Renck: Broncos cannot afford to move on from left tackle Garett Bolles

It is the first play of the fourth quarter in New Orleans, and Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles slams his right hand into Chase Young’s chest. Young loses his balance, if not his dignity, as he falls face-first into the turf.

Bolles is sculpted for the task of bodyguard for quarterback Bo Nix. After a clumsy start to his career, he overcame relentless boos and more than a few flags to emerge as a team leader.

But when he looks across the line of scrimmage on Sunday will he see his future? Around 15 yards back, in plain sight, will be Justin Simmons. He was the Broncos’ most accomplished player over the previous eight seasons.

He now helps anchor the Atlanta Falcons secondary, signing as a free agent after coach Sean Payton cut him in March. Simmons reacted to the news by returning to the facility and thanking staffers.

It symbolized his character and gratitude. His family still lives in Denver and Simmons admitted this week he views himself as a “Bronco for life” even as he wears red and black.

Bolles wants to actually pull it off.

“I would love to finish here. The ball is not in my court. It’s in the front office’s court, Coach Payton and (offensive line) coach (Zach) Strief’s court. My job is to play good football day in and day out. I am not worried about what’s happening. They know I want to be here and finish my career here as a Denver Bronco,” Bolles told The Denver Post.

“I have given this organization everything I have. We have seven more regular season games, and it starts with Chapter 1 this week and I am going to do everything I can to help our team win. They know where the ball’s at. It’s up to them on what they want to do with it.”

Simmons’ exit left Bolles as the longest-tenured Bronco. His resume is measured in accomplishments — Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors, community work — and quarterbacks. Bolles has played with all 14 starters since Peyton Manning retired. He pledged his loyalty to each of them.

Bolles will be a free agent at season’s end, his eighth with the Broncos. He faces an uncertain future in Denver. He shouldn’t. The Broncos cannot afford to lose him. For all of the similarities to Simmons, Bolles’ situation is different.

Simmons plays free safety, a position that Payton, along with the rest of the NFL, viewed as a luxury this past offseason. Cutting Simmons saved the Broncos $14.5 million in salary cap space. But it was not about money as much as philosophy. Payton no longer wanted a ball-hawking center fielder, but a big hitter, adding Brandon Jones for a fraction of the cost ($3.3 million in 2024).

Bolles plays a premium position and continues to perform at a high level. This cannot be easily dismissed. While penalties still haunt him — he has nine, tied for third-most in the NFL — he has allowed one sack this season. He goes weeks between yielding pressures.

Bolles still has the goods. But do the Broncos think he is good enough to keep? It would likely require a three-year deal in the neighborhood of $66 million. That is the going rate for a top-10 tackle. And that is where Bolles falls by any objective measure.

Would Denver really gamble with Nix’s development by going with a younger, cheaper player to protect his blindside? It is not advisable, but possible.

The Broncos have had multiple opportunities to give Bolles a contract extension over the last nine months. There has been no cha-ching. Only crickets. They could have done it before trading Baron Browning if they wanted financial wiggle room. They could have done it in September before adding voidable years to Courtland Sutton’s contract to create salary cap space.

They could have done it just to do it. But it is mid-November, and the Broncos’ posture suggests they are either, a) willing to let Bolles test the market, or b) prepared to move on without him.

This carries enormous risk when looking at the free agent tackle class, existing roster options and the upcoming draft. Yes, Bolles is 32, but he has more tread on the tires than his age suggests after switching to offense in junior college and playing only one season at Utah.

Given their needs — they must add a receiver and tight end — the Broncos have no room for sentimentality. But there is no evidence to suggest Bolles is regressing. While Pro Football Focus grades cannot be taken as gospel, they remain instructive. Among tackles, Bolles ranks as the fourth-best pass blocker and the 20th-best in the run game.

He wants nothing more than to see the franchise reach the postseason for the first time since 2016, a year before the Broncos drafted him.

“It would be awesome. I have always wanted to not only win here but win a championship here. That’s just my mentality every single day. We have come up short the last seven years, hopefully, we can get things rolling and win a bunch of games and get into the playoffs,” Bolles said. “But we have to focus on this game against Atlanta.”

With Simmons as proof, Sunday will serve as a reminder that football is business. But Bolles is different. Given his performance at his position, he has earned another contract.

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