A mainstay in Denver’s secondary is flying south for the winter.
On Tuesday, former Broncos safety P.J. Locke agreed to a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys, a source confirmed to The Denver Post. It’ll bring an end to a six-year tenure in Denver for one of the Broncos’ truest grinders, an undrafted free agent in 2020 who worked his way from a special-teamer to an important piece in Denver’s secondary.
Broncos NFL free agency 2026 tracker: J.K. Dobbins, Alex Singleton are back, but Broncos cut Dre Greenlaw
Locke issued a statement to “Broncos Country” on Twitter later Tuesday afternoon.
“For the past 7 years you guys have made Denver feel like home for my family and I,” Locke wrote. “Things didn’t work out business wise, but just know you guys hold a very very special place in my heart that I can’t put into words. From the coaches, front office, friends, teammates and all the other relationships that were built. It’s hard moving on from that for sure, Trust me (sic).
We love you guys and wish the best of luck to everyone.”
Locke became a full-time starter at safety for the Broncos two years ago, a hard hitter who racked up 74 tackles and three tackles for loss in 15 starts in 2024. After Denver signed Talanoa Hufanga this past offseason, Locke was relegated to reserve duties, but started five games and stabilized Denver down the stretch at safety when the Broncos lost starter Brandon Jones for the season with a pec injury.
Locke, too, worked his way back from an offseason spinal-fusion procedure in 2025, fixing a degenerated disc in his vertebrae that caused “terrible” nerve pain, as Locke told The Post this past training camp. Few players in NFL history have ever returned to play from such an operation; Locke, though, returned little worse for wear for training camp and actually showed up an inch taller due to a spacer installed in his spine.
“I think the young man’s just a warrior,” former Texas safeties coach Craig Naivar, who coached Locke in college, told The Post before the season. “He (has) overachieved, he’s a hell of a player.”
Locke recorded 16 regular-season tackles for the Broncos in 2025. He had a huge game in Denver’s AFC divisional-round win over the Bills, recording nine tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.
He’ll now get the chance to compete for an expanded role in Dallas under new Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker, who coached Locke in Denver as the Broncos’ defensive backs coach from 2021 to 2023. It’s also a homecoming for Locke, who grew up in Beaumont, Texas and played college football for the Longhorns.
Several NFL sources told The Post last week that the Broncos would be in the market for a safety in free agency, and it’s now likely Denver picks up a piece to provide depth behind Hufanga and Jones. The Broncos, too, have been increasingly mocked toward Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at pick No. 30 in the first round of April’s NFL Draft.
Greenlaw update. The Broncos will formally release Dre Greenlaw once the new league year begins Wednesday afternoon and designate him a post-June 1 release, a source told The Post on Tuesday.
Greenlaw’s 2026 cap number, according to OvertheCap data, is $10.357 million. By designating him a post-June 1 release, Denver will carry Greenlaw’s entire cap number until June 1, then will pick up $8.19 million in cap room. They will take $2.17 million in dead salary cap in 2026 and another $2.16 million in 2027.
Teams can use the post-June 1 designation with up to two players per year.
Payton’s other coaching gig. Sean Payton’s offseason, oddly enough, is being impacted by the war in Iran.
Payton is set to coach in the inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic later this month in Saudi Arabia. Recently, though, the event moved out of the Middle East and to Los Angeles.
The event is full of current and former star players and the teams are being coached by Payton and San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan.
Payton’s team, Founders FFC, is captained by Tom Brady and Jalen Hurts.
The event is March 21 at BMO Stadium.
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