Denver, CO
Ranking the Denver Broncos and Sean Payton's top franchise tag candidates – DNVR Sports
On Tuesday, Feb. 20, NFL teams may begin placing the franchise tag on players. Each team has two weeks to place a franchise tag on a player leading up to the deadline on Mar. 5 at 2:00 p.m. MST.
NFL teams are allowed to use the franchise tag on one of their upcoming unrestricted free agents, which keeps that player from hitting free agency. The franchise tag acts as a one-year contract and also gives the team and the player the opportunity to negotiate a long-term deal leading up to the season.
Over the years, the Denver Broncos have used the franchise tag on a number of players, including Justin Simmons, Von Miller, Demaryius Thomas, Ryan Clady and Matt Prater.
Last year, the Broncos decided to not use it, which led to Dre’Mont Jones leaving in free agency and signing with the Seattle Seahawks.
Will Sean Payton and the Broncos consider using the franchise tag this year? There aren’t many options, but there are the few players Denver would consider tagging.
*All estimated costs are based off Spotrac.com estimates
1. Wil Lutz
Position: Kicker
Estimated franchise tag cost: $5.6 million*
Franchise tag likelihood: Quite possible
How is a kicker the Broncos’ top option for the franchise tag?
Wil Lutz isn’t just a kicker. He’s Sean Payton’s kicker.
Just look at Payton’s words and actions when it comes to Lutz to see how he truly views the 29-year-old kicker. Right when Lutz became available before the start of last season, the Broncos jumped all over the opportunity, trading with the New Orlean Saints to reunite Payton with Lutz.
Throughout the season, including the lows of Lutz’s year, Payton always had his kicker’s back.
The $5.9 million franchise tag would make Lutz the second-highest paid kicker in the NFL, only trailing Baltimore Ravens’ Justin Tucker.
There’s no reason to believe Payton will let Lutz leave Denver this offseason. If contract negotiations between the two sides aren’t finalized before the Mar. 5 franchise tag deadline, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all for the Broncos to tag Lutz to ensure he is on the team this year.
2. Lloyd Cushenberry
Position: Center
Estimated franchise tag cost: $19.9 million*
Franchise tag likelihood: Unlikely
Lloyd Cushenberry began hitting his stride as a player in 2023. Ideally, the Broncos don’t want to let one of the best up-and-coming centers leave in free agency. That’s why the franchise tag could make sense.
However, the price of the franchise tag doesn’t make any sense for Denver.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, there is just one franchise tag number for all offensive lineman. It isn’t broken up between the different positions along the offensive line. Because of that, the near $20 million price tag would be way too expensive to use on a center.
If Denver were to franchise tag Cushenberry, it would make him the highest-paid center by average salary by far.
Jason Kelce is set to be the highest-paid center in the NFL in 2024, making an average of $14.25 million. If he retires, the next highest-paid center is Detroit Lions’ Frank Ragnow at $13.5 million.
If the Broncos franchise tag Cushenberry, it would give Lloyd a significant advantage in contract negotiations. Due to the franchise tag price, it would not make sense for the Broncos to tag their talented center.
3. Josey Jewell
Position: Inside linebacker
Estimated franchise tag cost: $22.8 million*
Franchise tag likelihood: Extremely unlikely
Much like how all offensive lineman are under the same franchise tag price, regardless of the position they play on the offensive line, linebackers are the same. The franchise tag groups outside and inside linebackers together in one number.
Because of that, similar to Cushenberry, it wouldn’t make any financial sense for the Broncos to use the franchise tag on Josey Jewell.
The reason the franchise tag price is almost $23 million is because of the elite outside linebackers in the NFL that are making over $25 million per year.
In fact, if the Broncos were to franchise tag Jewell, he would be the NFL’s highest-paid inside linebacker, jumping over Roquan Smith’s $20 million per season. Jewell is a quality starting inside backer, but not the best in the NFL.
If the Broncos want to keep Jewell, they will sign him to a long-term deal, not use the franchise tag.
Other upcoming free agents
- S P.J. Locke
- CB K’Waun Williams
- TE Adam Trautman
- DL Mike Purcell
- OT Cameron Fleming
- FB Michael Burton
- CB Fabian Moreau
- DL Jonathan Harris
- LB Justin Strnad
Denverites looking for a stellar cup of Joe don’t need to travel far to savor the flavor of excellent coffee.
That’s according to The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops, a website that rates global hospitality establishments where coffee lovers can find better brew. The website recently announced its 2026 list of the best coffee shops in North America, Central America and the Caribbean and two local companies made the list.
Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters came in at No. 43, while Queen City Collective Coffee ranked No. 61. Not bad for a list that includes must-hit destinations in places like Guatemala and Costa Rica, which are known for their exports of coffee beans.
The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops decided the ranking through a mix of nominations and voting by both the public and experts. Places were evaluated based on the quality of coffee served, barista expertise, ambiance, sustainability practices, and innovation among other criteria, according to the website.
Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters, which came on the scene in 2013, helped usher the so-called fourth wave of coffee locally, which focuses on honoring the beans’ agricultural roots and using techniques like pour-over to extract more flavor from each brew. The company started with a wholesale roastery and retail shop in Lakewood before expanding to Arvada through a merger with another company called Two Rivers, and later to Westminster. In 2022, Food and Wine magazine named Sweet Bloom’s Westminster locale the best coffee shop in Colorado.
Queen City Collective has certainly earned the popular vote among Mile High City coffee drinkers if the company’s expansion is an indication. Since opening its first retail location in 2018, in a spot shared with Novel Strand Brewing Co., Queen City has expanded to seven locations between Denver and surrounding suburbs, including Wheat Ridge and Aurora.
To see the full list of must-hit coffee shops across the globe, visit theworlds100bestcoffeeshops.com. For additional recommendations, check out our list of Colorado’s best coffee shops with picturesque patios and views.
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DENVER (KDVR) — With the mild winter and warm start to spring, beekeepers are seeing swarms earlier in the year and expect the season to be longer than usual.
Gregg McMahan is a dispatcher for the Colorado Swarm Hotline. It’s usually his job to send a beekeeper to collect a swarm when someone calls, but on Sunday afternoon, he decided to handle one himself.
“Nice little swarm,” McMahan said. “It’s tricky, though, because it’s hanging on a fence.”
A warm winter and spring mean swarm season has begun four weeks early.
“Never seen it like this ever,” McMahan said.
This call is to a house on Denver’s east side. When McMahan arrived, he saw a swarm had taken up residence on the fence.
“Absolutely typical, it is on the small side,” McMahan said.
He got to work, first luring them into a box when he spotted a good sign.
“See all these girls, they got their butts up, they’re fanning their wings. That’s telling us the queens in here,” McMahan said.
With the queen in hand, the rest began to follow her into the box.
McMahan said two years ago, he had 400 calls like this. Last year, only 100, the Swarm Hotline was as unpredictable as the weather, which has caused bee activity earlier in the year than ever.
“It makes it hard on the bees, you know? Two days ago, I’m collecting swarms in the snow,” McMahan said.
Rescuing them is integral to Colorado’s ecosystem. McMahan hopes people give a beekeeper a call instead of spraying them or harming them in any other way.
“They do a phenomenal amount of pollination within this state. Not only our native flowers but all the other flowers that people bring in,” McMahan said.
Slowly but surely, the swarm left the fence and moved into the box. McMahan loaded them into his truck to deliver them to their new home.
“Westminster to the Stanley Lake Wildlife Refuge, so these girls will have lakefront property tonight,” he said.
As he wrapped up, McMahan’s phone was buzzing more than the bees. Just another call to start a swarm season, he thinks, could be a long one.
“This year I’m already 20 swarms deep, so I’m expecting way more than 100 this year,” McMahan said.
To have a bee swarm removed for free from your property anywhere statewide, the Swarm Hotline number is 1-844-SPY-BEES.
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