Insider Buzz: Broncos Seeking Upgrade at P.J. Locke's Safety Spot

A change could be coming to the Denver Broncos safety room. There's been some speculation about the status and 2025 role of Broncos safety P.J. Locke, who re-signed for $7 million over two years last offseason and ended up the starter next to Brandon Jones.

Locke has been tapped in the rumor mill as a top cap-casualty candidate, which would save the Broncos $4.19 million in 2025 with $1M in dead-money charges on the salary cap. 

As 9NEWS' Mike Klis recently wrote, there were some "mixed reviews" of the Broncos' safety room this past season. Indeed. Jones was well-regarded in Year 1 with the Broncos, but Locke had a wider range of opinions about him. Part of that stems from Locke's splash plays, but his consistency snap-to-snap was lacking. 

"On the negative side, the Broncos weren’t fully satisfied with their safety play down the stretch when opponents like the Browns, Bengals, Chargers and Bills exposed the second to third-level area between the inside linebackers and safeties," Klis wrote.

The safety play down the stretch was the most concerning, especially with Locke. Those few games were highly concerning, and it was easy to see how opponents identified the Broncos' weaknesses and attacked them in different ways. 

Devon Key was the primary backup, though JL Skinner began to see some action to close out the season as a 'big nickel' type, with 13 snaps over the final three games. The Broncos should be looking to upgrade the safety depth, but Klis suggests it could be more than that. 

“There’s some buzz the Broncos may want to upgrade the position currently occupied by Locke, who made $3.97 million in 2024 and is due to make a non-guaranteed $4 million in 2025," Klis wrote.

Klis highlights the financial aspect of the Locke situation, which will always play a part in decision-making. Even though the Broncos are in a healthier salary cap situation, Locke represents some potential savings.

However, if the Broncos want to upgrade the position, it will likely come at a cost, making Locke’s contract even more expendable. Denver could bring in a new starting safety at an $8 million per year basis, which could be offset by letting Locke go instead of paying him $5.19M as the third safety. 

The good news is, if the Broncos want to upgrade over Locke, there will be plenty of options in free agency, with Miami Dolphins free agent Jevon Holland being a popular name linked to Denver, as well as Talanoa Hufanga of the San Francisco 49ers.