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The Denver Broncos appear to be set at one cornerback position for years to come. And they’ve attempted to spice up their special teams. But it’s the offseason now, and harsh decisions are part of it. Here is one Broncos player who could be cut unexpectedly during the 2025 summer.
John Franklin-Myers, a six-year veteran defensive end, could be leaving Denver soon. He has been a staple for the Broncos, starting 66 of 67 games over the last four seasons. However, as an edge rusher, he has not performed particularly well. His sack totals of 6, 5, 3.5, and 7 aren’t that impressive.
Furthermore, his cap number for 2025 is $10 million, despite the fact that the organization only has $35 million in cap space. However, the Broncos have over 50 players on contract. Even so, they may save $7 million if they leave Franklin-Myers.
Broncos DE Franklin-Myers might not stay with the team.
First, Franklin-Myers played only 46.2% of defensive snaps in 2024. However, he supplemented his seven sacks with 21 pressures.
According to Pro Football Focus, Franklin-Myers’ grade is one of his strong points. His overall score of 82.8 ranks sixth out of 219 qualified players. And his pass-rush grade of 84.3 ranks fourth.
Unfortunately, Franklin-Myers’ run defence isn’t outstanding. He received a 58.2 grade point average, placing him 75th overall this season. When considering run-heavy clubs in the AFC, such as the Chargers and Ravens, carrying a costly guy who can’t hold up against the run doesn’t make sense.
Another area of weakness for Franklin-Myers is that he did not force a fumble in 2024. He’s just not a physical player. He can chase down quarterbacks, which adds value, but that is the extent of his game. That is why he rarely appears on the field.
The Broncos acquired Franklin-Myers in a trade with the Jets. Denver sent New York a sixth-round draft pick. According to broncoswire.com, Payton spoke highly of Franklin-Myers prior to the season.
“Each year, consistently you saw the numbers, the numbers, the numbers,” Payton told the crowd. “It was almost like you couldn’t believe how near they were. It arrived through power rush, bull rush, or took an edge.
“He’s a powerful player. I would argue that grading or looking at his pressure numbers over the last four or five years is quite fascinating. They are fairly consistent across the board. So you see a pretty consistent player, but during these drills, you can’t always see it.”
However, Franklin-Myers did not live up to expectations.
The athlete started his NFL career on a high note. Franklin-Myers was drafted in the fourth round in 2018 and played in the Super Bowl for the Rams. According to Sports Illustrated, he stated that it altered his perception of the league.
“It’s one of those things where in college, I didn’t win a lot of football games,” she remarked. “In high school, I never won a football game. (Laughs) My rookie year, I thought, ‘Shoot, the NFL is simple.’ (Former NFL linebacker) Bryan Cox is a great influence of mine, and he said, “The NFL is hard. You must understand that you may only go once during your rookie year. I said, ‘No, we went to the Super Bowl my rookie year.'”
But he’s developed a new perspective since then.
“So understanding that, and now I tell everybody I definitely took that for granted (and) didn’t understand what I was really getting into,” she said. “Looking back, hindsight is 20/20.” (I) would probably enjoy it more, but it does give me a little more motivation to sit here and say, “It’s a difficult task, but my main goal is to get back there.”
Will he get his chance with the Broncos? Time will tell, but right now he appears to be on the team’s fence.
Payton stated that the Broncos will work hard to improve their defence for the 2025 season, particularly in the middle, according to broncoswire.com.
“We’ll examine closely through the middle — inside linebacker and safety. “There will be a few more positions.” Payton did not specify the position, but an interior defensive lineman would also fit in a “through the middle” revamp.
According to Up & Adams of Sports Illustrated, Payton believes the Broncos need a flexible offensive weapon.
“We do the evaluation of our team, and the purpose of that is to establish ‘must, needs, and wants,'” Payton detailed to Adams. “I would say we need a ‘joker.'”A joker can be a running back or tight end with great receiving abilities. We were spoilt here (in New Orleans). We had Reggie Bush, Jimmy Graham, Jeremy Shockey, Darren Sproles, and Alvin Kamara. These are interior positions, either tight ends or running backs, thus they must be excellent receivers who can play both. Then you get the matchups.”
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