Broncos Agree To Terms With OT Russell Okung

As always, the full contract details are what matter, but it seems the Broncos are confident that Okung will fit what they want to do on the offensive line

This would also signal they may not keep Ryan Clady around. Given the money they are reportedly giving to Okung, they aren’t going to have him start at right tackle. The Broncos definitely want him on the left side.

(UPDATE: Contract details are after the jump.)

UPDATE: Rapoport also shared this tidbit.

Teams who might be interested are the Giants, the Lions and Okung’s former team, the Seahawks. Given that multiple teams are looking for offensive line help, it’s not out of the question that Clady could be traded.

UPDATE 2:21 P.M. MDT: The total contract per this tweet.

UPDATE 3:05 P.M. MDT: Here are some contract details from Jason LaCanfora.

Now that sure looks like a better deal, doesn’t it? In reality, it’s a mere one-year, $5M contract with Okung needing to prove himself and, if he does, he’ll get $3M more this year and $20.5M more after that… and I imagine some of that $20.5M is an injury-only guarantee. If he doesn’t prove himself, the Broncos decline the option and he becomes a free agent.

This deal sounds very much like this one the Jaguars gave to Kelvin Beachem.

At any rate, a one-year, $5M deal, with $3M in incentives, with the option for additional years is definitely a team-friendly deal. I would assume Okung’s cap number will be $5M, which is acceptable.

Now that I’ve seen the contract details, I like this deal for the Broncos. If Okung lives up to his potential, they can exercise the option and reward him. If not, they decline the option and it won’t cost the Broncos more than $8M, depending on what the incentives are.

Well done, John Elway.

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Bob Morris

I'm a sports writer in real life, though I've always focused on smaller communities, but that hasn't stopped me from learning more about some of the ins and outs of the NFL. You can follow me on Twitter @BobMorrisSports if you can put up with updates on the high school sports teams I cover.