Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question.

Congrats to the Broncos for re-signing Alex Singleton, who has been great for Philadelphia and Denver the last two years. Why is his new contract amount so low, relatively speaking, when compared to the $10 million-$20 million per year deals signed by other highly productive free agents?

Greg, Broomfield

Hey Greg, thanks for writing in and getting us started this week.

The answer to your question is largely about how NFL teams value different positions in the game currently. There are a few examples of franchises breaking the bank for inside linebackers, but not very many.

Singleton, as a starting point, signed a three-year deal worth up to $18 million that comes with $9 million guaranteed over the next two seasons.

Roquan Smith got five years and $100 million with $45 million guaranteed from Baltimore before free agency. The team that traded Smith to the East Coast, Chicago, gave Tremaine Edmunds up to $72 million over four years at the outset of free agency.

Those deals, plus Matt Milano going back to Buffalo and Bobby Okereke moving from Indianapolis to the Giants, represent the top four deals for linebackers so far this offseason.

Singleton is obviously well off the top of the market, but he’s solidly in the midrange. His $9 million guaranteed checks in No. 23 among NFL linebackers, according to Over the Cap Data, and his $6 million average per year is slightly above what Josey Jewell got from Denver this time last year.

Singleton was thrilled to land where he did financially and it’s easy to see why. He has never played at above the NFL minimum salary and last year made $1.12 million before a nice chunk of performance-based incentive pay from the league.

His most recent deal comes with a $4 million signing bonus and $6 million in total cash flow this year plus $3 million in guaranteed money for 2024.

Hello from Finland! What positions are the remaining needs and how do you see them filled (free agency/draft)? Maybe drop some possible names to keep our eyes on? 

Judy, Lahti, Finland

All the way from Finland! Thanks for writing, Judy, and hope you’re enjoying the rapidly lengthening daylight!

Yeah, so the Broncos have collected quite a haul in free agency so far, from big-ticket purchases on the offensive line to a fullback, punter and the pre-bonanza addition of Lil’Jordan Humphrey. That has drawn down Denver’s salary cap position to where it’s currently pretty tight, though we’ve outlined in the past how they could go about clearing more space — and what the future ramifications of that are.

They could certainly continue to add depth on the offensive and defensive lines. The longer a veteran like defensive lineman Calais Campbell stays on the market, the more you wonder about a potential return to his hometown. The 36-year-old Denver South graduate would be a mentor to young guys like Matt Henningsen and Eyioma Uwazurike and still seems to have some gas left in the tank, though he’s reportedly visiting Atlanta this week.

They could also stand to add more on the edge (see later in the mailbag for more on this), tight end, in the secondary or perhaps at running back. Don’t rule out movement at receiver just yet, either. Denver’s been in on some free agents who have gone elsewhere and the buzz around the league continues to suggest teams are asking about the price on the Broncos’ current set of pass-catchers.

One interesting spot at the moment is center. Perhaps Sean Payton loves what he sees in Lloyd Cushenberry or maybe they’re interested in seeing Quinn Meinerz in the middle. They’ve also got second-year man Luke Wattenberg, a fifth-round pick last spring. Perhaps they’ll try to draft one. Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz and Wisconsin’s Joe Tippmann will probably be gone by the top of the third round, but the Big Ten is the land of centers. Denver could also look at Ohio State’s Luke Wypler or Michigan’s Olsegun Oluwatimi, among other options.

Payton’s always put a premium on being good up front and has helped find mid- and late-round diamonds on the offensive line in the past. The Saints also managed to find guys like running back Alvin Kamara in the third round and figure to be looking for more running back help in late April. There are almost always productive pros available on Day 3.

On the interior defensive line, the Broncos signed Zach Allen to replace Dre’Mont Jones. Among guys who may or may not be around in the late 60s include Wisconsin’s Keeanu Benton – remember, Broncos general manager George Paton drafted a pair of UW defenders last year in Henningsen and cornerback Faion Hicks – or Texas’ Moro Ojomo.

As a former Big Ten beat writer, that’s the league I’m most familiar with. A guy that I always enjoyed watching play and came away impressed by — remember, I am most certainly not a scout — is Michigan tight end Luke Schoonmaker. A do-it-all guy who’s probably a mid-round pick in a really deep tight end class.

Is the Broncos ownership trying to maybe discreetly make a trade for Aaron Rodgers? I know there’s been talks and speculation about Rodgers going to play for the Jets, and he clearly said on the Pat MacAfee Show last week that he intended on doing so, but I was wondering that even though the Packers and Jets aren’t anywhere near done yet in terms of compensation that the longer this drags it could be favorable to other teams and hopefully the Broncos become interested in Aaron Rodgers despite trading for Russell Wilson last offseason. I figured the answer is no to No. 12 but still wanted to ask you if Sean Payton might want Aaron Rodgers over Russell Wilson or if I can kiss the Aaron Rodgers dreams goodbye just like we did last year? Hopefully this doesn’t sound like a dumb question but wanted to get that word out there anyways just in case. I still figure Greg Penner says no. And the Packers wanted a first-round pick, which the Broncos currently do not have right now. 

Robert, San Diego

Hey Robert, the idea of another team getting involved with trying to acquire Rodgers while the Packers and Jets haggle or stare at each other or whatever it is they’re doing at the moment is an interesting one, even though it ultimately seems unlikely. And the Broncos being the team that gets involved is pretty much impossible. Rodgers’ cap hit in New York won’t be bad in 2023, but beyond that currently he’s going to take up a ton of cap room and Denver couldn’t take it on and also get rid of Russell Wilson. It’s almost not worth even outlining but both cutting Wilson ($107 million dead cap currently) and trading him ($82 million dead plus finding a suitable trade partner) are just not going to happen.

What’s clear with the benefit of hindsight – and acknowledging that it really takes Green Bay, another team and Rodgers all saying yes to make a deal happen – is that the Packers would have been better off trading the future Hall of Famer last year. Easy to say after an 8-9, playoff-free season, but they would have got a truckload for him last spring and they wouldn’t be saddled by the massive extension he ended up signing. Now it’s going to leave them with diminished trade return and a $40 million dead cap hit without some major restructuring. And what’s Rodgers’ incentive to do that at this point other than to maybe help the Jets get a deal across the line?

Clearly our Walmart Shoppers have made several positive upgrades. Do we have enough firepower on the edge? If not, what do you recommend?

Jack Peck, Zephyr Cove, Nevada

There’s never enough firepower on the edge, Jack. That’s the mantra for most NFL front offices and is the stated approach for Denver general manager George Paton. He did trade away Bradley Chubb for a first-round pick in November and between that move and injury issues,  it’s no coincidence the Broncos struggled to bother opposing quarterbacks down the stretch. (An aside, but I noticed Malik Reed also signed with the Dolphins recently as a free agent after Denver traded him to Pittsburgh last summer.)

The Broncos have potential on the edge, but that can be a scary position. They need Randy Gregory to be healthy. When he’s full-go, he’s an impact player, but that was only really the case the first three-plus games in 2022.

They could really use Baron Browning blossoming into an upper-echelon player in his second year at the position and need a big second-year jump from 2022 second-round pick Nik Bonitto. After that, you’re talking about role players like Jonathon Cooper, Jacob Martin and perhaps a sleeper like 2022 undrafted free agent Christopher Allen. Cooper and Martin are solid pieces to a rotation, but you’re asking a lot to get a big jump in production from every single player in the group.

At the moment, there’s an interesting set of veteran free agents available, including Leonard Floyd (29 sacks over the past three years for the Rams), Bud Dupree (seven sacks the past two years in Tennessee after signing a five-year, $82.5 million deal there in March 2021) and Yannick Ngakoue (eight or more sacks in all seven NFL seasons). Perhaps the Broncos will hope for a bargain somewhere on that market.

The 2023 draft class is considered a deep one on the edge, but, of course, many of the top players will be gone by the time Denver’s first pick arrives at No. 67. The group that could be in play in that range includes Army’s Andre Carter II, Ohio State’s Zach Harrison, Notre Dame’s Isaiah Foskey, TCU’s Dylan Horton, Michigan’s Mike Morris, Wisconsin’s Nick Herbig and Clemson’s KJ Henry.

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