Long after most major splashes in the free-agent market have dried up, the Broncos made another move to shore up depth and special-teams units on Tuesday.
Denver is signing former Carolina Panthers safety Sam Franklin to a one-year deal worth up to $1.5 million, Franklin’s agent Harold Lewis confirmed to The Denver Post. Franklin’s been a key special-teamer for the Panthers for five years and profiles as another piece for new special-teams coordinator Darren Rizzi.
After going undrafted out of Temple in 2020, Franklin latched on with Carolina and embedded with the organization, despite seeing his defensive snaps fluctuate season-over-season. In 2023, seeing his best opportunity at safety, Franklin racked up 30 tackles on a combination of ST snaps and defensive alignments. He played just three defensive snaps in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus, seeing a majority of his action on special teams.
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The Broncos still have roughly $17 million in cap space in 2025, from estimations pulled from OverTheCap and Spotrac. Running back JK Dobbins, who was solid in 2024 for the Los Angeles Chargers, still remains on the market. But the Broncos’ brass was expressively firm on drafting an RB in April, and have remained largely quiet since a spending spree in March.
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