Free agency is rapidly approaching, and the Denver Broncos have some available cap space with the ability to create even more. The Broncos should be active in free agency when March rolls around as they work to capitalize on Bo Nix's rookie contract, which comes with two more years before he's eligible for an extension.
As part of the team's attempts to upgrade the roster, the Broncos are also rumored to be looking to add to their safety room and upgrade over P.J. Locke. Locke has also been tapped as a potential cap casualty by multiple outlets that could be jettisoned to add extra space.
9NEWS' Mike Klis floated an intriguing veteran safety this week in Camryn Bynum, who spent the 2024 season with the Minnesota Vikings.
“The Broncos will explore picking up a starting safety in free agency," Klis wrote. "Minnesota's Camryn Bynum is among the possible candidates.”
Bynum, who turns 27 in July, has an estimated market value of $17.7 million annually, per Spotrac. That would be a massive contract and the fifth-highest annual average among all safeties. The Broncos have plenty of cap space to work with, but that would take an enormous chunk of it and force them to restructure some contracts and cut others in order to bolster the roster elsewhere.
Of course, it's possible that Bynum's market doesn’t match Spotrac's estimate. After all, it's an estimate, and they're often exaggerated. Bening a safety, which has had a volatile market for years, doesn’t help regarding clarity. Will this be an up year for the position or another down year like 2024?
However, Bynum would be a great fit in the scheme and would be a good pairing with Broncos safety Brandon Jones. They would complement each other, and it would provide the stability that was missing with Locke.
Let’s look at where Bynum compares to other safeties who played at least 1,000 snaps last season in some Pro Football Focus' metrics. There were 33 safeties who played 1,000 snaps, and Bynums' defensive grade ranked 25th, with Jones third and Locke 32nd.
In PFF's run defense grade, Bynum ranked 23rd, Locke 32nd, and Jones 17th. In coverage grade, Bynum was 21st, Jones third, and Locke 31st. Bynum is the most reliable tackler of the three, with a lower missed-tackle rate than Locke and Jones.
The fly in the ointment is that Bynum was boom-or-bust in coverage, with four touchdowns allowed, three interceptions, and five passes broken up. Locke also relinquished four touchdowns in coverage but didn’t have any interceptions and only two pass break-ups. If the Broncos want to upgrade Locke, Bynum is an upgrade.
But is Bynum worth that $17.7M market value estimate?
The surface answer is no. Bynum is a good player, and he's better than some of those PFF grades, but he isn’t $17.7 million annually good.
It makes sense for the Broncos to monitor the market, and if Bynum's checks in lower than that estimate, they should be involved. There are enough issues with his game to make it easy to walk away on a contract worth $8 million annually.
Again, Bynum is a good player, but $17.7M per year for him would be a terrible decision.
