Broncos free up cap space by converting Courtland Sutton’s roster bonus into a signing bonus

Just days after freeing up an additional $4.9M in cap space through some reworking of Tim Patrick’s contract, the Denver Broncos have now done the same with Courtland Sutton’s contract to free up another $7.875 million in cap space.

That brings the total of additional cap space in 2022 to $12.475M for the Broncos. They were running a little low, so these two moves have helped create the room general manager George Paton needs to make additional signings in free agency.

A lot of people started mentioning La’el Collins soon after this report, but Denver would need to create more space in all likelihood. They could do that through some cuts of veterans like Mike Purcell and Dalton Risner, but until that actually happens this move really only opens the door for some minor signings in free agency.

Paton did say that they’d be looking to sign a cornerback or two, which is something they have yet to do.

“We need to add a corner at some point—or two,” Paton said on Friday. “We have some players that are UFAs (unrestricted free agents) that we’re talking to. We’ll keep monitoring the guys who get cut and the corners that are still available. We need to add a corner or two, definitely.”

This type of contract rework would have freed up enough space to make exactly that kind of move. The Broncos are reportedly trying to resign Bryce Callahan, but are also interested in Chris Harris Jr.