Broncos To Re-Sign RB Jaleel McLaughlin
As the low-end RFA tender figure has climbed near $4MM, those are being handed out at a lower rate. The Broncos declined to tender running back Jaleel McLaughlin, but he is still in their 2026 plans.
Despite re-signing J.K. Dobbins, Denver is re-signing McLaughlin (per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The diminutive running back is rejoining the team on a one-year deal, continuing a string of re-signings for a Broncos team that has otherwise been inactive in free agency.
McLaughlin will receive a $125K signing bonus, according to the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson. This likely represents the RB’s only guaranteed money on the deal, making it far from certain he makes the 53-man roster.
Denver now has its top four RBs from 2025 under contract, with Tyler Badie remaining in the fold. Badie’s increased usage on passing downs led to McLaughlin — a regular from 2023-24 — being a healthy scratch for a chunk of the season, but Dobbins’ Lisfranc injury opened the door for another opportunity.
Sean Payton‘s team has yet to sign an outside free agent this week, but plenty of re-signings have commenced. Denver has brought back linebackers Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad to go with tight ends Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins. Third-string quarterback Sam Ehlinger is also returning. While the Broncos’ inactivity with regards to outside FAs is a bit unexpected — as the Russell Wilson contract is off the books during what will likely be Bo Nix‘s final rookie-contract year — the team is doing plenty to retain contributors from a 14-3 roster.
The NCAA’s all-divisions rushing leader — from his time at Youngstown State and Notre Dame College (Ohio) — McLaughlin impressed as a UDFA. Playing as a Javonte Williams complementary piece, the 5-foot-7 RB totaled 410 rushing yards as a rookie and 496 in Year 2. The elusive back combined for six touchdowns in those seasons. The Broncos only gave McLaughlin 37 carries last season, but he averaged 5.1 yards per tote as a reserve option behind rookie RJ Harvey.
Dobbins will only count $6MM against Denver’s cap this year, per Spotrac, as his $8MM guarantee (on a two-year, $16MM deal) will produce a 2027 cap hit of $10MM. Dobbins’ health history effectively makes this a one-year, $8MM pact with a team option. Trautman’s four-year, $17MM contract will bring $9.5MM guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap. This includes a partial 2027 guarantee, with $3.76MM of the ex-Saint’s $4.99MM base salary locked in at signing. Adkins is back on a one-year, $1.64MM deal, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. The TE/FB received $300K guaranteed at signing.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/8/26
We have some rare Sunday minor moves as the NFL closes in on the start of the new league year and the free agency frenzy that is sure to follow:
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: TE Nate Adkins
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: DT Naquan Jones
The Broncos continue to be proactive with pending RFA and ERFAs. Adkins was set to become a restricted free agent, but Denver has avoided that conclusion by re-signing him before the start of free agency.
Claimed last year in Houston, Jones is reportedly getting a one-year, $2MM deal to stay with the Texans, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Jones can earn another $500k on the new deal through incentives.
Broncos Eyeing TE Help; Lucas Krull Set For Surgery
Calls for the Broncos to improve Courtland Sutton‘s wingman situation have gone unheeded for a while, and the team quieted concerns about the situation in a blowout win over the Cowboys on Sunday. That game featured regular contributions from Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant and more tertiary work from Evan Engram, who has come along slowly in Sean Payton‘s offense.
Engram remains the Broncos’ starting tight end, but The Athletic’s Dianna Russini indicates the team has looked into the trade market at this position ahead of the November 4 deadline. Rather than add a player to challenge Engram atop the depth chart, the team may instead be aiming for a depth move.
Stationed on IR, Lucas Krull is not in position to be activated anytime soon. The backup is set to undergo foot surgery, 9News’ Mike Klis reports. Krull, a former Saints UDFA who has been with the Broncos for three seasons, has been on IR for four weeks.
He would be eligible to come off the injured list for Week 9, but this surgery is now on track to sideline him for roughly two more months, the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson notes, adding the surgery is on track for today. The initial plan of rehab did not end up working, leading to the surgery route.
Krull made some minor contributions to the 2023 and ’24 Broncos editions, squads that did not receive much from their tight end contingents. In 2024, Krull caught 19 passes for 152 yards. He has just two catches for 15 yards this year. Additionally, Klis notes tight end/fullback Nate Adkins sustained a knee injury that appears likely to cost him time. Categorizing Denver’s TE search as for a depth option, Klis reiterates Engram and ex-Saint Adam Trautman remain the top two for the 6-2 team at this position.
Denver has seventh-round rookie Caleb Lohner, a converted basketball player, on its practice squad. Patrick Murtaugh also resides on the Broncos’ taxi squad. A trade for a depth tight end would not exactly move the needle, but the Broncos have prioritized these roles. Trautman has played 48% of the Broncos’ offensive snaps this season; after returning from ankle surgery last month, Adkins has logged a 35% snap share.
Not rostering much receiving help at the position since including Noah Fant in the Russell Wilson trade, the Broncos gave Engram a two-year, $23MM deal. Two early-season injuries limited the former first-round pick, and while he has made some contributions during Denver’s five-game win streak, the eight-figure-per-year player is averaging just 8.3 yards per catch (26/215). To be fair, Engram was at just 8.4 in his 2023 Pro Bowl season in Jacksonville. But Payton had eyed the 31-year-old target as a potential field-stretching presence, his coveted “Joker” piece.
It does not, however, look like the Broncos are eyeing a player who would push Engram for time. It remains to be seen if the Broncos will make a move for receiving help — after two reports last week suggested teams had that on their radar — but some assistance is being pursued elsewhere on offense.
AFC West Notes: Broncos, Adams, Perryman
Nik Bonitto played in the Broncos‘ preseason opener but will miss some time leading up to the season. The 2024 All-Pro selection is down because of a procedure to have a bone spur removed in the top of his foot, per 9News’ Mike Klis. Sean Payton expects Bonitto to be ready to return by next week, though it can be safely assumed the edge rusher’s preseason is over. The Broncos also have an extension to sort out with Bonitto, who is entering a contract year. Denver has reached agreements with Courtland Sutton and Zach Allen during training camp, and a few Bonitto contract rumors have circulated this offseason.
This injury rehab stretch could give Bonitto’s camp time to hammer out a deal before the team’s top sack artist returns to practice, though the prospect of a Micah Parsons Cowboys extension raising the market’s ceiling — and thus the kind of deal Bonitto could command south of Parsons’ price point — could factor into the proceedings here.
Here is the latest from the AFC West:
- Another injury development coming out of Denver is not as kind. Fullback/tight end Nate Adkins will miss regular-season time due to a tightrope procedure to address a high ankle sprain, Payton said. Adkins could be a candidate for one of the Broncos’ two allotted August IR-return slots. Teams must announce the players for those spots by roster-cutdown day August 26. Those moves count toward teams’ eight injury activations — whether the player is eventually activated or not — in-season. Adkins played a healthy amount of snaps last season, logging 420 during a 10-start season. He caught 14 passes for 115 yards and three TDs last season, his second with the Broncos.
- The Broncos might need to consider a fourth active-roster RB due to J.K. Dobbins‘ injury history; their early hierarchy may exclude a 2024 draft pick. Audric Estime did not enter the team’s preseason opener until the third quarter, as his entrance came after Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie saw action. The Broncos also have Blake Watson as a candidate, and the 2024 UDFA entered the game in the second half as well. Estime is firmly on the roster bubble, the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel notes. It would not surprise if the team aimed to trade one of its options before cutdown day later this month, but ensuring two of these players are rostered behind Dobbins and R.J. Harvey would make sense as well.
- Jamal Adams is vying for a Raiders roster spot and doing so, technically, at a new position. Adams is giving linebacker another try, confirming (via the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore) Pete Carroll told him immediately he would be working there. The Seahawks had asked Adams to play linebacker before, but he declined at the time. The 2024 Seattle cap casualty played sparingly as a backup with the Titans and Lions, representing a steep fall from formerly signing a safety-record extension. Adams’ best work has always come in the box or as a safety blitzer, making a linebacker transition more natural. On a one-year, $1.26MM contract with no guarantees, the ninth-year vet is also not exactly in a position to refuse such a request.
- The gun charges against linebacker Denzel Perryman has been dropped, The Athletic’s Daniel Popper notes. Perryman was arrested on felony weapons charges during a traffic stop earlier this month. Five firearms, including two assault-style rifles, were found in the Chargers defender’s vehicle. He was initially held without bail, but ESPN.com’s Kris Rhim notes Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman declined to file charges. Perryman is on a one-year, $2.66MM deal to continue a second Chargers stint.
Broncos Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents
As more teams’ rookie minicamps commence, UDFA classes are emerging. The Broncos brought in 15 post-draft free agents. Here is how Denver’s group looks:
- TE Nate Adkins (South Carolina)
- ILB Seth Benson (Iowa)
- G Henry Boyd (Princeton)
- WR Dallas Daniels (Jackson State)
- CB Darrious Gaines (Western Colorado)
- CB Art Green (Houston)
- WR Taylor Grimes (Incarnate Word)
- OLB Marcus Haynes (Old Dominion)
- OLB Thomas Incoom (Central Michigan)
- T Demontrey Jacobs (South Florida)
- TE Kris Leach (Kent State)
- RB Jaleel McLaughlin (Youngstown State)
- DT P.J. Mustipher (Penn State)
- T Alex Palczewski (Illinois)
- RB Emanuel Wilson (Fort Valley State)
Green received a nice $180K salary guarantee to sign, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. The 6-foot-2 cover man earned second-team All-American Athletic Conference acclaim last season and finished his career with a Most Valuable Defender honor in the Independence Bowl. The Broncos have seen a number of UDFAs make significant impacts for their team over the past several years, from Chris Harris to Shaq Barrett to Phillip Lindsay. Green’s guarantee suggests he is a good bet to challenge for a 53-man roster spot.
Palczewski received $80K to sign, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. He will join the Broncos with more starter experience than just about any college player has accumulated in the sport’s history, having made a Big Ten-record 65 starts for the Fighting Illini. The additional eligibility year the NCAA granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic boosted this total, but Palczewski received All-American acclaim from several publications last season. He spent six years in college and, while logging nearly 20 starts at guard — some of which as a true freshman back in 2017 — worked as Illinois’ primary right tackle over the past several years.
Grimes finished his college career with back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, while Incoom totaled 11.5 sacks as a senior. McLaughlin finished his career with consecutive 1,100-plus-yard rushing seasons at Youngstown State, while Wilson totaled 1,371 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in 2022. The Broncos signed Samaje Perine but have a fairly unclear backfield pecking order, given the uncertainty surrounding starter Javonte Williams‘ return from an October ACL tear.