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Broncos Should Pay Nik Bonitto Instead of Trading for Former DPOY

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Scott Mitchell | Last updated Feb 5, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The Denver Broncos are off to a great start in their rebuild, and a lot of it comes from the play of their young quarterback, Bo Nix.

However, on the defensive side of things, Denver got a lot out of its young 25-year-old weakside linebacker, Nik Bonitto.

Instead of trading for Myles Garrett, it's time for Denver to give a massive contract to Bonitto.

When it was announced that Garrett requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns on Monday, many Broncos fans quickly wanted Sean Payton to trade for one of the best defensive players of all time.

While it wouldn't be a horrible idea, it's something the Broncos shouldn't entertain for this reason alone.

Garrett only has two years left on his current contract. This essentially means that wherever he ends up, the team is going to immediately need to give him a new and more lucrative deal.

An ideal start on that deal would be similar to Nick Bosa's contract from the San Francisco 49ers: Five years for $170 million and $122 million guaranteed.

This begs the question of whether this would be the smartest idea from the Broncos front office.

Instead of signing someone like Garrett, the Broncos should use that money to continue adding weapons around their rookie quarterback.

Then, they could get to the side of re-signing Bonitto.

He's currently slated to make a base salary of $5.2 million, which is far too low for a player of his caliber.

Garrett's a great player, but the money he commands at 29 years old is tough to justify for Denver.

It's time for the Broncos to look toward the future, starting on the defensive side with Bonitto.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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