NFL announces the Chiefs lose a 3rd round pick this year, and a pick in 2017, for tampering with Jeremy Maclin last year.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) March 9, 2016
Chiefs also fined $250K; Andy Reid fined $75K and John Dorsey $25K for illegal contact w/ Maclin while he was still an Eagle.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) March 9, 2016
Good thing that the Chiefs are cashing in on 2017 compensatory draft picks right now, because they’re going to need them…
OT Donald Stephenson deal with Broncos in $5 million per range. That's starter money. https://t.co/iWDnjq3HDh via @@9NEWS #9news #9sports
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) March 9, 2016
It is my guess that $5 million APY would be valued as a 5th rounder in the compensatory formula. For the time being, the Broncos have been reduced to a net value 7th compensatory pick in 2017 (and it puts the Chiefs on the board with a 5th). However, if/when Danny Trevathan signs his big deal elsewhere, it is my guess that he’ll be the one that Stephenson ultimately cancels out.
UPDATE (8:15 MT): Alex Marvez has some more detailed contract info:
Source tells @NFLonFOX that @Chiefs T Donald Stephenson signing 3-yr, $14M contract w/ @Broncos. $10M guarantee ($4M of that for injury)
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) March 9, 2016
That $1 million could make a difference in the 2017 compensatory picks: a $4.67M APY should be closer to the 5th/6th bubble. If Stephenson has any workout bonuses, that will also drive his compensatory value down further. If Stephenson is valued as a 6th, that will make it much less likely that he ultimately cancels out Danny Trevathan’s future deal.
Broncos' defensive end Malik Jackson about to join Jacksonville Jaguars https://t.co/uLNNoyM0k0 via @@9NEWS #9news #9sports
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) March 8, 2016
Klis says that Jackson will sign a deal that will “make him the NFL’s fourth highest-paid defensive lineman”. If that is true, Jackson’s APY should at least $13.6M APY. (Gerald McCoy is currently 4th at that amount, if Muhammad Wilkerson’s franchise tag is ignored.) That will be quite easily a 3rd round compensatory pick due to Denver in 2017 if they do not sign a UFA that cancels him out.
The #Broncos are releasing guard Louis Vasquez, source said. Clearly some space, as he was to hit at $6.75M.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2016
UPDATE: 11:39 AM MT: The cuts aren’t through yet.
#Broncos release TE Owen Daniels and longsnapper Aaron Brewer
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) March 8, 2016
The salary cap savings for cutting this players are as follows:
Total: $8.43 million
The decision on the fate of Denver’s RFAs and ERFAs will be known no later than the start of free agency on Wednesday. I’ll use this thread to track the progress of those decisions.
| Player | Type | Tendered? | Value |
| Brandon Marshall | RFA | Yes (2nd round) | $2,553,000 |
| CJ Anderson | RFA | Yes (ROFR) | $1,671,000 |
| Lerentee McCray | RFA | TBD | |
| Shiloh Keo | RFA | TBD | |
| Matt Paradis | ERFA | TBD | |
| Brandon McManus | ERFA | TBD | |
| Todd Davis | ERFA | TBD | |
| Bennie Fowler | ERFA | TBD | |
| Sam Brenner | ERFA | TBD |
Continue reading 2016 Broncos Restricted and Exclusive Rights Free Agent Tenders Tracker
This time, the news spreads out further than Woody Paige. And take a look at who first broke the story:
Filed to ESPN: Five-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning will announce his retirement Monday in Denver per source familiar with the QB's decision
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) March 6, 2016
Mortensen, as you’re likely aware, is battling throat cancer, and had not been heard from since he began that battle on January 16. If Manning chose Mortensen to be the one to break the news, that may have been the most classy and awesome way to do it.
The deadline for designating players with franchise and transition tags passed at 2 PM MT. Here is the list of players that have received tenders for such designations:
| Franchise Tag | ||
| Von Miller | Broncos | $14,129,000* |
| Alshon Jeffery | Bears | $14,599,000 |
| Muhammad Wilkerson | Jets | $15,701,000 |
| Justin Tucker | Ravens | $4,572,000 |
| Cordy Glenn | Bills | $13,706,000 |
| Josh Norman | Panthers | $13,952,000 |
| Kirk Cousins | Redskins | $19,953,000 |
| Eric Berry | Chiefs | $10,806,000 |
| Trumaine Johnson | Rams | $13,952,000 |
| Transition Tag | ||
| Olivier Vernon | Dolphins | $12,734,000 |
*Von Miller was given the exclusive version of the franchise tag. As this is calculated by the top five salaries at his position, we won’t know this answer for sure until after free agency has fleshed out a bit. $14.129 million should represent the minimum amount he is due.
I hope everyone has enjoyed three weeks of glee with the Broncos as Super Bowl champions. That’s because for next week, from Leap Day through next Sunday, there will be much business and decisions to be made Denver before the lead-up to free agency. These moves will likely contain good and bad news for the Broncos, but nonetheless we should be doubly aware of what’s going on. Thus, I’ve built a cheat sheet beyond the fold to track what needs to be addressed before Monday, March 7, when negotiations with other teams can open up in advance of the official start of free agency on March 9.
Continue reading A Roundup Of What To Expect For The First Week Of March 2016
As GrizzlyB noted earlier, the 2016 salary cap will be at $155.27 million. ESPN’s Field Yates has also delivered the franchise and transition tags for this year. Follow the link for all of them, but for the franchise tags even remotely relevant to the Broncos, it would be $14.129 million at linebacker (Von Miller), $15.701 million at defensive end (Malik Jackson), and $19.953 million at quarterback (Brock Osweiler). Transition tags at DE and QB are respectively $12.734 million and $17.696 million, of which I suppose you could make a faint argument for Jackson or Osweiler.
And finally, Jason Fitzgerald gives us a calculation for the restricted free agent tenders:
RFA Tenders should now be:
ROFR- $1.671M
2nd rnd-$2.553M
1st rnd- $3.635M— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) February 27, 2016
The consensus, at least here at Thin Air, is that Brandon Marshall is likely to get a first round tender, and CJ Anderson to receive a second round tender, with it being unlikely that any other pending RFAs would receive any tender.