Broncos TE Owen Daniels is weighing retirement: https://t.co/XC9QSs6iHC pic.twitter.com/5FCduYG4ih
— USA TODAY Sports NFL (@usatoday_nfl) February 9, 2016
Quoth Daniels:
Of course, of course. [Retirement’s] definitely an option. But I’m a man of my word, I signed a three-year deal, so I’d like to keep playing. I feel good enough as long as I can get some work done on my 33-year-old knees.
Forget the contract: I certainly would not hold anything back against Daniels if he chose to go out on top. Losing his production would hurt, but the expectation has to be there for Virgil Green to take on a bigger role and for Jeff Heuerman to come back off his ACL tear, regardless of whether Daniels comes back or not.
The salary cap implications for a Daniels retirement are the same as if he is cut: $2.5 million in savings and $2 million in dead money. If Daniels were to retire, he could be subject to paying back $2 million of his signing bonus if the Broncos so choose.