The Broncos don’t need to wait until Sean Payton’s first meeting with the team in spring drills for Super Bowl talk to get going.

Denver’s head coach told his players when they returned to Broncos Park last April that the team was capable of winning the Super Bowl. The Broncos then went 14-3 and made the AFC Championship Game before losing 10-7 to New England. They might have made the Super Bowl had quarterback Bo Nix not missed that game because of a broken right ankle.

“We were in the AFC Championship Game last year, three points away from the Super Bowl,” tight end Adam Trautman told The Denver Gazette on Sunday night. “Obviously, the goal (in 2026) is going to be the Super Bowl.”

Trautman said the Broncos have what it takes to win Super Bowl LXI next February at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

“The expectation is to make it there, especially with everything kind of in place now,” Trautman said. “And knowing what the expectations are, kind of how we built this thing for the last three years (since Payton’s arrival in 2023). … The expectation is to be there and to win it.”

Trautman reached an agreement Sunday to re-sign with the Broncos on a three-year, $17 million contract and officially signed his deal Monday. Three other impending Denver free agents agreed to re-sign Sunday: linebacker Justin Strnad on a three-year, $18 million deal, reserve quarterback Sam Ehlinger on a one-year, $2 million contract and reserve tight end Nate Adkins on a one-year, $1.465 million deal that includes a $300,000 signing bonus.

On Monday’s first day of the free-agent negotiating period, starting running back J.K. Dobbins agreed to return on a two-year deal and starting linebacker Alex Singleton on a two-year, $15.5 million contract.

Trautman’s contract includes $9.5 million guaranteed. He said it also includes $1.5 million in incentives, which could make his deal worth as much as $18.5 million. He said the incentives are “tied to yards, catches, things like that.”

Trautman, who had Payton at New Orleans from 2020-21 before joining him on the Broncos in 2023, is heading into his sixth season of playing for the head coach. He’s “definitely excited” about Denver’s continuing building process.

“I didn’t want to go to a place where it wasn’t a winning culture, and the cool thing is I’ve been in it since the new (regime) got here with Sean and everything,” Trautman said. “So I’ve been part of the building process this entire time and also being a part of the culture in helping to guide it in the right direction.”

Trautman was thrilled to see Strnad locked up and ready to return for a seventh Denver season.

“He’s taken advantage of every opportunity he’s gotten when he gets on the field, which has been awesome,” Trautman said. “He showed his value. But he’s also one of the locker room favorites, as well, so that’s a big deal. He’s very, very well liked and very respected.”

Trautman said he was “very happy” to see Adkins commit to a fourth Broncos season. Trautman and Adkins are the team’s top blocking tight ends.

With the new league year starting Wednesday, Denver will end up adding some new players. But Trautman said before that happens, the Broncos already have what it takes to win the Super Bowl.

Broncos in line to draft ‘Mr. Irrelevant’

The Broncos are in line to select “Mr. Irrelevant” in the April 23-25 draft.

The NFL on Monday awarded two seventh-round compensatory picks to Denver at No. 256 and No. 257. The No. 257 selection is expected to be the last one in the draft, with the player taken in that spot dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant.”

The only time the Broncos have selected a “Mr. Irrelevant” was when they took quarterback Chad Kelly No. 253 in 2017.

The Broncos received their two compensatory picks based on a formula of free-agent losses last year, which included running back Javonte Williams, linebacker Cody Barton, defensive back Tremon Smith, punter Riley Dixon and quarterback Zach Wilson.

Broncos’ remaining free agents

With the Broncos having made a big surge in locking up their own free agents, the list has gotten much shorter of who remains unsigned.

Denver unrestricted free agents still on the market are safety P.J. Locke, wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, center Sam Mustifer and fullbacks Adam Prentice and Michael Burton, the latter having spent all of 2025 on injured reserve.

Three players who were in line to be restricted free agents but were not tendered by Denver officially become unrestricted free agents Wednesday: running back Jaleel McLaughlin, tight end Lucas Krull and defensive lineman Matt Henningsen, who spent all of 2025 on injured reserve.