7 Denver Broncos players who could be gone in 2022

Denver Broncos player no. 6: Alexander Johnson, LB

The Denver Broncos went from having somewhat of a short-term question mark at the linebacker position to now having a new set of questions entirely.

The team entered the 2021 season with Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell as the starters at inside linebacker, but both of those guys went down with season-ending pectoral injuries.

Johnson came into the NFL in 2018 as a 26-year-old rookie, but he didn’t play until after about a quarter of the 2019 season when Vic Fangio inserted him into the lineup. He immediately played at a high level in Fangio’s defense, took a bit of a step back in 2020, and was poised for a strong 2021 campaign before his injury.

Johnson excels at defending the run and blitzing, and with his size and overall athletic traits, he’s capable of being a strong starter in the NFL for at least the next few years, entering his age 30/31 season in 2022.

Given his age and the development of players behind him this past season — namely Baron Browning and Jonas Griffith — will the Denver Broncos and general manager George Paton try to retain him?

I’m not so sure.

The same could really be said of Josey Jewell as well.

I think the Broncos will look to bring back one or two of Alexander Johnson, Josey Jewell, and Kenny Young (a trade acquisition in 2021), but I think Johnson is the odd-man-out if there is only one player at this position group let go.