The Broncos’ third-longest tenured player is often overlooked, but became indispensable late in the 2025 season. Still, he might have better opportunities elsewhere.
PLAYER: P.J. Locke
POSITION: Safety
AGE: 29
CURRENT CONTRACT: Two years, $7 million
EXPERIENCE: Seven seasons, including one on the practice squad
SPOTRAC CONTRACT PROJECTION: $3,563,295 per year
KEY STATS:
29 starts (including postseason) over the last three seasons
Ranks second on the Broncos defense in forced fumbles since 2022 with 5; only Nik Bonitto has more (6)
Including the postseason, opposing quarterbacks had a 35.0 rating when throwing in his direction in 2025, per SportRadar; this came on 18 attempts and was by far the best figure of his career.
WHY THE BRONCOS COULD BRING HIM BACK
Locke’s lumbar spinal-fusion surgery last offseason could give some teams pause before pursuing him. The Broncos have no such concerns, having seen him make it through the 2025 season and step in capably for the injured Brandon Jones down the stretch.
For a team that sits at the precipice of a championship, being able to have a reserve safety of Locke’s ilk is valuable. Possessing at least one reserve in each position group with substantial starting experience is ideal as an insurance policy, and should the opportunity exist to bring Locke back at a reasonable cap figure, it would make sense.
WHY THE BRONCOS WOULD LET HIM WALK
It’s not so much that Denver would LET him depart, as that he’d want to explore the market to see if there’s a better chance to start. Jones played injured during the 2024 season, and it showed; his play did not match his form of 2023, manifesting in a spike in the passer rating for opposing quarterbacks that season compared with the previous campaign. His play while filling in for Jones in December and January showed that he was all the way back.
Denver is also exploring this year’s crop of draftable safeties and formally interviewed Toledo product Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at the Scouting Combine last week.
THE OUTLOOK:
It wouldn’t be a surprise if this takes a little while to play out while Locke gauges the market. If there isn’t a clear starting role for him elsewhere, an eighth Broncos season is very much in play — but likely at a reduced salary.
Locke’s previous two-year deal came on the heels of emerging as a starter late in the 2023 season after Kareem Jackson’s spate of suspensions and was a value play with the team hamstrung by that year’s $53-million crater in the salary cap left by Russell Wilson’s dead-money figure.
The landscape is different now; Brandon Jones and Talanoa Hufanga are established as the starters. Another team may offer him what the Broncos can’t right now: a place on the top line of the depth chart. And if that happens, expect Locke to move on to another opportunity.