Complete list of Broncos free agents heading into 2019

The Denver Broncos will enter the 2019 offseason with 26 total free agents. Fourteen of those will be unrestricted free agents. The biggest names in that category are Bradley Roby, Matt Paradis, Shaquil Barrett, Domata Peko, and Jared Veldheer. The Broncos would be wise to re-sign at least a couple of those guys.

As the team makes the transition from rebuild to contender, they will want to retain some of those key veterans who will make a huge difference on the field and in the locker room. My wish list includes Roby, Paradis, and Peko. I would even include Veldheer considering how difficult a time the team has had at finding quality offensive line play over the last several years.

Here is your complete list of 2019 Broncos free agents.

An unrestricted free agent are free to hit the open market and negotiate with any team once their contract officially expires, so these players will all be open to sign with the highest bidder or the team of their choice in March.

A restricted free agent is a player who has exactly three accrued NFL seasons. For restricted free agents, the Broncos will place tenders on these players to retain their services for another season. They will have four different tender options to choose from:

First-round tender: Free agent can negotiate with other teams, but original team has option to match any deal and will receive a first-round selection if it opts not to match the deal.

Second-round tender: Free agent can negotiate with other teams, but original team has option to match any deal and will receive a second-round selection if it opts not to match the deal.

Original-round tender: Free agent can negotiate with other teams, but original team has option to match any deal and will receive a selection equal to the round the player was originally selected in if it opts not to match the deal.

Right of first refusal: Free agent can negotiate with other teams, but original team has option to match any deal. The team will not receive any compensation if it opts not to match another deal.

There is a good chance all of these players remain with the Broncos through 2019. Even if a team were to make an offer, think back to C.J. Anderson getting an offer from the Miami Dolphins in 2016, the Broncos could simply match it and retain that player moving forward.

An ERFA is highly unlikely to switch teams. OverTheCap defined an ERFA as follows:

These are the players with 2 or less seasons in the league, a status reserved almost solely for undrafted rookie type players. Once tendered they can only negotiate with their former team. The tender offer is only a one year non-guaranteed contract at the minimum salary level so most teams would use the ERFA designation on players who were on the roster late in the prior year and signed to a 1 year deal. Usually these offers are signed as soon as they are made since nothing is gained by waiting.

We should expect all of these players to be back in the orange and blue in 2019.