The Broncos have offered Malik Jackson a deal worth more than $10MM per season, according to Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post. The Broncos badly want to keep their top-ranked defense in tact and they don’t want Jackson to test the waters on March 7th. 
Denver, of course, has already committed a large sum to its other defensive end, as it agreed to a four-year, $36.75MM extension with Derek Wolfe last month. The 26-year-old Jackson is surely looking to match, or perhaps top, that figure, and given the recent deals handed out 3-4 defensive ends, he should be able to cash out on the open market. With his new deal, Wolfe became the seventh 3-4 DE to top the $9MM/per year mark, a list that includes Mike Daniels, Corey Liuget, and Cameron Jordan — all of whom signed extensions in the past year — and Jackson appears poised to top that AAV.
Recently, when asked about the idea of testing the free agent market, Jackson indicated that he might be willing to take a slight hometown discount to stay in Denver:
“In talking to my agent, I got a pretty good idea of what my worth is. But I would like to see — because you never know — just to see the numbers. But if Denver came with quality numbers close to what we feel I deserve, then I would stay.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
It shows how differently the Broncos view the free agent class that helped them win a Super Bowl than the two that merely got them deep in the playoffs the previous two years. Decker, Knighton, Franklin and Julius Thomas were given much of an opportunity to return. This is also interesting because the Broncos already signed an end to a big contract. With Osweiler and Jackson being pursued and offered $10MM+ per-year deals, it will limit how much Denver can allocate to help its offensive line.
I truly hope Jackson agrees to the deal