The Denver Broncos splashed $50 million in guaranteed cash this offseason, locking up Dre Greenlaw, Evan Engram, and Talanoa Hufanga.

But for vets like John Franklin-Myers, the checkbook’s staying shut for now.

Franklin-Myers is one of six starters seven if you count nickelback Ja’Quan McMillian heading into the final year of their deals.

No extension’s coming soon, though, says The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider.

“The Broncos are set to bring back their entire defensive line from last season,” Kosmider wrote on March 17. “It was a group that helped Denver finish No. 2 in run defense and provided the interior pass-rushing presence that helped the team pile up a franchise-record 63 sacks.” That kind of stat line has players like Franklin-Myers itching for a payday.

But Kosmider sees the draft as a hold-up. “If Denver doesn’t grab a playmaker early, they might snag a top defensive lineman,” he noted. “It’s part of why I wouldn’t expect any extension decisions to be made until after the draft.”

He’s not alone Alex Singleton, Courtland Sutton (who skipped OTAs last year over his deal), Luke Wattenberg, Nick Bonitto, and Zach Allen are all in the same expiring-contract boat. Post-draft, the money pool might shrink.

Franklin-Myers Stirs the Pot Online

Franklin-Myers isn’t staying quiet about it. Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson clocked his social media hustle. “Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers has been active on social media expressing a desire for a contract extension,” Tomasson wrote on March 15. “When a reporter wrote on X not to forget extending outside linebacker Nik Bonitto this offseason, Franklin-Myers replied, ‘Or JFM.’”

He’s reposted chatter about other players’ deals too. Traded from the Jets last April, he inked a two-year, $15 million pact with Denver. For 2025, he’s slated for a $7.39 million base salary and a $10 million cap hit.

His stats back the hype tops among interior linemen in pressure rate (NFL Next Gen Stats) and one of just four players with 50-plus pressures five straight years (Pro Football Focus).

From a $55 million Jets deal to $36.3 million earned over seven years, starting with the Rams, he’s got a case. But for now, he’s waiting and tweeting.

John Franklin-Myers Questions Broncos GM’s Plans

When the Denver Broncos traded for John Franklin-Myers in April 2024, GM George Paton couldn’t stop raving. He praised the vet’s reliability, toughness, and flexibility, calling him a key target after weeks of effort. “It’s something we’ve been working on the last couple weeks,” Paton told reporters post-trade. “He’s a player we’ve always respected. Durable. He started three straight years. Hasn’t missed a game. Four straight years of 54-plus pressures. He can play all down the line of scrimmage.”

Fast forward to now, and Franklin-Myers isn’t feeling the same hustle from Paton. With his contract in its final year, he’s been vocal especially online about wanting a new deal, hinting the Broncos’ front office isn’t matching his urgency.

On March 10, as free agency deals flew around, he posted, “Still counted out..,” a jab that sparked fan chatter. It’s a shift from the quiet wait of teammate Courtland Sutton, who skipped OTAs last year over his own expiring deal but kept his focus on the team.

Money Talks, But Not Yet

Over The Cap pegs the Broncos at $15.6 million in cap space after their offseason splurge. They could free up more by extending vets like Franklin-Myers who’s banked $36.3 million in his career along with others on one-year deals. But no moves yet.

How’s his public push playing inside the Broncos’ walls? Hard to tell. It’s a louder stance than Sutton’s, for sure, and with his stat sheet years of pressures and ironman durability—he’s got leverage. For now, though, Franklin-Myers is waiting to see if Paton’s trade-day enthusiasm turns into contract ink.

In the NFL, the salary cap is often described as a “hard cap with a bit of flexibility.” Teams with deep-pocketed owners can manipulate contracts to ease short-term salary cap burdens by pushing financial hits into later years.

While this concept might sound complex, think of it as an NFL version of a credit card allowing teams to structure massive contracts in a way that makes them more manageable.

This financial strategy is becoming particularly relevant for the Houston Texans. As they build around their talented young core, they’ll need to pay top dollar to retain key players.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud is a no-brainer for a major payday, but other stars like cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. could also command record-breaking deals at their positions.

The Defensive End Market is Exploding

This offseason, the defensive end position has taken center stage in contract negotiations. Just a few years ago, wide receivers saw their market skyrocket, and before that, it was quarterbacks. Now, in 2025, it’s pass rushers who are cashing in.

The trend started when Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby signed a new deal worth $35.5 million per year, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

It was a massive leap, and many assumed that record would hold for a while at the very least, any new deals would only slightly surpass it.

But then came the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns Shake Up the Market Again

If there’s one thing the Browns have proven, it’s that they aren’t afraid to disrupt the market.

Fans will remember how they shattered the total guaranteed money record by $80 million to land Deshaun Watson, a move widely criticized across the league. Now, they’ve pulled off another eyebrow-raising deal.

Their franchise cornerstone, Myles Garrett, had reportedly been seeking a trade amid internal turmoil after a dismal 3-14 season.

The Browns, determined to keep him, refused to entertain trade talks and instead responded with an enormous contract extension not just surpassing Crosby’s deal, but obliterating it by an additional $4.5 million per year.

What This Means for the Texans

Garrett’s deal has now set a new benchmark for elite pass rushers, which will undoubtedly impact the Texans when it comes time to negotiate with Will Anderson Jr.. If Anderson continues to develop into one of the league’s top edge rushers, Houston will likely have to pay him at least what Garrett is making if not more as the market continues to inflate.

Simply put, the price of keeping elite talent is skyrocketing. The Texans, like every other team, will need to decide how far they’re willing to go to secure their future stars.

Once again, the Cleveland Browns have managed to completely distort the market, forcing player salaries to skyrocket much faster than the rest of the league would prefer.

If we look back to the Deshaun Watson contract fiasco, every other team (and even most agents) essentially agreed to ignore Cleveland’s reckless spending, treating it as an outlier rather than a new standard.

The market corrected itself for quarterbacks after that debacle, leaving Watson stranded on a mountain of guaranteed money with a franchise in perpetual turmoil.

But now, thanks to Myles Garrett’s record-breaking deal, pass rushers are in line for an unexpected payday one that will directly impact the Houston Texans.

With players like Trey Hendrickson, Micah Parsons, Aidan Hutchinson, and Houston’s own Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. approaching new contracts, the ripple effect of Garrett’s extension is about to hit hard.

Hunter is entering the final season of a two-year, $48 million deal he signed last spring. At 30 years old, he remains highly productive, racking up 12 sacks in 2024 and consistently averaging 11 sacks per season throughout his career (excluding his injury-related absence in 2020).

Last season, he also recorded 72 pressures, proving he’s still among the best in the league at disrupting the pocket.

The Texans likely want to keep Hunter around, potentially even extending him early to free up short-term cap space. However, given Garrett’s new deal, Hunter would be wise to wait.

If he delivers another strong season, he could easily land a short-term free-agent contract in the $30-35 million per year range a huge jump from his current deal.

For Anderson, Garrett’s contract is a financial game-changer. Unlike Hunter, who is on the back half of his career, Anderson is just getting started.

The real players to watch in the pass rusher market are Micah Parsons and Aidan Hutchinson, both of whom are still on their rookie deals.

Parsons has been eligible for an extension for over a year, Hutchinson will be soon, and Anderson is just one year away from his first massive payday.

If Anderson continues his upward trajectory in 2025 possibly elevating into Defensive Player of the Year conversations it’s almost certain that he will enter the $40 million per year club. And given how vital he is to the Texans’ defense, Houston would have no problem making him one of the league’s highest-paid defenders.

He was drafted as the franchise’s defensive cornerstone, just as C.J. Stroud was for the offense, and the Texans will pay whatever it takes to keep him.

Why Did the Browns and Garrett Ultimately Stay Together?

The simple answer? The Browns don’t have much else to celebrate.

Since the franchise rebooted in 1999, their only true all-time greats have been Joe Thomas and Myles Garrett. Like Thomas, the Browns want Garrett to spend his entire career in Cleveland, so they overpaid to ensure he stays.

And, just like Thomas, Garrett will eventually find himself in Canton one of the rare bright spots in an otherwise dismal history.

The Texans may not be the Chiefs, but at least they’ve won division titles and playoff games. The Browns? They remain an unmitigated disaster, clinging to their few elite players in a sea of dysfunction.

Justin Brazeau had a hectic travel day but made it to Vancouver just in time for his Wild debut.

The 27-year-old winger, who was traded from Boston on Thursday night, flew from Raleigh to Denver, endured a two-hour layover, and finally joined his new team in western Canada on Friday afternoon. He suited up for Minnesota’s 3-1 loss, capping off a whirlwind 24 hours.

“Ate a little bit,” he said. “Threw my suitcase down and came to the rink.”

Brazeau’s journey also took him from a non-playoff team to one very much in contention, the winger part of a Boston exodus that reinforced the Wild’s push with the size and strength they’d been lacking.

“A bit of a crazy day,” Brazeau said after he made his team debut in the 3-1 loss to the Canucks. “Obviously, a lot of emotions. Kind of haven’t really gone through anything like this before, and obviously a little bit of longer day with the travel from Raleigh.

“But the guys are great, welcoming me in when I got here and making me feel really comfortable, so it was good.”

The Wild acquired Justin Brazeau, 27, from the Bruins on Thursday night in exchange for forwards Jakub Lauko, Marat Khusnutdinov, and a 2026 sixth-round pick (originally from Boston).

Brazeau admitted he “had a feeling something might be coming,” and he wasn’t the only player on the move. With the Bruins slipping behind in the Eastern Conference playoff race, they shook up their roster sending captain Brad Marchand to Florida, former Wild forward Charlie Coyle to Colorado, and defenseman Brandon Carlo to Toronto.

“Obviously good friends that I got to know last year a bit,” Brazeau said. “So, just one of those days where if you don’t you don’t perform at the beginning of the year, something like this happens.”

Brazeau, an undrafted free agent, spent parts of five seasons in the AHL and ECHL before finally making his NHL debut last year—a game against Dallas where he marked the occasion with a goal.

He later suited up for nine playoff games with Boston, scoring his first career playoff goal in Game 1 of the second round, capping off the Bruins’ 5-1 victory over the Panthers.

“It helps to have something to kind of fall back on,” said Brazeau, who has 10 goals and 10 assists this season, “and know that if you play the right way and I play my game, I’ll be fine.”

Before that, Brazeau has a chance to make an impact with the Wild by using his 6-foot-6, 227-pound frame to protect the puck in the offensive zone and create a strong net-front presence.

That physical style was on full display in the Wild’s road trip finale against Vancouver, where they outshot the Canucks 38-19, but couldn’t quite convert their pressure into goals.

Fortunately, their new-look lineup won’t have to wait long for another opportunity to break through.

Back in Minnesota, the Wild will kick off a season-long seven-game homestand on Sunday afternoon against Pittsburgh an opportunity to keep fighting for playoff positioning and for Brazeau to settle in with his new team.

“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s a good team in here. I think we can make some noise in the playoffs, so we’ve just gotta make sure we’re playing the right way when we get in there so that we’re ready to go.”