Broncos Owners Must Realize That a Rebuild is Necessary
In this story:
When the Walton-Penner ownership group purchased the Denver Broncos last year, it no doubt had high hopes for the franchise. There were high-profile moves made before they officially took over as owners.
There were high-profile moves made after that, too. But thus far, nothing has worked as expected. Denver's ownership group thus needs to ask itself whether making the headlines is really the best way to go.
To be fair, I don't believe the new owners made moves solely to make headlines. They want to get the Broncos back to the winning ways that they experienced for the majority of years under the late Pat Bowlen. The issue has been figuring out how to get back on track, and that hasn't happened because of headline moves.
The trade for Russell Wilson in 2022 was completed before the new owners took over. However, it would not be surprising that they would feel excitement and intrigue over the acquisition of a top quarterback.
After things fell apart in 2022, ownership wanted to swing big on a new head-coaching hire. But after the owners were unable to lure Jim Harbaugh or DeMeco Ryans, they decided to hire Sean Payton and sent draft capital to the New Orleans Saints to acquire his rights.
After that came a lot of activity in free agency, in which the Broncos spent more cash than any other team. High-profile signings such as right tackle Mike McGlinchey, left guard Ben Powers, and defensive end Zach Allen were made with the hopes of improving the Broncos. Unfortunately, those moves haven't been enough to turn the team's fortunes around.
To be sure, the Walton-Penner ownership group has shown that it's fine with sunk costs — case in point was the Broncos' intent to cut Randy Gregory if they couldn't find a trading partner. Though he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, had that not happened, it would have meant the Broncos paying a lot of money to a player no longer on the roster.
But the question remains as to whether or not the Broncos owners realize that a rebuild is in order. In such a case, a lot of tough decisions would lie ahead, some of them coming with a cost.
Case in point: Wilson is due $39 million for the 2024 season in the form of a $22M option bonus and a $17M base salary, all of which is fully guaranteed. If the Broncos cut him in 2024, he'd still be due that money.
However, a rebuild will most likely require the Broncos to move on from Wilson. And to ensure that the Broncos can move on, Payton will likely have to bench him to avoid Wilson getting injured and, thus, locking in his 2025 salary.
Situations like what to do with Wilson won't be easy to answer, but if the Broncos are going to move toward the next chapter, there will likely be some pain experienced in 2024. This could happen with anything ranging from the future of players to coaches to front office staff.
But all is not lost if Broncos ownership backs major changes in 2024. One can look to the Buffalo Bills, who were purchased by Terry and Kim Pegula in 2014.
One of the first moves the Pegulas made was to hire Rex Ryan as head coach in 2015. Ryan had modest success with the New York Jets and was known for talking up a big game. Meanwhile, the Pegulas kept general manager Doug Whaley, who started his duties in 2013.
The Pegulas didn't keep Ryan for long. He was fired with one game remaining in the 2016 season. Meanwhile, the Pegulas had extended Whaley that season but then fired him after the 2017 NFL draft.
Sean McDermott was brought on board to replace Ryan after the 2016 season, then when Whaley was fired, Brandon Beane was named the new GM before the start of the 2017 season. The two have since built the Bills into a playoff team, one that has even been talked up as a Super Bowl contender.
Thus, it's certainly possible for the Walton-Penner ownership group to get past the euphoria of bringing big names to the Broncos, re-examining the team's situation, and figuring out who can be part of the process going forward.
Where changes are made remains to be seen, but we know that some changes will come. They have to in order for the Broncos to truly begin the rebuilding process.
Here's hoping the ownership group recognizes, though, that a rebuild is what the Broncos really need.
Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!
