Denver Broncos re-sign defensive end Derek Wolfe

Nov 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe (95) reacts to his sack of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) not pictured) in the second quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

The contract of legendary Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning coming off the books this offseason. Plus the NFL salary cap is expected to go up to around $150 million for the 2016 season. So the Broncos, who were up against the cap this year, will be able to reward the guys that are playing well.

And it looks like they’re doing just that with one of their promising defensive players for the long haul. It also appears that the player wants to reward the team for taking him No. 36 overall in 2012. That led to the team announcing Friday that defensive end Derek Wolfe signed a 4-year contract extension.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Wolfe’s deal is worth $36.7 million with $17.5 million in guarantees. With the way he played in 2015, Wolfe could have earned more money playing for another team. But also according to Rapoport, he gave the Broncos a home-town discount because he wanted to stay in Denver.

Wolfe missed the first four games of the 2015 season due to a suspension for a violation of the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. But he still finished the 2015 season just a half of a sack short of his career high with 5.5. He also still managed to rack up a career-high 49 combined tackles.

According to Pro Football Focus, Wolfe has outperformed all but three 3-4 defensive ends since Week 5. The NFL’s analytics experts also have him rated as the No. 10 interior defensive lineman. The Broncos are keeping one it’s more valuable members of it’s top-ranked defense to be a fixture on it.

Let’s see how he does on Sunday now. .

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