Broncos Face a Roster Decision on Alex Singleton—Is It Time to Move On?

Alex Singleton was a good enough starter for the Denver Broncos, especially for a defense that needed good enough from the linebacker position. His play earned him a deserved extension from the team, but as he enters the final year of his deal, is he still cemented on the 53-man roster? 

Whenever you evaluate a player and build a 53-man roster, there are multiple factors to consider, including depth at the position, the player's age, contract, and any injuries the player or position may have. There is more to it than that, but those are four of the main things to look at when looking at Singleton. 

First up is Singleton’s age, which is 31 years old and will turn 32 in October. That is on the wrong side of 30, and teams often look at getting younger. However, his age must be considered in conjunction with all other factors to gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation. 

The second part is the depth, and this is one of those aspects that can alleviate concerns over his age. Behind Singleton, you have Justin Strnad, Drew Sanders, Levelle Bailey, and three undrafted rookies. None of them are the quality of depth where you can look at moving on from Singleton to get younger, because you’re going to take a significant drop-off in terms of play on the field. 

Now, one of them, mainly Sanders, Bailey, or an undrafted free agent, can make a surprise happen in camp by showing vast improvement to make Singleton more expendable, but that seems on teh unlikely side of things to happen. 

One of the benefits of one of them stepping up to help the Broncos get younger is that it can also help them become cheaper, significantly cheaper, and give them more cap room to work with for this season. However, with the team currently sitting a little under $13 million in cap space, that isn’t as big of a deal. 

Parting ways with Singleton doesn’t alleviate the cap for next year since he is in the final year of his deal. He has the ninth-highest cap hit on the team at $6,913,334, where $1,333,334 would count as dead cap if he is cut or traded, and the remaining amount would be made available. 

The only reason you would do that is if you are giving a player a raise and starting it this year, rather than next, signing a free agent to a big-time deal that is rare this time of year, or trading for an expensive piece to improve a position viewed as a weakness. 

The issue with trading or cutting Singleton is that it makes an already weak linebacker room even weaker. Even with Singleton coming back from a serious injury, which raises concerns about what he can do on the field, those depth options don’t inspire confidence. 

While it isn’t safe to assume Singleton is on the roster, especially after everyone assumed Tim Patrick was last year, only for him to be cut, it seems more likely than not. The wide receiver position was crowded, and someone had to go; that isn’t the case with the linebacker position this year. 

However, due to his age, cost, and injury, the Broncos may decide to move on, especially if one of the depth options steps up to fill the role. They also have the option of moving on from Singleton and then making a move for a veteran linebacker free agent, or to add via a trade. So, they would still have options. 

Again, it isn’t safe to assume Singleton will make the roster, but it's a good bet he does. There is more risk in letting him go because of the room's current status than in keeping him.