Updated Denver Broncos Salary Cap

Before Demaryius Thomas

Before the Franchise Tag that was placed on Demaryius, the Broncos had a team cap of 149.504 million, expenditures of 131.274 million and approximately 29.2 million in cap space.

After Demaryius Thomas

With the salary cap number for Wide Receivers being 12.823 million, the Broncos currently have about 17.291 million left.

Possible restructures:

Peyton Manning (5.0 dead/16.5 cap savings)

Ryan Clady (1.8 dead/8.8 cap savings)

Britton Colquitt (1.5 dead/2.25 cap savings)

Possible Cuts:

Manny Ramirez (166K dead/3.0 cap savings)

Bubba Caldwell (200K dead/1.35 cap savings)

If the Broncos need some more wiggle room to sign players, they can always get that money in house. Whether it be the eventual restructure of Peyton Manning's contract, or the restructures of players that have struggled to perform, there is plenty of loose change available to add to the coffers.

Perhaps my favorite moves would be to cut both Manny Ramirez and Bubba Caldwell, which would add an additional 4.35 million to the cap.

One thing to remember about Demaryius, once a new deal is agreed upon, that new deal is what will count against the cap. Meaning that a well structured deal could in fact save the Broncos millions of dollars on the cap this season or the next. Think of Chris Harris Jr.'s deal only being worth 3 million on the 2015 cap despite an average annual value of about 8.5 million.

AFC West Watch

Oakland Raiders:

55.7 million cap space

Key UFA:

CB Carlos Rogers

RB Darren McFadden

C Stefen Wisniewski

Kansas City Chiefs:

-5,756,057 in the red

Key UFA:

LG Mike McGlynn

C Rodney Hudson

San Diego Chargers:

30.29 million cap space

Key UFA:

RB Ryan Mathews

WR Eddie Royal

CB Brandon Flowers

S Marcus Gilchrist

RB Ronnie Brown

CB Shareece Wright

Analysis:

Overall, the AFC is in pretty good shape sans Kansas City--who has all kinds of financial issues heading into 2015. The Chargers and especially Raiders are in prime position to pay some blue chip players to come be a part of their respective rosters.

The Broncos do not get into bidding wars. They have a number in mind for each player they pursue, and once that number is surpassed, the interest goes away. This season, it may be wise for the Broncos to take care of most of their own free agents while stowing a little cash away for next season's impending FA class that will include Von Miller.