Last year, the Broncos learned the value of having a trustworthy backup at every position group.
When Dre Greenlaw kept aggravating his quadriceps muscle in training camp, leading to setbacks that pushed his regular-season debut back to Week 7, the Broncos were covered thanks to Justin Strnad, a six-year veteran who had 14 career starts heading into the season.
Then in December, when Brandon Jones succumbed to a pectoral-muscle injury, the Broncos were covered thanks to P.J. Locke, a starter for a season and a half by then elegated to understudy duty after the addition of Talanoa Hufanga.
It would have been easy for the Broncos to part ways with Locke last summer as he returned from neck-fusion surgery. His cap figure of $5.19 million for 2025 was pricey for a backup, and they could have saved $4.19 million by parting ways with him. Shoot, he had a higher cap figure last season than Hufanga.
But they kept Locke at a premium price for a backup. A pricey insurance policy, yes. But as was the case with Strnad, one that was needed.
And that brings us to Alex Palczewski and Ben Powers.
BRONCOS OPTING FOR FORTIFICATION
Palczewski held down the fort for much of the season while Powers recovered from a torn biceps muscle, doing so well it begged the question: Could the Broncos create salary-cap space by shedding Powers’ contract while extending Palczewski?
Well, that’s not in the cards. They decided they’d rather have Powers at the third-highest cap figure on the roster — $18.155 million — than to save $8,380,000, but have $9.775 million of dead money on this year’s cap.
And thus, Palczewski is poised for another year as super-sub, a role he’s handled brilliantly for the past two seasons.
That’s the key: The Broncos NEED their reserves up front. “Palcho” made three starts in 2024 and 10 last season. Matt Peart started in both seasons, too.
A team that fancies itself a Super Bowl contender, that is looking for “meat on the bone,” as Sean Payton said last week, doesn’t go tossing well-prepared chicken wings in the garbage.
Now, could Palczewski had taken the reins from Powers? Well, the fact that the Broncos got the veteran starter back up to speed as soon as possible following his return from injured reserve speaks volumes.
There was a gap between Powers and Palczweski. And that’s understandable; Palczewski hadn’t played on the left side of the offensive line since before his college days. The difference revealed itself in pressure rate; among 71 guards with at least 400 snaps played last season, Powers ranked 19th in pressure rate allowed, while Palczewski was 42nd, per raw data compiled by Pro Football Focus. (Left guard Quinn Meinerz ranked 22nd.) But Palczewski also finished ninth among interior offensive linemen in run-block win rate, per ESPN Analytics. He joined Meinerz in the NFL’s top 10; the two-time All-Pro finished seventh.
Palczewski still on track to be an eventual starter — and the two-year length of his deal gives him a chance to prove it and earn a fat payday in the 2028 free-agency cycle. The pieces are in place for a transition by 2027.
But for now, why disrupt the cohesion of one of the league’s best offensive lines? And why fiddle with a unit whose primacy in team-building is belabored by the head coach — as Payton says, the offensive line “permeates the building.”
Lobbing a money-saving grenade into the unit would seem a curious move, especially with a team that has almost all the pieces it needs for success.
OK, SO WHY NOT BRING BACK JOHN FRANKLIN-MYERS, TOO?
Well, there’s a limit to just how much you can cram onto a roster. It’s not a matter of saying, “Yes!” to all such scenarios. Each one is different.
For one thing, the Broncos made a heavy investment up front; they re-signed Zach Allen and Malcolm Roach last year to just under $55 million in fully-guaranteed money. As for JFM, a potential eight-figure average-per-year contract awaits him elsewhere.
Further, Franklin-Myers’ expiring deal means there’s no dead money involved, as would have been the case with Powers and as was the case with Locke last year.
The Broncos carried a boulder’s worth of dead money the last two years; as of Friday morning, they had just $1,218,922 of dead money for 2026, per Over the Cap. Only two teams have less dead cap space.
This matters, too. Powers hasn’t done anything to justify being jettisoned for cap purposes, and the Broncos are in healthy shape. The New Orleans Saints, they are not. And if they manage their contracts prudently, they’ll stay that way, allowing them to sustain contention while also retaining flexibility to pursue free agents year after year without having to make difficult cuts.
The Broncos weren’t in a crunch. They needed depth and insurance more than the space. Thus, Powers stays.