The former second round pick will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Denver Broncos current starting right guard, Dalton Risner, was on KOA Colorado radio earlier today and was asked if Denver has approached him about a contract extension. Risner will be a free agent at the end of the year, but he said he has yet to hear from the team about a possible extension or new deal.

“That’s something that I would have expected to happen already and it hasn’t,” Risner said. “And that’s been definitely a tough pill to swallow.”

The former second round selection has been the Starting Left Guard for the team for the past four seasons and has had an up and down career to this point. He started off strong his rookie year but it has not been the best since then. In his defense, he has been the part of multiple head coaches, offensive coordinator’s and offensive line coaches, so continuity has been lacking for him.

Risner told KOA’s Big Al, Ryan Edwards and Dave Logan that he expected to hear from the Broncos by now, and the fact they have not has been a “tough pill to swallow” for him.

With the current struggles along the Broncos offensive line, I do not see them bringing back Risner this offseason. They likely need at least three new starters along the offensive line (left guard, center, and right tackle again) and will likely prefer to add some new blood to the group.

Risner, who grew up a Broncos fans has become a fan favorite, so this news will likely be upsetting to some. However, the Broncos really do need to improve their offensive line moving forward (we have been saying this for what seems like years now) and moving on from Risner might be part of that process.