Bradley Chubb‘s rookie contract will now run through 2022. The Broncos are picking up the Pro Bowl pass rusher’s fifth-year option, Michael Silver of NFL.com tweets.
The 2018 No. 5 overall pick bounced back after missing most of the 2019 season with an ACL tear, making the Pro Bowl and anchoring the Broncos’ pass rush following Von Miller‘s significant ankle injury. This transaction locks Chubb down through 2022. Because Chubb made the Pro Bowl, his salary will increase accordingly due to the new CBA’s altered fifth-year option structure. The North Carolina State product is now attached to a fully guaranteed $12.716MM.
With Miller in the final year of his contract, Chubb becomes a pivotal piece in Denver. It is not certain if the Broncos will enter into extension talks with their future Hall of Fame linebacker, but it went down to the wire whether they would pick up Miller’s 2021 option.
New GM George Paton indicated he wants Chubb to be a long-term cornerstone. While the Broncos are not believed to have begun extension talks, they should be expected to at some point this year or, perhaps more likely, in 2022.
Miller coming back gives the Broncos a long-awaited opportunity. Chubb’s 2019 injury and Miller’s 2020 setback has meant the Vic Fangio era has largely unfolded with one of the two rushers absent. The Broncos are poised to have a strong defense in 2021, having further bolstered the unit via the Patrick Surtain II first-round pick, and the Miller-Chubb tandem will anchor that group.