Clayton: The Broncos cap situation sets them up for a good offseason

Well, it’s official. The salary cap for each NFL team in 2021 is going to be $182.5 million.

That plays well for the Broncos. One of the things working in Denver’s favor is the fact that they initially had more than $17 million in carryover from last season. Last week, the league and the NFLPA redid those numbers and came up with another $500,000 to rollover, pushing the number beyond $18 million.

Right now, that puts the Broncos at $32 million in available cap space for 2021. That’s one of the higher numbers in the league, putting Denver in a good position to go after free agents.

This includes the franchise tag they placed on Justin Simmons. It also includes the final year of Von Miller’s contract.

That begs a question: Is it necessary for the Broncos to save the $18 million in cap space that would come off the books if they parted ways with Miller?

It’d be ideal to get him to training camp to see where he is physically. They can afford to take that risk.

Ja’Wuan James has a $13 million base salary that some thought could be in jeopardy. But the Broncos aren’t in a position where they’ll have to have cap casualties.

Looking at Denver’s free agent list, the big name to try to re-sign is Shelby Harris. If they can get the defensive lineman re-signed, they’ll still have room for other free agents. That’s shaping up to be a decent offseason for the Broncos.