ENGLEWOOD, Colo — Alex Singleton has been incredible for the Broncos, averaging 170 tackles the past two seasons and smiling after darn near every one of them. He emerged as the defensive leader after he received the green dot in Week 4. His tenacity and spirit were a big reason for the Denver defense’s in-season turnaround.
But Singleton can’t do it alone. The Broncos’ inside linebacker needs a partner.
Free agency has put the Broncos’ inside linebacker position in a bind. Josey Jewell, a starter for most of his six-year career – including the past two years alongside Singleton -- is once again eligible for free agency. The first time, Jewell never hit the open market. Just before free agency opened in March 2022, the Broncos signed Jewell to a two-year, $11 million contract extension.
He was 27 then and 29 now as he is closing in on another free-agent opportunity. Jewell averaged 108 tackles the past two seasons despite missing five games because of injuries. He’s still a smart, instinctive player and a strong tackler.
But money will come into play as to whether the Broncos bring Jewell back for another season or so. The free-agent market will be deep with inside linebackers including Kansas City’s Drue Tranquill, Minnesota’s Jordan Hicks (who previously played three seasons for Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph) and Houston’s Blake Cashman. There will be $5 million to $8 million a year inside linebackers to choose from.
“I’m still worried about who’s going to be standing next to me more than who is playing quarterback,’’ Singleton told 9NEWS last week at Super Bowl LVIII’s Radio Row when asked about the Broncos’ quarterback uncertainty. “Once Josey gets his stuff figured out, then I’ll start worrying about the other side.”
Where Jewell has some leverage is at the moment there’s no one behind him ready to take his place. Justin Strnad and Ben Neimann, the Broncos’ two backup inside linebackers for most of last season, are also eligible for free agency. Strnad has been strictly a special teams player the past two and a half seasons.
The Broncos did bring back Jonas Griffith on a one-year, minimum exclusive rights free agent deal, but he hasn’t played in nearly two years because of foot and ACL injuries.
Drew Sanders was initially drafted in the third round last year with the idea of one day replacing Jewell at inside linebacker, but it didn’t work out that way. Sanders, a freakish sideline-to-sideline at 6-foot-5, 233 pounds, came on as an outside linebacker in the second half of last season.
It’s possible the Broncos will consider moving Sanders back to the inside linebacker spot. But again his rookie season revealed he may be better on the outside.
As for the draft, the Broncos have too many needs on offense and not enough early draft picks to consider taking an inside linebacker before the third round. They used the third round to take an inside linebacker in 2021 for Baron Browning and 2023 for Sanders, and both wound up moving to outside linebacker.
So while there’s a major question mark at the inside linebacker position next to Singleton, at least the Broncos do have Singleton.
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