As other NFL pass rush stars quarrel with their teams, Nik Bonitto continues to proceed through contract talks with the Broncos without much of a whinny.
Does the All-Pro outside linebacker, entering the final year of his rookie deal, want an extension? Yep. Does he want to get it done soon? Sure.
But Bonitto himself said last month that the pass-rush market is in his favor after the Steelers’ TJ Watt signed a record-breaking extension in free agency. Cowboys superstar Micah Parsons is set to blow the doors off contract scales when he signs his deal — if he ever gets on the same page with Jerry Jones. Bengals superstar Trey Hendrickson is set to reset the market, too — if he ever gets on the same page with the organization at large.
Any shouts of “Pay Bonitto” are moot at this point. The Broncos want to pay him. He was planned as next in line for an extension, head coach Sean Payton confirmed in early August, after receiver Courtland Sutton and defensive end Zach Allen. But there is little public urgency between the two parties after Bonitto fielded a slew of extension questions after Tuesday’s practice.
“I feel like they’ve pretty much, through the whole process, kept me a priority, knowing — they want to extend me, they want me here,” Bonitto said. “It’s just about when they want to get it done, and when we’re ready.”
Before Denver signed Allen to a four-year, $102 million extension in early August, Payton joked with Allen a couple of days prior that the “ships could see each other on the horizon.” The Broncos can see Bonitto just fine. Bonitto’s cruiser can spot them right back. Bonitto complimented his agent Tory Dandy on Tuesday, and said there’s been good communication between both parties. He affirmed he feels like “something will get done.”
It’s unclear at the moment, though, if either ship is speeding toward the other. After Allen’s extension, Payton hinted both Bonitto and the Broncos were weighing the benefits of re-upping before the season.
“When you sign with a year left remaining — well, there’s a cost of that a little bit,” Payton said after Allen’s extension. “You gain another year of security from injury. When you sign as a free agent, that number is probably bigger. And so, those are all the decisions that weigh into the player and the organization’s mind.”
Bonitto’s timeline seems fairly simple. He’s made it clear he wants to stay in Denver. The Broncos outside linebacker doesn’t have Parsons or Hendrickson’s track records of success. But he’s younger than both and had more sacks than Parsons in 2024. Any heap of cash thrown their way only increases Bonitto’s leverage in negotiations.
“The edge market, it’s just going to keep going up and up with the guys that are still needing to be signed,” Bonitto said. “And just the position that I’m in (is advantageous) — whether it was last year, or the confidence I feel I’m going to put myself in this year.”
The price may also rise if a deal drags beyond Week 1 and Bonitto continues the ascension he showed last year. On Tuesday, he returned to practice and full team work after missing the last week of training camp with a bone spur in his foot. He’d first felt discomfort in an Aug. 7 joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers, and sat after the defense’s first couple of drives in their preseason game in Santa Clara, Calif.
Even with an active bone spur, Bonitto singlehandedly blew up three straight San Francisco plays on an early drive.
“When you have someone that can get off the line quickly with the snap count, anticipate it, but also can really bend lower than where the tackle wants to put his left hand, that can be problematic,” Payton said.
At the end of the day, Bonitto’s still under contract for another year, as he pointed out Tuesday. And he doesn’t much care whether an extension’s signed before the season kicks off or during it.
“That’s like — the least of my worries,” Bonitto said. “I just want to compete for a championship this year, do all the things that we have set out to do as a team and as a defense.”
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