Peppered amid the plaudits the Denver Broncos have received for their 2025 free-agent class have been critics of the group's injury history. We're talking about the violent and dangerous game of football, after all, where no player stays 100% healthy in a given season, but to a man, safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and tight end Evan Engram have faced an inordinate number of setbacks from the injury bug.
Thus, those critiques and concerns over the Broncos' free-agent class are justified. It's created no small amount of anxiety nestled deep within the wellspring of Broncos Country's excitement, but those injury concerns do linger.
Earlier this week, Broncos head coach Sean Payton assuaged those fears while he held court at the annual NFL meetings in Florida. And yes, each player's injury history was not only considered, but their current state of well-being was heavily investigated by the Broncos' medical staff before any deals were offered.
“A lot of it had to do with how we handle the offseason and how we handle training camp. Quite honestly, there were a couple of them that maybe we would’ve had a much more difficult time signing had there not been a prior injury," Payton said. "We felt with those guys, there is always that risk evaluation that is measured and we felt pretty good about it. We feel like, in our program, we will be smart enough to understand their workload and all the things to try to get them healthy to the field. There is always some risk to that.”
Payton isn't dismissing the risk altogether, but he's playing it down publicly for two reasons. First, the Broncos have been one of the NFL's healthiest teams since Payton arrived, bringing with him multiple coaching and executive hires aimed at prioritizing player wellness and strength and conditioning.
That's what Payton means by "our program," at least in large part, as well as how the Broncos approach training camp, veteran rest days, and the war of attrition that is the 17-game regular season. The second reason Payton is playing down the risk of these free agents without completely dismissing them is the format of how each contract was structured.
The truth is, the Broncos didn't overpay for any of their top three free-agent acquisitions, so not only are these deals not top-of-the-market money, but the team left itself plausible off-ramps after 2025 should history repeat itself and injury befalls the player(s). But as Payton intimated, had Greenlaw's injury not been so recent, he'd likely have been priced out of Denver's budget, and the same goes for Hufanga, who is only 25 years old.
So, yes, the Broncos are balancing on the edge of the risk/reward razor, but if the pendulum swings one way, it's more on the side of reward because of the Broncos' already-proven player wellness program and the safeguards within each contract. If the Broncos' confidence turns out to be well-founded, these free-agent additions will be a massive boost to an already stacked and balanced roster.
The Broncos still have to get their ducks in a row relative to the NFL draft. But holding six selections, including a pick in each of the first four rounds, Denver is poised to flood its roster with additional young talent to hopefully impact not only in 2025 but beyond.
Just as Payton asserted at the NFL Combine, in the Broncos' quest to build the nest around second-year quarterback Bo Nix, it's about more than strictly acquiring offensive weaponry or blockers. A dynamic linebacker who can lead a defense, combined with a whirling dervish of a safety who flies around the field making plays, can be quite a boon to a young quarterback.
Delivering extra possessions and shortened fields to an offense with consistency is a true asset. Ask the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and Baltimore Ravens about how a top-flight defense can be an asset to a quarterback. Or even Peyton Manning circa 2015. Or Drew Brees circa 2009.
