In another sign indicating the Denver Broncos might be readying for an active free agency period, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets the team is releasing veteran interior offensive lineman Graham Glasgow.
Glasgow filled in at both guard and center for the team last season, though he was initially given an eight-figure-per-year deal to be a starter back in 2020. Ahead of that contract’s final year, the Broncos are removing it from their cap sheet. This move will save the team $11M. The Broncos have cut Glasgow, Ronald Darby and Chase Edmonds on Friday afternoon. Between these cuts, the team will create more than $26M in cap space.
Denver signed Glasgow three years ago, adding that contract to their payroll after moving Ronald Leary‘s off it. Glasgow agreed to a four-year, $44M deal with the Broncos, joining the team during John Elway‘s last offseason as GM. The team used Glasgow as a starter for two seasons, but an injury midway through the 2021 campaign moved third-round pick Quinn Meinerz into the starting lineup. Meinerz won a competition with Glasgow to keep the first-string guard job opposite Dalton Risner.
The Broncos reached a pay-cut agreement with Glasgow for the 2022 season, dropping the veteran’s cap number to $6.1M. It was set to climb to $14M this year, making the seven-year veteran a cut candidate. Glasgow, 30, filled in for Meinerz early this season but mostly worked as a center, replacing an injured Lloyd Cushenberry for most of the slate’s second half. Glasgow started 13 games for the Broncos in 2022, but the team still has Cushenberry under contract.
This offseason could lead Risner off the roster as well. The Broncos are not planning to keep the Colorado native off the market, creating a need at left guard to go with the team’s evergreen vacancy at right tackle. GM George Paton confirmed the Broncos will look to upgrade their O-line this offseason. With Risner perhaps departing and Cushenberry’s starter status unknown, the team could be looking to bring in three new starters.
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