few key free agents hitting the open market for the Broncos. Here are three of them that Denver needs to re-sign heading into next year.

DL John Franklin-Myers

Franklin-Myers is one of the more underrated players on this Denver defense, but his production speaks for itself. The former Rams and Jets defensive tackle has brought this defensive line together and was a big part of a unit that recorded a league-high 68 sacks this season.

Franklin-Myers has played in 33 games over the last two seasons with the Broncos, notching 14.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss during that time. The Broncos are already spending a lot of money up front and will need to pay Nik Bonitto a lucrative contract extension soon, but doing the hard work to keep Franklin-Myers around is necessary for this team.

One of the arguments against re-signing Franklin-Myers is that Zach Allen and DJ Jones, the team’s other two top interior defensive linemen, are already two of the highest-paid players on the defense. Franklin-Myers will be expensive to retain, but it is well worth the investment.

LB Alex Singleton

Singleton isn’t a perfect player, but he is the heart and soul of this Broncos defense and Denver would be wise to bring him back. The Broncos have a big hole at linebacker, so it would be worth bringing the 32-year old back on a short-term deal while the Broncos figure out what the future of that position looks like.

Singleton is limited in coverage, but he is still a thumper in the run game and a very productive player when he is at his best. He played in 16 games in 2025, missing one game after he had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor midseason, and made 135 total tackles.

The Broncos will have Dre Greenlaw back at linebacker, so bringing Singleton back alongside him would give the Broncos a physical duo in the middle of their defense while they groom a younger linebacker that they presumably take in the NFL Draft. With defensive coordinator Vance Joseph seemingly sticking around despite some head coaching buzz, bringing Singleton back would help a very good defense keep some of the continuity that made it formidable in 2025.

RB JK Dobbins

The Broncos could look to move on from Dobbins and swap him out for another running back in free agency given his injury history, but the proof of concept with the former Ohio State back suggests that bringing him back would be a smart move. Dobbins played in just 10 games this season before a season-ending foot injury, but he still ran for 772 yards and four touchdowns on the season.

Dobbins isn’t an explosive player at this stage, in large part due to his injury history, but the Broncos severely missed his ability to get north and south and get the hard yards late in the season. He is a good complement to RJ Harvey in the backfield, and a very good Denver offensive line should allow Dobbins and Harvey to have a lot of success next season if that is the pairing in the backfield.

Dobbins shouldn’t be super expensive in free agency, so he would be a realistic target for Denver to bring back into the fold.

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