Thanks to Garett Bolles, the Broncos should be able to keep their o-line intact

Looking around right now, there are a lot of guards making $10 million or more per year who are being shopped or cut. It’s more than I’ve ever seen.

Trai Turner of the Chargers, Brandon Linder of the Jaguars and Kevin Zeitler of the Giants are all being shopped. There’s even talk in Philadelphia that Brandon Brooks could be available.

What’s that mean for the Broncos?

Well, right guard Graham Glasgow is making around $11 million per year. He signed a four-year, $44-million deal with Denver last offseason.

That’s an expensive side of the offensive line. Right tackle Ja’Wuan James is coming back after opting out in 2020 due to COVID-19. He’s a $13 million cap hit this season.

Can they both stay? I think they can.

The reason is Garett Bolles. The Broncos left tackle got his big deal last season after struggling during his first few years in the league. He did a great job turning things around and the team rewarded him with a big contract.

The great thing about his deal, however, is that it only has a $5 million cap number in 2021. That allows the Broncos to spend elsewhere along the offensive line, which will help them keep the group together.

The other two starters – center Lloyd Cushenberry and left guard Dalton Risner – are still on their rookie contracts. So they’re relatively inexpensive.

After putting the franchise tag on Justin Simmons, Denver’s cap space shrunk a great deal. But it appears as though George Paton wants to keep as much of this team together as he can.

Thanks to the ways the Bolles’ contract is structured, with him delaying some of the payouts, that allows the Broncos to buck the current trend in the NFL. It looks as though they’ll be able to keep Glasgow and James.