Two days after placing Ebenezer Ekuban on the injured-reserve list and trading Gerard Warren to the Oakland Raiders, the Broncos signed former Chiefs defensive lineman John Browning.
Browning — who was primarily a tackle but also filled in at end from time to time during his 11 seasons with the Chiefs — has been out of football since reaching an injury settlement with Kansas City last fall on Sept. 30. The Chiefs placed him on injured reserve with a back injury 28 days earlier.
The 12-year veteran started 12 games and played in all 16 as recently as the 2005 campaign, finishing that year with 35 tackles (31 solo), two sacks (14 yds.), four passes defensed and one forced fumble. He had been fairly durable prior to that, and was a starter on the Chiefs team that went 13-3 back in 2003. The question is — what will he have after missing the last year, and how does he feel? We’ll start learning the answer to that question this afternoon.
Browning will wear jersey No. 98 — which, coincidentally, last belonged to fellow ex-Chief defensive lineman Carlos Hall before he left the team just before the start of training camp.
What do you think of the signing? Will he help the Broncos’ front line? Sound off below (or, if you’re on the main blog page, click “Comments” and fire away) … and until next entry, vaya con Dios.
Tags: Defense, Defensive linemen, John Browning
He has potential to help our rookies as far as him being a 12 year man, but having missed all of 2006 and being 33 I don’t see him making a huge impact on our line. On the other hand, I think he is a good solution if our rooks aren’t ready to start.
Lets go get Simeion Rice!
It can’t hurt to have another guy at any position. Bring him on!
Jonathan Douglas
http://www.broncotalk.net
How desperate are the Broncos to sign this guy? Could Gerard have been worse than him?
Word is Jerimiah Trotter is also a probablilty according to Yahoo sports. any truth to that?
I was at the game in Dallas and saw Sam Adams get pushed all over the field he looked like he is done. Help is needed but Browning is not going to help.
anthor nobody on the line, every other position we got the pieces
why not get trotter hmm
come on if we are going to pick up players why not simeon rice or someone that we know could come in here and make a difference. this guy could but i highly doubt it. broncos spend some money get someone that will help us. not someone who has been out for awhile sheesh. as a lifetime broncos fan somethings they do just make you go huh.
This is a joke!! This team needs to find a legit starting DE, and move DJ back to SAM. Then move Webster to sam, or sign Trotter…..I know he doesnt have the speed we are used at that position, but he can stuff the run!!!!! That is something that it seems the Broncos cant handle at this time. It isnt going to mater how good our secondary is, if the front seven cant play solid.
I don’t think I can post my thoughts on a family friendly blog like this one…
Un-freakin-believable!!!
TSG
http://www.milehighreport.com
Anonymous Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:53 am
This is a joke!! This team needs to find a legit starting DE, and move DJ back to SAM. Then move Webster to sam, or sign Trotter…..I know he doesnt have the speed we are used at that position, but he can stuff the run!!!!! That is something that it seems the Broncos cant handle at this time. It isnt going to mater how good our secondary is, if the front seven cant play solid.
CORRECTION…. I meant to move Webster from SAM to the MIKE. Sorry…
Picking up the chiefs trash wouldnt help us as much as someone like simeon rice, michael strahan, or j-trott..lets see how the rookies do before we pick up some old foggie…knock on wood if he ends up contributing and playing lights out, but i just dont see it happening..
well i agree we need some one that can actually play. simeon rice will help out a lot he still has some time to play. trotter will help with the run. and if the front seven cant play then other teams will run instead of pass so it will be usless to have dre bly and champ. come on denver lets get some real players!!
P.S. Andrew Mason Roxx My Soxx!!!!!
Without him, i wouldnt have broncos TV, the Blog, or his stories to keep me informed about everything BRONCOS!!!!
I’m glad we signed this guy so we can cut him in two weeks. Great move.
We get rid of one of our best d-linemen for someone who has been out of the league for a year and has probably past the prime of his career? Not to mention, he is just coming off of an injury? What gives? I’m getting concerned about Bates, our D hasn’t looked that great in either pre-season game and I’m hoping he hasn’t over-simplified our defensive scheme. Getting rid of Warren was a mistake. Claiming he was a good penetrator and that doesn’t fit into Bates’ scheme is absurd. If you don’t want your d-linemen to penetrate, what do you want them to do? If they penetrate, there’s no-one to block them and they can make plays! Please tell me we’re at least looking into Rice or Trotter.
P.S. Why did we sign Warren to a 6 year deal if we were just going to get rid of him after a year?
I second that! Simeon Rice and Jeremiah Trotter!!! Then our MLB issues will be taken care of as well. I hate to be negative about players that aren’t injured, but while we are on the subject of defense, does anyone really think Dominique Foxworth is capable of competing at the NFL level? I do like Hamza Abdullah quite a bit though…
I don’t want Rice or Trotter. Rice would come in handy as a 1-year guy to help out our rookie DE’s but other than that, I’m not all for these 1 year fixes.
Personally, I am interested in the Broncos getting Tank Johnson. This guy can sit out the 8 weeks and try and bulk up a long with learning the defensive scheme. He will come in handy as a fresh set of legs late in the season. Not to mention that it will give us a future inner D-line of Marcus Thomas and Tank Johnson.
I have confidence that this guy has realized what he’s doing to himself when he got released from the Bears. I have always been confident in problem players coming to the Broncos because of our main man Rod Smith. Considering his rescent history, he should be a steal and won’t kill our salary cap much like some of these veterans will be asking for knowing that they are on their way out.
This makes no sense… why did we sign Warren to a 6 year deal last year to trade him now?… This is a desperation move, I’m starting to become concerned with both of our lines.
Trotter and Rice are both done as well. They are better than Browning but still are a long way from being any help. I agree on Tank Johnson more than any of these over the hill bums they are bringing in.
Broncos are reaching right now. this man man is old and tired just like Sam Adams. What are we thinking?! DJ Williams does’nt have a clue @the MLB spot. we are gonna get pushed all around the field with these guys J-Trott or Rice or both seems like a nNO-BRAINER!
Broncos are reaching right now. this man man is old and tired just like Sam Adams. What are we thinking?! DJ Williams does’nt have a clue @the MLB spot. we are gonna get pushed all around the field with these guys J-Trott or Rice or both seems like a NO-BRAINER!
DJ should be fine. Give the LB’s time. It’s not their fault the D-line arn’t doing their jobs and tying up blockers so that they are free to move about without having to worry about shedding blocks from o-linemen
To add a voice of reason.
First, the Broncos staff including Shanahan and Sundquist have their head in football and the players everyday.
Second, I think that when they are evaluating who they can bring in several things are considered: Will the people they have now be able to step up and if so then does this person just need to provide depth? Will they be able to provide that depth immediatly, in the case of Johnson or Rice, that is a know since those guys have suspensions and injuries respectively. How would a contract fit in with the cap? Does the player actually fit our scheme? Is this the sort of player conduct and personally wise that we want on our team.
To make fast judgements about the staff, the MLB, foxworth, and the line situation at this point in the preseason is an insult to Broncos upper management, who I think are very good and know what they are doing.
This is not to say that i am disappointed with the preseason play so far, or wouldn’t find it exciting to have one of the playmakers that all of you have listed above.
I like the Tank Johnson suggestion. Best to try and sign him now than in week 8 when his stock goes up. I also think that J-Trott would be a great addition. If anything else, the veteran knows how to play the run (right now a necessity) and that will allow DJ to move back to a position that he is more comfortable with. DJ can always move to the Mike position on nickel downs w/ Gold (isn’t that why he didn’t see the field enough in the first place?) That would , in my opinion, kill 2 birds with 1 stone! Browning could help if his back is healthy. He is a vet the rooks can look up to, and he is versatile enough to play inside and out! I agree with some that say we should have kept Warren, especially at the reduced price we were getting him for this year. But I also have faith in the coaches to know that if they feel something wasn’t quite right with him, it just wasn’t quite right. There is always 2 sides to a story (one side we will probably never know), but I also remember the team saying they’ve liked Amon Gorden ever since they signed him a couple of years ago. He’s probably only a stop gap solution until the 315 pound Thomas can take over, but if the coaches believe in him…so do I (for now)!
Bates is playing games with us. Who does he think he is fooling? where is Mckinney the DT we got from Clevelend? GO AFTER TANK JOHNSON!or does he think he penetrates the off. to much?
Good point Bladed Blaster! I think Foxworth is a fine player…and will have one of his best years this year as the nickel corner. Speed kills in this league and he has it. He also is a better player than most people give him credit for (as he started all 4 years at the University of MD), and is very intelligent.
Why aren’t we going after Simeon Rice? Tampa let him go due to an injury. He is an elite pass rusher and defensive end. The last guy that got hurt in Tampa and ended up with the Broncos was some guy named hmm…………………………………………………………………………………………………. Lynch? Got Rice? Not yet but if any of the Broncos coaching staff ever scans through these blogs, Get Simeon Please.
My feelings are this. The DT’s have had multiple oppurtunities to break away and make a sack or stop the run. They seem almost scared to shed a block because of this “Not a penetration DT” that Bates has going. Hell, Warren got sent off because of it. Something that gets to me though is that these guys are only getting blocked by one guy in these preseason games. Why?
It’s simple. They go to double team them the first couple of plays knowing they are heavy and realize that all these guys are doing is standing up, planting their feet, and making no effort to crash the backfield. Therefore, all they have to do is put on guy in front of him and simply run around him and let the other free man block our LBs. It was evident in every play ran against them. That’s why our LBs can’t make it there. They are expecting the linemen to be occupyed when next thing they know they are trying to shed a block from a gaurd or tackle.
Guys are double teamed for a reason. Because they pose a threat to get into the backfield. Not because they are heavy and stand straight up.
Man…Browning? what is the deal here man? Rice would be perfect i think, and the Skins just released Lamar Marshal he is a pretty good young LB.We really need to chill out with the no name players and why the hell do we keep signing all these guys that have been hurt and out of the leage damn Shanny and front office get it together!
This signing stinks of panic…..and I aint panicing, for panic ‘s sake……
I’m with Red98
I believe we are just picking him up to keep our hobbled line from taking excessive punishment in games that “matter, but don’t count.”
Let him take two weeks of beating for a few bucks and send him back to his sofa.
FYI – the trade of Warren happened AFTER the career ending blow of Ekuban – so the staff must feel good about what we have.
Trotter= too expensive!!! Even though he can stop the run. A 13 year vet that hasn’t played in a year, cheap price for a guy that may or may not be able to play. Besides, what else is left?
Tank Johnson is left.
This move confuses me though. This guy is known to be a descent run stopper but as for pass rush they said his ability was lackluster at best. Are we utilizing him as a DT? From the sounds of it, he’s a good fit as our DT but I really think we should/should have persued Tank.
How about two probowlers (Rice and Trotter)? Trotter may be expensive, but his talent and experience would make him worth it. He still has at least 3 solid years left.
Another 80 yr old…….great! Hey! I heard Jim Brown was looking to come out of retirement……..since we also need help at running back we should look into it…….or maybe we could dust off Curly, Moe and Larry…….
Can I try out??????
This signing was b——-!
I liked Larry Coyer, his defense was awesome and now this guy comes in and tricks shanahan into a non-aggressive defevensive line that fills gaps? I don’t get it either. I’m a die hard Broncos fan that lives in California. I love Shanahan. If this new defensive coach screws it up for the rest of us I hope he benches him as quick as we sacked Plummer. Larry Coyer would’ve jumped all over the Trotter pickup. I just don’t understand the not having the d-line not be aggresive but we get Jarvis Moss? I’m really confused, maybe the front office is confused. I wouldn’t have gotten Browning of all people. I mean he’s old, he was injured the number he has from a real season are not that impressive. I agree Simeon or Jeremiah get my vote. Mike Shanahan, what are you doing you offensive genius you? If you only we could find a d-coordinator as smart as you we’d have back to back Super Bowl’s again.
I understand everyones concern and many fans have high expectations for this season, including myself. But Bates has proven to be a good if not great defensive coach and we all need to just give him time it might take more than 1 season even to get the defense the way he wants it. As much as I would love to see them win it all this season, if they don’t I wont be suprised either… Elway didn’t win it right away either. We need to relax and see how the season progresses, overtime they will continue to get better as long as cutler stays healthy and plays well because they will build around him. Look at peyton too, it took him time before he won it finally too. They have a shot this year if the rookies stepup and the defense learns the system sometime in the beggining of the season which could happen, but I’m not going to cry if it doesn’t because I’m still excited for the future of this team, especially if Cutler turns out how I feel he will.
We gotta get the Tank! I mean its not rocket science, think about it. We have an occupier lined right next to a penetrator. It would be the best of both worlds and i’m thinkin a starting line of of crowder, sam, kennedy, tank(after suspension) and moss would be devestating! If Shanny really wants constant pressure we gotta sign the Tank!
I am a little confused. If our D-lines job is to hold blocks then maybe they should convert to the offense because that is the job of the offense line. That thinking is a joke.The best defenses play on the offensive side of the ball. I know that it is still the preseason but if Dallas ran all over us and San Francisco ran on our 1st team without Gore just imagine what LT is going to do to us.
What’s with you people? Don’t you guys understand that we do not have enough cap room to sign any other old (expensive) farts? Let the front office do what it has to do, they obviously have confidence in what we already have. This is a brand new defense we’re running, does anyone know how long it took the Broncos to pick up Coyers defense? Come on people be patient, and stop complaining two and a half weeks into the preseason. Remember last year, our offense tore it up during preseason and what ended up happening? Just be patient, it’s not like anyone, aside from Mason, reads the message boards or comments on a blog…..
This defense is getting WORSE INSTEAD OF BETTER, as the pre-season progresses
We need all the help we can get after the first two showings!!!
ITS PRESEASON people and u know shanahan never shows anything in preseason.my feeling is that he has a big suprise for the bills and the rest of the leauge.Think about it ……the way the team has played these 2 games its like there not trying there just going through the motions and not giving anything away . u know thats not Shanahan’s way of playing so don’t be suprised to see some great things from this team. I think something is up and its all good!!!!!
Heck why don’t the Broncos sign Courtney Brown
Win or Lose, the Broncos are still the only team for me