Broncos general manager George Paton says that conversations with Dre’Mont Jones agent have been ‘very positive’

The Denver Broncos biggest free agent is defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones. He is by far their best defensive lineman and interior pass rusher and a player the Broncos would like to bring back. During today’s press conference at the NFL scouting combine, Broncos general manager George Paton gave an update on how those contract talks are going.

Paton told reporters that he has spoken with Dre’Mont Jones’s agent and that talks have been “very positive.”

General Manager George Paton also stated that Jones is one of the Broncos “core” players on defense.

“Very positive. I’ve spoken with his agent, Kyle McCarthy, from Athletes First. I’ve had a number of conversations with Dre’Mont. Dre’Mont is a very good player. He’s one of our core players on defense. They’ve been very positive.”

Jones is one of the Broncos core players on defense. He is arguably their third best defensive player on the roster behind cornerback Patrick Surtain II and safety Justin Simmons. He is really the only player on the Broncos that provides consistent interior pressure and losing him would be a major loss to the Broncos.

When you’re in a division with Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, you need interior pressure to disrupt these two top quarterbacks in the league.

It was already reported by 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis that the Broncos “love” Dre’Mont Jones but are not thrilled of the idea of placing the franchise tag on him. It has not been totally ruled out reportedly, but it does not sound like the Broncos are keen on the idea. The price of both versions of the franchise tag are about $19 million dollars and it sounds like the Broncos are not that interested in paying that amount for Jones.

Jones recently tweeted out that he wants to be a Broncos for as long as possible, so there appears to be some mutual interest here. Both sides likely prefer agreeing to a long-term deal instead of going the franchise tag route, so I would look for that instead of the one-year tag. However, that route does come with some risk, especially if Jones hits the open market. The risk of not placing the tag on Jones is him remaining un-signed entering the tampering period and teams being able to offer more money than the Broncos.

Now, hopefully the mutual interest from both-sides will stop that scenario from happening, but we shall see. Jones is currently the top interior pass rusher on the market, and that market is dwindling as we speak. The Washington Commanders placed the franchise tag on defensive lineman Daron Payne, so Jones would arguably the top defensive lineman available. So, if he does hit the open market, he could see some major money thrown at him that would price him out of the Broncos price range.

So, hopefully the two-sides can agree on something sooner rather than later. General manager George Paton is expected to continue to meet with Jones’s agent at the combine so hopefully, we hear some good news regarding Jones returning to the Broncos.