Broncos free agency news: Team signs new OT, gets back LB who nearly departed.
The Denver Broncos continued to move quietly through free agency on Wednesday, signing offensive tackle Matt Peart to a one-year contract. Peart, a former third-round choice of the New York Giants in 2020, will join the Broncos after four seasons in Big Blue.
Peart stands 6-foot-7 and weighs over 320 pounds. For the previous three seasons, the Broncos have utilized Cam Fleming as their seasoned rotational offensive tackle, and it appears, at least for the time being, that Peart will take up that job, joining second-year tackle Alex Palczewski as backups to Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey
Despite McGlinchey’s disappointing performance last season, Peart could play into the team’s plans in 2024.
Peart was a promising talent coming out of Connecticut in 2020, earning first-round consideration from several observers. Injuries have slowed him down throughout his career, including a ruptured ACL near the close of the 2021 season, which has limited him to only seven career starts in 43 games.
The Broncos will now see what Peart has to give at this juncture in his career, as his tenure in New York was largely disappointing. He will still be only 27 years old when the 2024 season begins, so time is still on his side.
The Broncos persuaded another player not to leave town after he first agreed to a deal with another side. Linebacker Justin Strnad had agreed to a deal with the Carolina Panthers, which would have seen him follow Josey Jewell to his new team and rejoin with former defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
Strnad will enter his fifth season with the Broncos, where he will be a depth component at inside linebacker and a special teams player. He has 46 career tackles since being drafted in the fifth round in 2020, but the Broncos desperately need help at inside linebacker right now.
Wil Lutz almost departed for the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason, and tight end Adam Trautman was linked to another team before both agreed to return to the Broncos. That speaks favorably of the current workforce.
