The Broncos moved to fortify their offensive line Wednesday by agreeing to terms on a contract with tackle Matt Peart, the team announced Wednesday.
Peart spent the first four seasons of his career with the New York Giants. He’s signing a one-year deal with Denver.
Peart, listed at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds, played in 43 games over four years in New York and served mostly as a back-up. He started seven games overall — including five in 2021 and one this past year — and can potentially play either tackle spot.
Peart, 26, was a third-round draft pick of the Giants in 2020 out of Connecticut. He adds a bit of a midpoint to a group of tackles that includes veteran starters Mike McGlinchey and Garett Bolles and then otherwise mostly features a young group of undrafted prospects like Alex Palczewski and Trey Jacobs.
Denver, of course, has not drafted a true offensive tackle since selecting Bolles in the first round of the 2017 draft.
In that way, signing Peart continues a trend this offseason of the Broncos finding players who are relatively young, entering their second contract and who are not particularly expensive.
In fact, three of Denver’s four outside free agency signings — Peart, safety Brandon Jones and defensive tackle Malcolm Roach — were in the 2020 class and linebacker Cody Barton was 2019.
Peart should get a chance to prove he’s a capable swing tackle in Denver. Coach Sean Payton late in the season pegged it as a key spot late in the year before Cam Fleming made his first start of the year in Week 18 in place of McGlinchey.
“Tackle three … I think it’s extremely important,” Payton said. “… When the offseason came and we were looking at who tackle three is, that is an important position.”
Another consideration is Bolles’ looming contract situation. The veteran left tackle was the only Broncos offensive player to play every snap in 2023, an impressive feat after a fractured leg ended his 2022 season. He played well, but he’s also now in the final year of his contract and turns 32 later this spring.
Bolles carries a $20 million cap number — now highest among players actually on the Broncos’ roster — that would be easy to reduce with an extension, but Denver’s not gone there so far. They also haven’t traded him or released him, which would produce $16 million in cap room and a modest $4 million in dead cap.
That all adds up to suggest Bolles’ future in Denver is cloudy and points to another reason Peart’s signing is interesting. The Broncos like their developmental depth on the offensive line, but there’s a difference between that and believing fully that somebody is ready to step in as a full-time left tackle.
Now the team also gets an inexpensive look at Peart as it formulates a long-term plan.
Pro day mania. ‘Tis the season for Pro Days around the country. Broncos scout Dave Bratten ran the University of Colorado’s pro day Tuesday in Boulder.
On Wednesday, Broncos Western national scout Sae Woon Jo was right in the mix of USC quarterback and presumptive No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams’ workout in Los Angeles. Jo also had a similarly active hand in Oregon quarterback Bo Nix’s workout last week.
Alabama, Ohio State and Texas also had their pro days Wednesday and feature likely first-round picks. So, a busy day for the scouting community across the NFL.
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