The Broncos won’t have to wait long for one of the league’s biggest 2026 tests.
Denver is set to host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football in Week 3, and that means Aaron Donald’s NFL return will land on the Broncos’ schedule almost immediately. Donald is back with the Rams on a one-year deal worth $20 million and capable of reaching $30 million, a clear sign he’s being paid like a premium starter again.
His last NFL season came in 2023, when he posted eight sacks, 53 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, and 23 quarterback hits while playing 81 percent of the defensive snaps. The Rams’ projected front is loaded, too, with Donald, Poona Ford, Kobie Turner, Byron Young, and Myles Garrett listed as the starters on the defensive line and at outside linebacker. Young and Garrett give Los Angeles one of the league’s best pass-rush pairings, and the interior trio of Donald, Ford, and Turner looks every bit top-tier.
That makes this a serious challenge for Denver, even if the Broncos have their own answer up front. Their offensive line is viewed as the best in the league right now, which gives them a real shot to match what the Rams bring across the line of scrimmage.
There are a couple of things working in Denver’s favor, though. The game comes early in the season, so Donald may still be shaking off the rust and not handling a full workload right away. And the Broncos get the Rams at home.
By September 27, plenty around the league could be treating this as a Super Bowl LXI preview. Both Denver and Los Angeles reached the conference championship games last season, and both have made moves that point toward another run at the big stage.
In Other News...
Broncos Just Put More Pressure On One Young Pass Rusher
The Broncos made their intentions clear by carrying seven defensive linemen on their 53-man roster, and Sai'vion Jones is part of that group. Denver used a 2025 third-round pick on Jones, then kept him through roster cutdowns even though his development has been slower than expected, a sign the team is still willing to be patient with a player it sees as part of the long-term plan.
Jones now joins a rotation that also includes Eyioma Uwazurike, Tyler Onyedim and Jordan Jackson as Denver tries to replace departed veteran John Franklin-Myers. He figures to sit near the bottom of the depth chart for now, but the Broncos chose to keep him around rather than risk losing the chance to keep molding him, which says plenty about how much upside they believe is still there. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Roster Cuts Just Sparked A Debate Fans Saw Coming
The Broncos have spent the days leading into the 2026 season reshaping the bottom of the roster, and a few of those decisions have already drawn attention beyond the usual cutdown churn. Among the moves was the release of fifth-round pick Justin Joly, along with undrafted rookie Taurean York, while the team also moved on from running back Jaleel McLaughlin in favor of Tyler Badie. Joly has since landed with the Dolphins, which only adds another layer to a roster call that now looks more consequential in hindsight.
What makes the debate linger is the timing and the positions involved. Tight end and inside linebacker were already viewed as weaker spots on the Broncos roster, so parting with young players at those spots invited obvious questions about depth, development and whether the team was giving up on potential too soon. For a club trying to get the most out of every roster spot, these are the kinds of decisions that can look ordinary in August and a lot bigger once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Just Made Their 2026 Intentions Impossible To Miss
The Broncos spent the offseason sending a clear message about where they believe this roster stands. Rather than overhaul a team that already came close to the Super Bowl, Denver kept most of its 2025 core together for 2026 and made only a few targeted additions, headlined by wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and rookie running back Jonah Coleman. The idea was less about chasing a new identity and more about preserving the continuity that got this group within striking distance in the first place.
For a franchise still trying to turn recent progress into a title run, that approach says plenty about the confidence inside the building. Management and the coaching staff clearly trust an experienced locker room that stayed healthy and mostly intact, and they seem determined to see how far that continuity can carry them. The Broncos are not acting like a team in transition - they are acting like a team that believes its championship window is open right now. [Read more 🡒]