4 NFL players who are thriving despite having fifth-year options declined

1. Garett Bolles, OT, Denver Broncos

The only player on this list to have signed an extension is Denver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles, who had a very rocky road through his first three years in the league. Bolles, the No. 20 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, wasn’t looking the part of a decent offensive lineman at all in his first few years.

According to STATS, Bolles surrendered 14.5 sacks in his first three years on the Broncos offensive line and has allowed just 0.5 sacks this year. That’s quite the turnaround and definitely merited a contract extension for the Broncos’ first-rounder in 2017.

What looked like another bad first-round pick by John Elway ended up working out. Bolles was a bit of a troublemaker in college but he’s turned things around, signing a four-year extension worth $68 million. The Broncos can get out of that contract after 2022 and Bolles would be 30 by that point. If he doesn’t keep up this level of play, opting out of the deal would be the smart play for the Broncos.

Bolles is proof that sometimes players need more time to develop than most teams are willing to give them. Denver stuck with him and it’s paid off.

Let this be a lesson — Just because teams don’t pick up a player’s fifth-year option doesn’t mean that player is garbage. It might just be the swift kick they needed to figure things out.