Broncos lose John Franklin-Myers as he cashes in big time

For John Franklin-Myers, what was expected became reality just over three hours into the NFL’s legal-tampering period on Monday.

The veteran defensive lineman cashed in on the two most productive seasons of his career, jumping to the Tennessee Titans on a three-year contract that could be worth $63 million if he plays out the length of the deal.

The Broncos had dished out a plethora of contract extensions to current players on the defense over the last two seasons, but Franklin-Myers was never one of them.

Now, he gets his lucrative deal and a fresh start in Tennessee.

John Franklin-Myers is signing with the #Titans on a 3-year, $63M deal with $42M guaranteed, per The Insiders. pic.twitter.com/BSkNLxEtUi

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2026

Franklin-Myers came over in a trade from the Jets, for a sixth-round pick, in April of 2024. It was a great move by GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton, with “JFM” registering 14.5 sacks over his two seasons in Denver.

He had 65 tackles and started in 31 of 33 games he played in with the Broncos over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. However, when no new deal was offered during the season or over the last several weeks, it became apparent Franklin-Myers would likely leave town.

That just happened to be with the Titans.

FRANKLIN-MYERS OFFERED A SOCIAL-MEDIA HINT PRIOR TO THE LEGAL-TAMPERING PERIOD

Franklin-Myers’ ex-Jets teammate, Jermaine Johnson, is headed to the Titans via a recently-agreed-upon trade, and in the wake of the deal, Johnson tweeted at Franklin-Myers with a GIF and the words, “Next Wednesday coming soon…”

That led Franklin-Myers to reply thusly:

😂😂😂😂

— John Franklin-Myers (@J_FranklinMyers) March 3, 2026

He played it coy when interviewed by NFL Network last week, but it was impossible to avoid putting two and two together.

“I mean — nah, man, that’s the best part of football, is the relationships that you create. And, man, Jermaine is a friend for life, a brother for life. Man, it’s amazing hearing from him,” Franklin-Myers said.

“And, man, everybody — my teammates are like family to me, and so, I appreciate it so much. And who knows how this is all going to go, whether it’s Tennessee or anywhere else, I mean, I’m excited to go play football. I’m excited to continue to do what I love each and every day, for real.”

And he’ll continue that with some familiar faces, while Broncos fans see if his production can keep up from afar.

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