Broncos are confident as they start camp but contract questions hang over Sutton, Bonitto and Allen

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos returned from summer vacation Tuesday without the baggage they schlepped into training camp for most of the last decade.

They’re coming off a season in which they ended their protracted playoff drought, halted their long skid of losing campaigns and, most important, identified their first franchise quarterback — Bo Nix — since Hall of Famer Peyton Manning was still slinging footballs.

The only player starting training camp on the physically unable to perform list is wide receiver A.T. Perry (ankle).

That’s not to say there aren’t any storm clouds brewing over the Rocky Mountains as colossal contracts loom for wide receiver Courtland Sutton, linebacker Nik Bonitto and defensive end Zach Allen.

The first of their ramp-up workouts is on Wednesday and all eyes will be on that trio to see if anyone will skip practices while awaiting a new deal.

At his football camp for kids over the weekend, Bonitto said contract talks between his agent and Broncos general manager George Paton “are happening right now, but I kind of just” stay out of it. “My focus is just winning and trying to get a championship.”

Bonitto said he had no deadline to get a deal done, either, stressing, “I know these things can happen tomorrow or happen months from now.”

Fellow elite edge rushers have cashed in of late. T.J. Watt’s three-year deal averages $41 million, Myles Garrett’s four-year, $160 million contract includes $123 million guaranteed, and Nick Bosa’s contract has a total value of $170 million.

The next wave of younger edge rushers about to reset the market include Cowboys star Micah Parsons, Detroit defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and the 25-year-old Bonitto, who had 13 1/2 sacks in a breakout 2024 season, helping Denver lead the league with a franchise-best 63 QB takedowns.

“Yeah, I mean, the edge market is kind of crazy right now knowing that everybody’s getting these big deals and it’s only getting bigger and bigger,” Bonitto said. “Luckily for me, I’m in a good position right now where the market’s kind of in my favor.”

Sutton, who has 18 touchdown catches over the last two years, is due to make $14 million in 2025, the final year of his four-year, $60.8 million deal. Like Bonitto, Allen is coming off a career year and he’s due to make $12.7 million this season, the final year of a three-year, $46 million deal.

Optimism is, well, sky high in the Mile High City after Nix’s successful rookie season, which was followed by an offseason that featured free agent additions Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw.

Right tackle Mike McGlinchey played with the duo in San Francisco and is excited for their reunion in Denver.

“I think ‘Huff’ and Dre are two of the best at their positions across the league, and they’re monstrous additions for us defensively,” McGlinchey said. “Those two are going to help us tremendously this year, and I’m happy to be back on the same side as them.”

The Broncos also selected Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron, the 2024 Jim Thorpe Award winner, in the first round of the draft, followed by UCF running back RJ Harvey in Round 2. Harvey will pair with free agent pickup J.K. Dobbins in the Broncos’ revamped backfield.

The Broncos are coming off a 10-7 season that ended with a wild-card playoff loss at Buffalo, but McGlinchey laughed when asked if the Broncos saw themselves as championship contenders even though Kansas City has won the AFC West every year since 2016.

“We haven’t even practiced yet,” McGlinchey said. “We certainly feel like we could be, but we have to put in the work day in and day out. We’re obviously very excited about what we have here. Everybody feels a little bit more comfortable with the experience we gained last year, with the year that we had and knowing that’s still not good enough.”

Denver’s defense was already elite in 2024 when cornerback Patrick Surtain II won the Defensive Player of the Year award, and the additions figure to make the Broncos even better in 2025, taking more pressure off of Nix and helping him avoid the second-year pitfalls that bedevil so many quarterbacks.

“Bo, he’s even more confident going into this year,” Surtain said. “Obviously with Year 1 under his belt, a lot more confidence rises upon that. The team, we have Bo’s back the whole way through. He’s a tremendous leader out there, and a tremendous player. This year he’s going to make a lot of noise.”

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