The Denver Broncos on Wednesday signed free-agent linebacker Nick Greisen (GRYE-son), it was announced. As per club policy, terms of the deal were not announced.
To make room on its roster, the club waived fullback Andrew Pinnock.
Greisen (6-foot-1, 250 pounds) is an eighth-year player who joins the Broncos after stints with Baltimore (2007-08), Jacksonville (2006) and the New York Giants (2002-05). He entered the NFL with the Giants as a fifth-round selection (152nd overall) in the 2002 NFL Draft from the University of Wisconsin.
The linebacker has appeared in 98 games (33 starts) and five postseason contests (1 start) in his career. He has compiled 305 tackles (210 solo), including four sacks (31 yds.), one interception (6 yds.), 12 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries while contributing seven tackles (4 solo) and four special-teams stops in the playoffs.
In 2008, Greisen totaled five solo tackles on defense and placed fifth on Baltimore with 12 special-teams stops in 14 games (1 start). He also tied for the team lead with three special-teams tackles while appearing in all three of the Ravens’ postseason contests.
In 2007, he saw action in 14 games and started two for the Ravens, amassing 38 tackles (22 solo) and a fumble recovery while adding 13 special-teams stops. He paced the club in tackles in each of his two starting assignments.
After joining Jacksonville as an unrestricted free agent in 2006, Greisen played in all 16 games (10 starts) and placed fourth on the Jaguars with a career-best 82 tackles (48 solo) along with a fumble recovery and an interception (6 yds.).
In 2005, he played in all 16 games with the Giants and made career-high 13 starts. He registered 79 tackles, including a career-high 60 solo stops, while forcing two fumbles and recovering three. Greisen started the Giants’ Wild Card Game and contributed seven tackles (4 solo) against Carolina.
In his third pro season, Greisen appeared in 15 games (7 starts) and posted 72 tackles (53 solo), including a personal-best two sacks (16 yds.) with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for the Giants.
In his second pro season, Greisen placed fourth on the Giants with nine special-teams tackles in 2003.
As a rookie with the Giants in 2002, Greisen saw action in eight games (1 start) and missed eight games with a stress fracture in his foot. He made four tackles (2 solo), including a sack (6 yds.), one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He made a special-teams stop in an NFC Wild Card Game at San Francisco.
At Wisconsin, Greisen played in 42 games (25 starts) as a two-year starter, totaling 337 tackles (201 solo). He earned All-Big Ten Conference recognition as a senior when he led the Badgers with 167 tackles (101 solo), including four sacks (24 yds.).
Greisen, 29, earned first-team all-state recognition from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel as a running back at Sturgeon Bay High School in Sturgeon Bay, Wisc. Greisen comes from an athletic family as his brother, Chris, played quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals (1999-2001), his grandfather, Stan Kramer, played for the Green bay Packers (1946) and his cousin, Casey Rabach, plays center for the Washington Redskins. Nick Greisen was born Aug. 10, 1979, in Sturgeon Bay, Wisc.
OMGosh!… I’m first!…
Well I hope he does well for us!
Why not Foote???!!! Greisen is okay, really a back-up IMO.
foote isnt even released yet i like our rookie pickups better then this foote when he gets cut next weak will sign with lions
Becaust Foote has not been released yet AussieBronco1. We would have to trade for him, since the Steelers haven’t found a trading partner yet there is a good chance they won’t and then will just release him, then we could persue him.
IMO I think we have enough freaking LB’s as it is and we just keep adding more! Yeah get some competition and some depth, but why not on the D line?
I totally agree… FOOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! from Pittsburgh!!!!!!!!!!
I hope Pinnock clears waivers and they can sign Him to the practice squad. That leaves us at Hillis and Larsen at FB. I don’t really like this move at all.
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
i have a feelin its not foote because they do not want a player that does not want to be on the theam the way he does not want to be on the steelers team as i understand it. that is not to say he would not want to be with denver. i just think mcd does not feel that attidude towards any team fits what he is lookin for. i may be completly wrong though. from what i have read foote wants to be a starter. mcd has made it clear you have to earn that and maybe he feels one of our current players would do better as the starter. i don’t know. i have know idea what mcd is thinkin. i will support it though. i like what he is doin
MrBroncoFan, I totally agree. Foote does not fit the Bronco type player. Plus money will definately be an issue.
Love the competition at LB. Some of these guys are BIG. Just hope they can play/adept to the 3-4 DE position.
Did not think we would get this high of rating.
NFL DRAFT JOHN McCLAIN GRADES THE DRAFT AFC-WEST
Denver Broncos
1 12 Knowshon Moreno RB Georgia
1 18 Robert Ayers DE Tennessee
2 37 Alphonso Smith DB Wake Forest
2 48 Darcel McBath DB Texas Tech
2 64 Richard Quinn TE N. Carolina
Grade: B- Analysis: They signed three backs in free agency and still selected Moreno. Trading a 2010 No. 1 pick to get Smith means he must be an impact
.
Kansas City Chiefs
1 3 Tyson Jackson DE LSU
3 67 Alex Magee DE Purdue
Grade: D+ Analysis: Taking Jackson over OLB Aaron Curry could turn out to be a big mistake. Magee should start. Washington will contribute off the bench.
Oakland Raiders
1 7 Darrius Heyward-Bey WR Maryland
2 47 Michael Mitchell DB Ohio
3 71 Matt Shaughnessy DE Wisconsin
Grade: F Analysis: Taking Heyward-Bey with the seventh pick was the biggest reach of the first round. Mitchell and Shaughnessy were reaches.
San Diego Chargers
1 16 Larry English LB N. Illinois
3 78 Louis Vasquez G Texas Tech
Grade: C Analysis: They didn’t need English, but he’ll help the pass rush. Vasquez could start or contribute as a rookie.
Griesen I imagine is a special teams pickup… but we’ll have to see how the competition goes. The best player plays! thats how it should be!
did we get rid of niko?
who knows… maybe he can play DE?!?
Terrell Davis predicts 4 wins in Denver this year. OUCH!!!! I hope TD is wrong guys.
Looks like we passed on Dannell Ellerbe and Darry Beckwith. Oh well. They signed with the Ravens and Chargers respectively. Two teams who clearly know nothing about linebackers…
I think he is part of the solution for fixing special teams. Not a solution for the outside LBer spot.
Niko is with Tampa. He been got rid of him! Nick is gonna tryna be a Keith Burns type. Special Teams Captain and ACE!
Larry Foote is available, lets sign him to anchor the 3-4 defense
Fo’ sho’ ocbronco ST and thats it.
Does anyone else think about the Triple threat (Gold/Wilson/Williams) when they talk about LB’s? I do **sob** lol
Larry Foote..aaaaaaaahhhhh not bothered.
Would Maualuga been a good pick in the 2nd Round? Although a fierce defender this tackling ability brought into question, I would have thought thats what practice/training/coaches and seniro players are for right?
Samoan…no he would not have been a good pick for us. He is an ILB which we don’t need and he is not really suited for the 3-4…IMO. But I sure like him as a player.
w00t i come back and people are actually talking about the players and not fighting lolz.. hah! and Larry Foote! i was the first one to bring him up back on the “Two More College Free Agents Signed” blog ^__^ i still say we should go after him, same reasons as i mentioned before, Talent, Experience, 2 rings, leadership could be there. i miss the old LB core of gold/wilson/williams!
with the 16 free agents signed, 10 rookies drafted, and the some 15+ rookie free agents i reallu have to wonder just where we sit as far as the salary cap. i trust xanders and mcd to take care of the money but sure would like to know if there is any room to sign anyone else. glad we did not go after players like haynesworth. we could not have signed anyone but haynesworth.
I certainly hope TD’s wrong. We must win more than four games, I certainly hope. As for Griesen, he’s had his moments and perhaps he can be a nice pickup for us. Only time will tell. GO BRONCOS!!!
Griesen seems like a good special teams pick up for us. that should help us with more depth at linebacker to. I like it. He could be the next Keith Burns for us. Burns is more likely the best Special teams player we have ever had so it could look good. we will have to wait and see.
BRONCOS ALL THE WAY IN 09 (:)
Where are you guys getting this that T.D. predicted 4 wins for us this year?
Because if its in his live chat you are so misinterpreting it!
He is not at all saying or thinking we only win 4 games, he was just calling the guy out that partly wanted us to go 0-16!
“But dang Todd, at least give them four wins … 0-16 is harsh. ”
Nice interpretation people!
dlmyers I like that draft grade much better than the one Wyche gave us! Just cuz we didn’t draft needs he gives us a C. Figure out how he rates Moreno #1 RB overall in the draft, the best actual cover corner in Smith, best in line blocking TE in Quinn and that equals a C?
As for the trio of Gold/Wilson/Williams I have to think that I liked Gold/Wilson/Mobley a little better……
What about Leroy Hill from the seahawks. He could be a good LB for us though I don’t think the team has any cap room left after the draft. Oh and 2champ4pickSIX is right about the TD thing.
People check this article out about Mcd http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4104795
YESTERDAY TD DID A QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION ONLINE ON http://WWW.NFL.COM A GUY PREDICTED DENVER WOULD BE 0-16 AND TERRELL DAVIS PREDICTED WE WOULD WIN 4 GAMES NEXT YEAR.
Greisen will be like Gold on special teams and an injury replacement on the back end. Signing Foote will give us an emotional leader at the LB spot and someone who knows how to run the 3-4. I think TD’s 4 win season stems from the past successes of Pats coaches going out into the league. If you think about it the past few years our D has been boarder line atrocious, but as soon as Shanny’s gone we lose our contender status. Come on I know the media has never liked the Broncos…As evident by only two Broncos in the Hall of Fame. But can you seriously look at the talent on the offensive side of the ball and say were that bad. We’ve addressed all sides of the ball in this years FA, draft, and CFA…Yes we did it rather unorthodox, but it seems like they keep forgetting Nolan is coaching the D now. GO Broncos!!!!!!!!!
I do not see Denver going 0-16 or even 4-12. I think about 500 or a little better. We have not changed the most important part of the team- our offensive line. Cutler almost never got touched. Give any quarterback time and they will excel. Both Orton and Simms have starting experience (it is not like putting in a rookie). Our offense has too many weapons and now we should have a run game (if the running backs stay healthy).The defense can do nothing but improve from last year. I am not saying playoffs or superbowl but the team will be competative.
beefdirkus: Spot on!!!
Worst case we go 8-8. Let’s recap, last year the D was sub-par, the offense struggled at times and was inconistent, 7 RBs on the IR, a couple blown calls in our favor.
This year we’re working on the D so hopefully they are better than last year, we have a RB in Knowshon and some guys that showed they can play at this level, lost Cutler but we still have a good guy in Orton, (at least in my opinion), but we still have a great O-line. I know we do have a tougher schedule, but I think that we have some new guys, new staff, new philosophies. Come on tell me when there was a season with no blown calls. No one can tell but I think we have a better chance of 8-8 than 4-12. Maybe T.D had a migrane when he made that comment.
I just reread TD’s comment and he didn’t formally call the Broncos a 4-12 team he told the writer to “at least give them four wins … 0-16 is harsh”. This to me was him being a smarta#$, towards the writer, without him calling him a complete moron. If Orton or Simms have the same amount of time Cutler did they can carve the D apart like a Thanksgiving turkey. We’ll have an honest 9-7 season, no so called give me games (chargers).
Exactly… TD response wasn’t even about predicting anything. The asking guy said he was a big Cutler fan and was pissed off about the trade, so he wanted Denver to go 0-16 just for that. But at the same time he’s a Bronco fan so he wanted Denver to win. Then asked TD what should he was sopposed to think. TD answered 0-16 was harsh, and to AT LEAST give Denver 4 wins. Then he continued saying players come and go, but team is always there, assuming it’s better to stay with the team.
That last part is THE CORE of his message. Not the W or L data. Please guys!! With this interpretations you could end up being off-season NFL Network sources (take the negative meaning of this).
In other stuff… I agree with all of this special teams reinforcements. I said in a past blog that I’d love to have a feared special teams unit, as it was when we played against the Bears in 07 and San Diego in 08. Foote seems cool, but expensive and no Bronco type of player (most than ever).
And as for the schedule, all teams are 0-0 now. And many things can happen (or will happen) from now to January… injuries, busts, bad calls, and so on… so, I could easily say we are 16 – 0 this season the same as I could go 0 – 16. I just hope our players keep healthy, with great play level, with the best fan base of all.
Go Broncooos!
Samoanbronco: I heard that Rey M was a high risk but high reward player and not to mention he gained 30-40 lbs since the horrible combine he portrayed. We face him first game of the season so will have to wait and see what happens there. Not sure that McD was willing to take chance(cutler). But the draft left me a little perplexed and srcatching my head.
When we moved up in the second round i thought for sure it was gong to be Rey M. Than they picked A smith cb which arguably should have been a first rounder this year so they traded our 1st rd next year thinking that we still have the bears 1st rd (via a la cutler) thinking the bears are going to do worse. I like the confidence but lets face it people,Cutler will win more games this year than he has in any season with the broncos. TD might be right on with the 4-12 record which would suck even more cause we wont be able to go after any studs coming out of college next year…. My prayers should be answered in 2010… MIKE VICK returns to FB and rescues the broncos. Im just being optomistic people…
broncomike83 I’m sorry but I dont think Michael Vick should be allowed to play in the NFL, he violated the policies, it was felony conviction with him serving 3 years in a state prison, it was degraceful what he did. Breeding dogs to die and killing the ones that did not perform to his level. This is unforgivable and I hope the comissioner makes the right decision and does not allow him to play. If by some miracle he was allowed back in the NFL I do not want him on the Broncos and I’m sure a lot of teams wouldnt want him on their team. Its basically asking for trouble from the media and from PETA.
Deify_you you have good points but Vick served a full sentence. now i love my dogs and if n e 1 ever killed them id hunt them down. im not sayin what vick did wasnt wrong dont take that from what im gunna say but was it not HIS dogs his property legally the only thing he went to jail for is the illegal fighting of dogs. when vicks free the team willing to deal with the media and peta will pick him up. a guy in chicago got tired of this dog crawling under his fence and tearin up his garden so took a noose and hung the dog over the guys fence the man that did this was fined 1000 dollars for damaging private property. now how r we suppost to say vick is suppost to serve 2 years and be denied the job he went to school for when theres teams willing to put up with this. Stallworth killed a person drinking ad driving granted it hasnt fully played out but he’ll prolly be reinstated. pacman jones attempted homicide in a night club hes on a tight leash but still in the NFL. i dunno.
broncomike83 broncos new scheme hardly calls for a FB we’ll be runnin a spread most of the time and using hillis as a FB
as long as mcd is coach the broncos will not even consider vick. i get it now. mcd has said many times that he wants players with good character. vick hardly fits that type of player. not sayin what he did was right cause it wasn’t but i do have a feelin he will be reinstated by the commissioner. just don’t know which team would be willing to take a chance on him. MAYBE the raider???
i think the 49ers might look at vick..they’re a running team..why not have a running QB?
Putting a side what I just said about Vick, would a team take a gamble on signing a guy who hasnt played in 3 years? I bet he has stayed in great shape despite the prison food not being geared toward an athlete lol. A lot of people critized us for signing Simms who hasnt played in what 2 years or started in 2 years cant remember.
I really like the hire of Russel as our head of college scouting. He has an amazing ability to recognize rough raw talent.
kase78matt FB MiKe Vick returns to FOOTBALL> sorry i didnt spell it out for buddy and I never agree to anything harm and cruelty to animals especially dogs, but i do believe in second chances. He has paid is time in prison,fines and his embarresment to the NFL. But you cant tell me you would jump on the Vick band wagon if he came to Denver. I know its a crazy long shot, but Hell, who would have ever thought that we would loose our franchise QB and HOF coach in the samee year?
I just know that we blew it on saturday in trying to grab a QB next year and the price is right with Vick WHY NOT?
Deify_ I totally 100% agree with you but…Second chances???
broncomike83 if a team is willing to give him a chance then yeah. But I’m just tired of celebrities getting away with crimes just because of their status in life. I guarantee you if a regular Joe was fired from his job for violating comapny policy and he reapplied 3 years later they wouldnt rehire him.
thatdude807, That s a wel written article, I suggest everybody read it.
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
If you read Terrell’s answer, he did not make a prediction. He meant that even if people feel really negative about this season, they should at least give the team 4 wins, and zero wins is harsh.