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Broncos Bring Back Two Key Free Agents for 2026

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Broncos Bring Back Two Key Free Agents for 2026


During the NFL Combine, we learned the Denver Broncos plan to tender exclusive rights free- agent running back Tyler Badie. Fast forward to Friday, and the Broncos are taking care of business with two other exclusive rights free agents.

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9NEWS‘ Mike Klis broke the news that Denver will tender safety Devon Key and rush linebacker Dondrea Tillman. The ERFA tender is priced at $1.075 million for 2026.

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“Per source, [the] Broncos have agreements to bring back exclusive rights free agent safety/All-Pro special teamer Devon Key and fellow ERFA OLB Dondrea Tillman, who had 4.0 sacks and 2 INTs (with impressive returns) last year,” Klis posted on X.

Most ERFA decisions are a matter of course, but not always. In the case of Key and Tillman, it’s a no-brainer.

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Key’s Resume

Key set a new franchise record last season with 26 special-teams tackles, leading the league and garnering first-team All-Pro honors. It was the first All-Pro recognition of his young career. He became the first player in Broncos history to make the A.P. All-Pro Team as a special teamer.

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Key also forced a fumble and appeared in all 17 regular-season games. Key’s new franchise record eclipsed Keith Burns’ long-held mark of 24 special-teams tackles (2000, 03). Key was snubbed in the Pro Bowl vote, but the A.P. helped offset that.

With P.J. Locke’s pending departure into unrestricted free agency, the Broncos could view Key as the natural safety to step into the No. 3 role behind Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones. Key is a very talented player, and he’s developed nicely since arriving on Denver’s practice squad back in 2022.

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Tillman’s Path to Denver

Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Dondrea Tillman (92) runs with the ball after an interception against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half at Empower Field at Mile High. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Tillman arrived in Denver as a college free agent in 2024, technically, even though he’d been playing professional ball in the UFL. As a ‘rookie,’ he notched five sacks as a backup.

Last season, Tillman co-led the team with two interceptions, making a name for himself as a runner after the catch, picking up 59 return yards, including a long of 36. He finished his second NFL season with 41 tackles (13) solo, four sacks, three tackles for a loss, and three passes defensed.

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Not bad for the No. 4 rush linebacker on the depth chart. Tillman and Jonah Elliss have served as the primary backups to Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper, and they’ve done well to ensure that when the starters leave the field, the pass-rushing show goes on.

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Tillman is only 27 years old and he has a bright NFL future ahead of him. After this season, he’ll be a restricted free agent. If he continues on his current trajectory, the Broncos might opt to re-sign him instead of tendering him, but that decision won’t be made for another year.

Tillman might become to expensive to keep, if he keeps it up.

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About Jordan Jackson

Besides Badie, whom, again, the Broncos reportedly plan on tendering, defensive lineman Jordan Jackson is also an ERFA. Considering the price tag, Jordan might be the relatively rare exception and go un-tendered.

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Denver, CO

Family: Injured firefighter improving after deadly wrong‑way crash on I‑25 in Denver

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Family: Injured firefighter improving after deadly wrong‑way crash on I‑25 in Denver


DENVER — A lieutenant with Berthoud Fire who was injured after he was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver in Denver last month is making progress, according to a Tuesday update.

The wrong-way driver, identified as 25-year-old Kevem Dos Santos, was killed in the May 17 crash inside the barrier-separated HOV lanes on Interstate 25.

Ken Bradley, the Berthoud Fire lieutenant, was traveling to work when the crash occurred. He was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.

The crash left Bradley with multiple fractures in both legs, fractures to his left arm, a dislocated right shoulder, several broken ribs, and a collapsed lung.

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Bradley’s family said he is now able to get in and out of his wheelchair on his own. But he faces additional surgeries this week to reconstruct his ankles and feet.

His family thanked the more than 800 donors who have contributed $85,000 to his GoFundMe and said he remains in good spirits.

Police have not said how Dos Santos managed to access the gate-controlled HOV lanes, leaving many questions unanswered.

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Denver City Council approves $15.5 million tax break for Rossonian Hotel development

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Denver City Council approves .5 million tax break for Rossonian Hotel development


Denver will reimburse developers working on reviving the Rossonian Hotel up to $15.5 million in sales and property taxes after the council approved the urban development proposal during its meeting Monday.

The decision comes after Denver Urban Renewal Authority found that the site was “blighted,” meaning there are unsafe living or working conditions and environmental contamination.

DURA recommended the city allow “tax increment financing,” or TIF, to remediate those problems and get the project off the ground.

“This tax increment financing is one of the final pieces that makes the Rossonian possible. Without it, this project does not happen,” said Paul Books, one of the owners of the building. “But with it, we are working through the last remaining steps to break ground this summer.”

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The project, in the Five Points neighborhood, is part of the Welton Corridor Urban Redevelopment Plan. The six-parcel property is in the namesake intersection of Welton, 27th and Washington streets.

The building, once called the Baxter Hotel, was a popular event space for jazz performances between the 1930s and 1950s. Performers such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday took the stage there. It is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. The building has been vacant since the 1990s.

Palisade Partners, who purchased the property in 2017, plan to build 126 hotel rooms, a restaurant and an event space. They will also construct a new 8-story building between the Rossonian and the Hooper building as part of the redevelopment.

“We’ve concluded that the project does require assistance in order for it to be delivered as it has been contemplated,” said Bill Pruter, executive director of DURA.

Tax-increment financing, which is essentially a tax break or subsidy, allows developers to freeze how much is paid in property or sales taxes at a base level for up to 25 years, and then reinvest what would be paid above that back into certain elements of their projects.

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For this project, the developers will be able to reinvest up to $15.5 million — which would otherwise go to the city’s bank account — into their project.

The city will reimburse the tax dollars for specific project costs mostly related to rehabilitation of the building. That includes up to $6.7 million on the plumbing and HVAC work in the new building and up to $2.3 million on the visible structure of the Rossonian Hotel.



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Broncos’ Salary Cap Picture Just Got a Lot Better

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Broncos’ Salary Cap Picture Just Got a Lot Better


A roster move the Denver Broncos made back in March to clear cap space has come to fruition, as linebacker Dre Greenlaw’s post-June 1 designation release has taken effect.

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As it turns out, the Broncos did gain more cap space with the move. While it appeared that the Greenlaw release had already been accounted for on sites such as Over The Cap, it actually had not.

Broncos’ Cap Space Grows

Instead, it turns out the $18.8 million in cap space the Broncos had prior to June 1 did not account for Greenlaw’s release. The Broncos now have more cap space than before, with $25.7 million available with his release in effect.

This means the Broncos have less need to cut players simply to create cap space. They can afford to keep the players they have on the roster until training camp starts, then make roster decisions based on what happens in the preseason.

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The additional cap space will also help with accommodating any extensions the Broncos decide to give to players with expiring contracts. Players such as wide receiver/returner Marvin Mims Jr. and cornerbacks Ja’Quan McMillan and Riley Moss are among the younger players who might be in line for extensions, depending on how the Broncos value them and what they are seeking in a new deal.

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Not to mention veterans, like backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham and left guard Ben Powers, both of whom are entering a contract year.

Potential for More Cap Carryover

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Denver Broncos GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton. | Gabriel Christus/Denver Broncos

The cap space also helps with the potential for more salary-cap carryover heading into 2027. Right now, the Broncos are projected to have just $2 million in cap space, but that does not account for carryover.

If the Broncos are wise with how they manage the cap in the coming months, they could carry over a significant amount of cap space into 2027. That alone will help alleviate the team’s cap situation next year.

Some might wonder whether the Broncos try to make another big move before training camp, but doing so would mean giving up cap space or draft capital that could be useful when it comes to improving the roster in 2027. We can’t rule out a trade, of course, but the added cap space doesn’t guarantee a trade is coming.

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But the good news is the Broncos will be in a better cap position than before. We’ll see what moves come next and how that impacts cap space.

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