Linebacker Shane Ray said in April that he expected the Broncos to exercise their option on his contract for the 2019 season, but that’s not how things are going to play out.
A report this week indicated that the Broncos were likely to pass on the option, which would set up a salary of $9.232 million guaranteed against injury only, and Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports that they have indeed declined it.
While the Broncos had been noncommittal about their plans before Ray shared his opinion, the picture changed during the first round of the draft last Thursday night. That’s when the Broncos landed Bradley Chubb with the fifth overall pick to give them a pass rusher to pair with Von Miller in hopes of realizing a bigger return than Ray has provided over the last three seasons.
Ray has 13 sacks in 38 games since joining the Broncos and would be able to position himself well for free agency if he can improve on that production this year. Doing so could require beating out Chubb for playing time and that looks like a tall order given the fanfare that accompanies the rookie into the NFL.