The Broncos’ defense is full of players on second contracts with the team. Denver either re-signed or extended its entire projected starting front seven, while Patrick Surtain is locked in long term in the secondary. Extension talks with slot cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian also began this offseason.
As Denver carries two regulars on expiring deals at corner, with Riley Moss joining McMillian in being unsigned beyond 2026, safety Brandon Jones is also among that contingent. Jones’ three-year, $20MM contract expires after the ’26 season. The former Dolphins regular is interested in staying beyond his current pact, with the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson noting the seventh-year veteran wants to “finish his career” with the team.
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No Jones deal is imminent, per Tomasson, as the Broncos likely have McMillian positioned as a higher priority. Denver gave Talanoa Hufanga a three-year, $39MM deal to come over in free agency last March, and the former 49ers standout earned his second All-Pro nod in his Broncos debut season. The Broncos having Surtain and Hufanga — and possibly McMillian by Week 1 — signed to long-term accords may point them to replacing Jones with a younger piece in 2027.
The Broncos have done plenty of business on the extension front before Week 1 and in-season over the past two years. Summer 2024 brought Surtain and Quinn Meinerz paydays, while Jonathon Cooper and Garett Bolles were extended in-season. Last summer featured new deals for Zach Allen, Courtland Sutton and Nik Bonitto, while Malcolm Roach, Luke Wattenberg and Wil Lutz signed extensions during the team’s November bye week.
Jones, 28, has been an effective player since signing with the Broncos in free agency. He intercepted three passes in 2024, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ No. 4 overall safety that year. PFF viewed him as less effective in 2025 (49th), though the Broncos may need to rely on him more this season after losing P.J. Locke to the Cowboys in free agency. Jones, who said he would have attempted to play in Super Bowl LX had the Broncos won the AFC title without Bo Nix, has recovered from the pectoral tear that ended his ’25 season.
Elsewhere on Denver’s defense, Cooper is practicing despite his two June arrests. Teams regularly retain players who land in legal trouble while waiting for cases to be adjudicated. The Falcons (James Pearce Jr.) and Packers (Josh Jacobs) are letting the legal processes play out regarding their embattled starters. The Broncos excused Cooper from minicamp, but based on recent Sean Payton comments, it does not look like the team will release the longtime outside linebacker starter.
“We’re proud of the work he did this last, call it month-and-a-half. It wasn’t easy,” Payton said, via the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel. “And it’ll continue to be a challenge and we’ll see where it goes. But fully supportive of him right now as we gather all the information and then we go from there.”
Cooper, 28, is set to be arraigned August 31 on felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from an incident with his ex-girlfriend. Both Cooper and his girlfriend were arrested on simple assault charges in early June, but after the former violated a protective order, he was arrested again and faces additional charges.
The Broncos have Cooper (27 sacks from 2023-25) on a team-friendly deal — four years, $54MM — and have seen him provide considerable value as a seventh-round pick. Denver also carries some question marks behind its OLB starters. Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman and Que Robinson round out the Broncos’ edge-rushing stable.
Elliss would be positioned to start opposite Bonitto if a Cooper suspension comes down this year. A 2027 suspension could also be in play here, as a trial date would be forthcoming after the August arraignment, but Payton said a resolution to this case could come “sooner than later.”
In health-related Broncos matters, the team will not have 2025 seventh-round offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo in time for the season. Gargiulo, who missed last season after suffering an ACL tear in August 2025, will be shifted from the active/PUP list to the reserve/PUP list later this month, Tomasson adds. As Gargiulo’s career is grounded, the Broncos
Rounding out this batch of Broncos news, KOA’s Benjamin Allbright notes Kareem Jackson — a five-year safety contributor with the team who later landed a scouting role — is no longer with the club. Jackson had worked as a regional scout for the Broncos in 2025.
