The Denver Broncos are placing a right of first refusal tender on outside linebacker Malik Reed, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. The one-year deal will give Reed a salary of $2.433 million this season.
Other teams will be allowed to make Reed an offer and if he signs an offer sheet from another club, Denver will have the right to match that offer.
Reed (6-2, 235 pounds) signed with the Broncos as a college free agent out of Nevada following the 2019 NFL draft. After totaling 22 sacks in four seasons with the Wolfe Pack, Reed made Denver’s 53-man roster as a rookie, initially as a rotational pass rusher.
After Bradley Chubb went down with an injury in 2019, Reed ended up starting eight games in his first season, recording two sacks. The following year, Reed was asked to start again in the place of an injured Von Miller and he totaled eight sacks in 16 games (13 starts).
Reed started 13 games again in 2021 due to another Chubb injury and Miller being traded mid-season. He recorded five sacks in 14 games last year.
Reed will now return for the 2022 season and, ideally, Denver will have him provide quality depth as a rotational pass rusher. But as Reed as shown in the past, he’s certainly capable of starting if called upon.
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