Ja'Quan McMillian
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Ja'Quan McMillian #29 of the Denver Broncos reacts against the Kansas City Chiefs.
If the Denver Broncos have ways to keep playmakers around — through whatever means necessary — then they should very well take advantage of them.
That means using an unusual roster protection rule to keep cornerback and playoff hero Ja’Quan McMillian in the fold for at least 1 more season, placing a 2nd round tender on him Friday which will pay him $5.8 million in 2026.
In the NFL, a 2nd round tender is a 1-year contract worth either $5.3 million or 110 percent of what the player earned the previous season. Teams use them to protect restricted free agents who have been in the NFL for 3 years. If another team signs McMillian to an offer sheet, the Broncos will get a chance to either match that offer or receive a 2nd round draft pick in compensation.
McMillian is fresh off his best season as a pro and a bravura playoff turn, including a game-saving interception in an overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round.
“Broncos are placing the second-round tender ($5.8M) on CB Ja’Quan McMillian, per sources,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on X on Friday. “One of Denver’s top ball disrupters, McMillian had four sacks, two interceptions and nine pass deflections in ‘25 — including a memorable snatch from Brandin Cooks to seal a playoff win.”
“A big-time playmaker stays in Denver,” DNVR’s Zac Stevens wrote on his official X account.
Calls for Broncos to Keep McMillian After Playoffs
McMillian stepping his game up in 2025 and the Broncos going 14-3 in the regular season and earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs go hand in hand. It also led to many imploring the Broncos to make a move to try and keep him on the roster.
Consider those voices heard after Friday’s move by Broncos general manager George Paton.
From the Locked on Broncos podcast on February 4: “You don’t let a player like Ja’Quan get out of the building or else he’s going to go have success on another NFL team that needs a really good nickel cornerback. And then the Broncos are going to be kicking themselves down the line for it. I think regardless of your decision to draft (Jahdae) Barron, you find a way to pay Ja’Quan. He’s clearly earned that role. It’s his And I don’t think anyone is going to come for it.”
McMillian’s Playoff Heroics Cemented Status
There’s another argument to be made that McMillian may have made one play that was worth, in terms of value to the franchise, what he made in his first 4 seasons, combined — approximately $3 million — with a mind-bending, game-saving overtimie interception of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the AFC Divisonal Round.
It’s continued a pattern for McMillian of playing his best football against the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Remember that it’s McMillian who is the only player to log both an interception and a sack of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and 2-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes in a single game.
“After intercepting Brandin Cooks to help send the Broncos to the AFC Championship, Denver is placing a second-round tender on Ja’Quan McMillian worth $5.8M,” Preme Football wrote on its official X account. “From undrafted to waived, he’s now making a huge impact with 4 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 9 pass breakups in 2025. What a story!”