Broncos would love to have OLB Nik Bonitto in Denver for long term, GM George Paton says

Nik Bonitto is eligible for a contract extension. And even though George Paton hasn’t engaged in those discussions yet, he made it clear that he wants the All-Pro edge rusher in Denver for the foreseeable future.

“Obviously we’d love to have Nik here long term,” Denver’s general manager said on Wednesday. “We haven’t had those discussions yet so we’ll see how that goes.”

In 2024, Denver showed it was willing to take care of its own. Outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper, cornerback Pat Surtain II, right guard Quinn Meinerz and left tackle Garett Bolles signed lucrative contract extensions. According to Over the Cap’s Valuation metric, which measures contract value with on-field production, Bonitto could earn $14.55 million per year.

Bonitto’s upward trajectory has positioned him to earn a significant deal. After the second-round pick totaled eight sacks in 2023, he finished third in the league with 13.5. He and Cooper (10.5 sacks) are the first Bronco players to record double digit sacks in a single season since Von Miller and Bradley Chubb in 2018.

Bonitto, an unrestricted free agent in 2026, was named second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press and selected to participate in the Pro Bowl games for the first time in his young career.

“We knew he was a good rusher. Could he develop into a three-down player?” Paton said. “Credit to the staff, (defensive line coach) Jamar Cain (and outside linebackers coach) Michael Wilhoite, he took that next step.”

Paton calls the signing of Roach the best offseason move: Broncos signing defensive lineman Malcolm Roach to a two-year, $7 million went down as one of their most important offseason transactions.

“Signing Malcolm Roach was a huge addition. Could have been our best addition of the offseason,” Paton said.

Roach, who previously spent four seasons with the Saints, had a career year. He totaled 43 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a couple of passes defended.

The Louisiana native played a major role in Denver finishing the regular season third in rushing yards allowed (96.4). He had 13 run stuffs — tackles resulting in no gain or loss, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Denver gave up 2.9 yards per attempt when Roach was on the field and 4.9 yards when he was on the sideline.

Broncos’ top brass praise Lowery: Broncos head coach Sean Payton and owner/CEO Greg Penner couldn’t think of enough words to commend the training staff and Beau Lowery, vice president of player health & performance, for the work they have done to keep players healthy over the last two seasons.

“Beau Lowery and his whole group are (doing a) terrific job,” Penner said.

Payton mentioned Denver’s recent track record of keeping players healthy will convince them to stay around the facility in the offseason to lift and get treatment to maintain their bodies.

“They want to be here. They’re not all disappearing to the satellite private workout expert facilities,” Payton said.

Broncos have a chance to play overseas in 2025: Even though the Broncos are not required to host an international game in 2025, there’s still a chance they play football outside of United States soil.