ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos have informed left tackle Garett Bolles, the team's first-round pick in 2017, they will not exercise the fifth-year option in his contract for 2021.
It means Bolles, who has started every game of the past three seasons, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2020 season. The fifth-year option would have been for just over $11 million guaranteed, and team sources said Friday that since that figure would be guaranteed against injury, the Broncos opted to decline it.
It also means any vote of confidence the Broncos gave Bolles when they neither selected a tackle in last weekend's draft nor were involved in any trades talks for Trent Williams, largely puts Bolles in a prove-it situation to stay with the team beyond this season.
Bolles will count $3.51 million against the salary cap this season.
Broncos president of football operations/general manager John Elway has been non-committal in recent weeks when asked about Bolles' fifth-year option, saying the Broncos "will look at everything.'' Elway and coach Vic Fangio have each said Bolles and Elijah Wilkinson will compete for the left tackle job for the upcoming season.
Asked last weekend about not using any of the team's 10 draft picks on a tackle, Elway said: "We have to get better there, there's no question about it. That's a position we have to get better at... We just didn't feel like we were in a situation to where we could add to that. I think with where we were and what our game plan was, the tackle never fell for us as far as something we thought that there was a player there that could help us at that position.''
Bolles has struggled mightily with penalties so far in his career. While both he and the Broncos have disputed several of the calls in his 48 games, Bolles has still been flagged 46 times, including penalties that were declined. Bolles has also led the league in holding penalties in each of his three seasons and has finished second, tied for fourth, and tied for second in penalties overall.
In all, 34 of his career flags (73.9 percent) have been for holding.