The NFL Scouting Combine is just around the corner, but the Broncos front office is also hard at work preparing for the free agent market.
Free agency begins on March 13, and General Manager Brian Xanders said Denver has a plan on how to attack the signing period.
“We plan to be aggressive and smart at the same time and try to get some good signings in here, some valued signings that help contribute to wins,” Xanders said. “We also have to address signing our own unrestricted free agents, and we also have the free agency market. So we will have a plan for that. We have a long term vision, too.”
The team’s list of potential unrestricted free agents is as follows:
LS David Binn
DT Brodrick Bunkey
S Brian Dawkins
TE Daniel Fells
LB Mario Haggan
DE Derrick Harvey
OL Russ Hochstein
DE Jason Hunter
FB Spencer Larsen
LB Joe Mays
K Matt Prater
QB Brady Quinn
G Manny Ramirez
TE Dante Rosario
WR Eddie Royal
DT Marcus Thomas
CB Jonathan Wilhite
LB Wesley Woodyard
At his end-of-season press conference, Xanders was asked if the Broncos have more room under the salary cap to make transactions than most NFL franchises.
“That’s fair to say,” he said. “(Owner/CEO) Pat Bowlen is a committed owner, a very aggressive owner. I think this year we spent 98 percent to our cash budget. We have always been on the aggressive side there.”
-Gray Caldwell
Yeah – that was him!
01/09/2012 – Arizona State University quarterback Brock Osweiler, after conferring with family and newly hired head coach Todd Graham, has decided to leave ASU and enter the 2012 NFL Draft. Osweiler rewrote the Arizona State record book for passing in his first season as the starter, becoming the first quarterback in the history of Sun Devil football to throw for more than 4,000 yards, finishing the season with 4,036. He also set new school records for completions (326), attempts (516) and completion percentage (63.2), and threw for 26 touchdowns, the fourth most in school history. The tallest quarterback in the nation last year at 6 feet 8 inches, Osweiler has played in 25 career games, including 15 as the starter, and has thrown for 5,082 yards and 33 touchdowns in his three-year ASU career. He’s also added four rushing touchdowns. Six of Osweiler’s seven career 300-yard passing games came during the 2011 season and he topped the 350-yard mark four times. He threw for a career-high 487 yards against Arizona, tying a school record with his 63 pass attempts, and amassed 395 passing yards in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas. He’s thrown for three or more touchdowns four times, three of which came last season, including in wins over then-No. 21 Missouri and on the road against Utah. – Arizona State football
For some reason, I reallly think this guy could be a very good quarter back in the NFL. Thought I heard something about Elway taking a look at him not for sure. Could be a good back up, good feet very agile.
I would’nt mind picking up Arian Foster in FA from houston. Also maybe mike wallace from pittsburgh.. I doubt we get that aggressive.. Just thoughts
If we had a consistant passrusher like Avril, with Von Doom we are set with the DB`s we already have, Champ, Harris, Vaugnn, Thompson, Moore, and Q. Thats a sound backfield if we can have an elite passrush with those three. Heck, I`d get either the DT or MLB then if we got Avril.
Wallace is a RFA, he`d cost us a 1st round pick.
Yeah i believe Mario Williams would require a 1st rounder as well. But they would definitely add star power
RBF1, the rumor about Rahim to CB is just stuff that float around blogs and stuff nothing concreat. But after reading that conclusion analysis about him, I see a lot of it was true before he hit the NFL field. He is kinda slow for cb but u never know.
Chris Harris was indeed a S in kansas. Also why he made the All Rookie team this year as a Safety not a CB. Would be nice to experiment with him at safety. He defintiely has the speed and tackling ability (I believe he had like 75 tackles and he barely played till much later). He plays man pretty well. Dunno about zone. But do we wanna risk moving Harris who is showing promise at a position we also need.
Would be nice to get Mario, Mike Wallace, ETC but these are peoples core players. They wont just let em go. Much like last year when many were hoping for DeAngelo williams … whether its a “we go outbid” thing or not, the fact remains people wanna keep their talent. Thats like if dumervil became free or years from no when Miller becomes free. We will do all we can to get em back. So good luck luring a star form his home. Not unless his home is absolutely cheap or he deosnt wanna be there anymore ala Desean Jackson.
TRB
TRB
Good point or points I like your train of thought.. The only thing is that some teams are either capped out or close to it so they might not be able to dangle enough carrot on the pole. I hope the front office will be aggressive
I think at least Mario Williams will be with a different team since the texans have JJ Watts to replace him.. Either they let him go for a 1st rd pick or pay him 20plus million
Pittsburgh is also well over their cap, I think they are 11 million over. If a team offers a chunk of change for Wallace, it would be difficult for the Steelers to match it.
77, Mario Williams is a FA not a FRA, so no team will lose a draft pick to sign him, Williams is open to the FA market for whoever is willing to shovel out some dough.
I suppose I always forget the cap factor. No wonder we suck lol. we have like 50 million dollars worth of talent not being used lol.
I think mario finds a way to say. He already said he is not interested in being the most paid defender or anything like that. Sounds like he would rather stay put than get a big deal. Besides the money isn’t pay instantly … its divided up over years so he may only take like 3 mil this year and the other vast amount later on lol. Steelers on the other hand seem to be in a pickle … and im sure the raiders are as well.
TRB
strand
thanks for the info i just want him out of houston.LOL my wife is a texans fan and i know they come to denver this year so i just want a W on that sunday
The Texans are strapped for cash, they`d have to do some maneuvering with some money to retain him. I think the Texans will have to cut some players too.
If Williams heart is in Houston, both partys will figure it all out. Williams sounds like a cool cat.
77, I hear ya. My ex-wife is a Cowgirls fan. Blah!
BFE, Its Friday and time for some brewskys. TGIF!!!!!!
ROCK n ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alex4serg: Got your BBBP.
Shaz, thank you. Sounds as though you’ve pretty well organized your move, and that’s half the battle, but I sure don’t envy you. Lots of work ahead, and I can empathize since we made our 20th move in 42 years in December, of last year….not to mention helping our kids move a few times.
BTW, one thing that I didn’t see on your list is getting your change of address forms done. Just in case you didn’t know or hadn’t thought about it yet, the USPS requests about a two week notification to start your mail forwarding process. Don’t mean to be a busybody….it’s the Realtor coming out.
But, being a Realtor also allowed me to find some great deals on properties that we could spruce up and resell tax free for nice profits, after living in them for only two years. That’s one reason we moved so often. However, the declining market made the decision to go ahead and retire much easier, even though I miss my clients, and the wheeling and dealing of getting transactions worked out, but retirement is much less stressful.
I hope our quarterback is learning something in Cal. I know if he improves like most of us hope he will then we can go deeper in the playoffs. Maybe like 350yds passing 2td passing on a weekly basis then we would be a two headed monster. I believe he will make good strides this off season
Tim Tebow will get to the next level, the media is making a mountain out of a molehill, as usual. Just like any young QB, the player has to work out the kinks.
Guys I just heard Doug Gotliev say Linsanity is bigger then any other sport hype in recent history.
Of course he would say that he’s a charger fan and a proven Tebow hater
And we can remind him that the S.D. Chargers have never won a SB and throw it right back in his face. HaHa!! We Broncos fans have the right ammo. CAN YOU SAY SB 32 and SB 33!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And pro basketball is these least money making sport in recent years. They do every a$$ backwards. Half of the teams are in financial trouble. What a jerk.
have a good weekend Bronco Country I’m Out
Apparently talks are moving slow with the Lions…(Avril).
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8270a2b0/article/lions-avril-says-free-agents-must-strike-gold-when-possible?module=HP11_headline_stack
And no franchise tag it sounds like for Avril.
If houston is looking to shed some wait, we will gladly take Ben Tate off their hands. He got skills … no need to play second fiddle to Foster forever.
Also I forgot they had to resign foster too … and Mario … yea … will be tough but seeing as how Eagles had a dream team last year and managed a way to maneuver around the cap … I wouldn’t be shocked.
TRB
I saw Mark Barron is the #1 falling prospect on cbs sports due to a double hernia injury. Says he will probably fall out of the top 20 but not the 1st round. It also says he hits hard and plays nasty. Just what we need!
I starting to think we may be more aggressive in FA this year, just the little bit of information is coming out is all about spending some dough. They brought in the guru capologist and have been talking about spending mo money twice, Zanders with 98% of the cap and Elway talking about structuring deals so we can go over the cap. They kind of have the Cheshire cat swimming around in my mind. We had a good season and have JDR coming on board, we will have a better level of players that may be interested in Denver. Good running back are going to want to be here and pound the rock. Having an aggressive defense gets those defensive guys excited. Denver is the kind of place people like as far as big cities go, I was thrilled when JDR was talking about settling in Denver for a while because it’s a good place to live. We are on the way up with Elway leading the charge! Go Broncos!
I think we need a veteran safety in thier prime like Michael Griffin from TEN or Laron Landry from WAS, not another rookie. What we need is to get Jerel Worthy DT from Mich St so we can get some push up the middle, along with resigning Bunkley DT. In the second round we can draft Lamichael James RB to give our running threat of breaking one on any given play. I also think we need to sign a veteran CB like Brandon Carr, Ladarius Webb, or Cortland Finnegan. We also need to either develope Julious Thomas or sign another receiving TE like Martelis Bennett
I want Eddie Royal, Matt Prater, Britt Colquitt, Mario Haggan, Wesley Woodyard, Broderick Bunkley, Marcus Thomas, and Daniel Fells all RE-SIGNED for 2012.
I agree royal, I would take Landry over Barron anyday. He’s a sure thing and we already have two rooks–good point. Worthy, Brockers or Poe will do for me in round 1 and I’ve been pushing for Lamichael too because of his home run ability, we need that!
We really need another DE to make our Dline elite. I believe we have a real shot at signing Cliff Avril from Detroit. That guy is a beast!!
Agree 100percent with you on that jsizzla
Tebow will definitely improve, the question is by how much?
If you look at what Tebow had to deal with last season, there are a number of factors that will show improvement, and will definitely allow Tebow’s stats to go up. Here are some factors that will improve: 1) Having a whole offseason to learn the offensive schemes. Last season Tebow was thrown in while the season was in full swing & had to learn on the go 2) Having the whole offseason to get familiar with his receivers 3) Learning better footwork & passing techniques from some of the best QB Gurus in the offseason 4) Broncos had a very depleted Receiving Corp last season with Brandon Lloyd not playing, Demaryius Thomas recovering from a leg injury, and having their Tight Ends also injured. Looks like the Broncos have already started to add to their corp with the pick up the speedster Hill 5) The Broncos will probably develop a Safety Net Receiver for Tebow to dish off to if all alternatives fail, this is huge for his stats numbers 6) If the Broncos can pick up another good Running Back to complement McGahee, someone with good receiving skills, this will keep their option game very dangerous! Having said all this, if Tebow will probably come out of the offseason with much more confidence having more knowledge of the passing game & schemes that the Broncos will be running, and if he shows even a little bit of improvement in the passing game, with the rest of the factors improving, the Broncos will make another good run!
Personally, I like the progress Ayers made at DE after he was switched back to his original position without an offseason and after playing 2 seasons as an OLB. I think we need DT, CB and MLB more than we need a DE. If we can get a great DE after the other needs are met that happens to be better than Ayers then so be it, but we have other holes to fill.
Fox, you went against the grain and used the option. Go against the grain of your own tendencies and draft a DT in the first round.
We do need a DT bad. I`m thinking Poe because he`s a beast that has alot of mass and a freak of nature for his size. Dontari Poe 6’5″ 350lbs, and moves good for his size too.
I totally agree with you strand, thats what we need in the middle the bigger the better in my opion. The guy kinda reminds me of Wilfork
Olo, good assessment. The only thing I`d add is that Tim also needs to work on his touch on some throws. I heard thats one thing that Timmy will fix. That shouldn`t be tough at all I think. He had some wide open WR`s at times and just over-threw. Once again that will come with game experience also.
Is it March 13th yet? Is it April 26 yet? Come on days hurry it up! LOL
Heck yes Miller, Poe moves good for a big man! We gwt him, there will be some double teams on him.
How would teams handle Von miller if the have to double Poe WOW! Can you amagine getting Poe and Arvil plus what we already have. We would certainely have one of the best D-lines if not the best. Wow I just got shivers all over LOL
Thats catually the unthinkable for opposing offenses. Talk about a nightmare. YIKES!!
Can you amagine our Lbs just haveing a field day ala Ravens, If our Safeties pick up their game or we get a veteran safety via FA nobody would run on us at all. I know we will be a team to be Reckened with next yr. Time to get somemore KoolAid LOL
I just hope if they bring in a veteran QB they get someone who will actually work with Tebow and try to teach him. That was one thing I was impressed with with Quinn he was always right there giving Tim pointers and I think that says a lot about his character. Orton avoided Tebow like the plague. I hope whomever gets Orton are ready for good throwing numbers but very few wins.
BFE is mad because Bay left so he might not be on. I hope he is because I enjoy his posts.
Listen to that lineup. Von-Doom, Avril, Bunkley, Poe, D.J. Wiiliams, Woodyard, Q, Harris, Champ, and Moore. Flippen Brutal lineup bro.
BFE will be here. Thats if he`s not out partying tonight.
I have a few LB`s missing in there up lots of depth there.