Author: Nick

Mike Florio: Peyton Manning “Intends To Play” In 2016

I made a note of this in the tail end of today’s game thread, but now that we have a clip of Florio’s statement (and notable reactions from Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, I figured that this should be split off into its own thread.

Adam Schefter: Teams Can Now Trade Compensatory Picks

I may have a longer post on this at Over The Cap, but from the Broncos’ perspective, this is certainly good news. At its simplest, it’s because they’re expected to get three fairly high compensatory picks of their own.  But remember that the Broncos have had a considerably deep roster for quite some time, and since John Elway has been GM they’ve repeatedly had to cut some of their draft choices and hope to send them to the practice squad.  There’s a good chance that there may not be room for 10 rookies in 2016, so having the full flexibility to either trade up to get the player they’d really like, or to defer their draft strength by trading into 2017, will be quite advantageous for the Broncos.

Lindsay Jones Investigates The Elway/Fox Tension

This is certainly an appropriately timed article.  In talking with sources in the know, Jones lists three primary reasons for the ultimate divorce.  Two of them should be well familiar by now, no matter how painful it is to revisit: the decision by Fox to play for overtime in the 2012 playoffs, and the poor game preparation for the Super Bowl in 2013.

The third, however, is new to at least myself, though it makes sense: disagreements over playing time and staff additions:

Fox, who has built a reputation as a players’ coach, would play veterans over rookies whenever possible. There were several notable issues in 2014 in which highly drafted rookies were shelved in favor of veterans. Third-round tackle Michael Schofield was never active despite the Broncos having extensive issues at right tackle last year and first-round receiver Cody Latimer rarely played. Schofield is now Denver’s starter at right tackle, and Latimer is active on game days as a reserve weapon.

There were also disagreements about Fox’s staff. Two years ago, Elway favored Gase to be the new offensive coordinator, while Fox wanted to interview Ken Whisenhunt, who had recently been fired by the Arizona Cardinals.

We can go ahead and debate about who was right in the comments. One last fact that I’ll add, however, is that Whisenhunt went to the division rival Chargers instead, and helped rescue Philip Rivers from a downward spiral

Colts Injury And Drama Report

The biggest name on the Colts’ injury report remains TY Hilton, who is officially questionable (foot) and has not practiced all week.  If Hilton can’t go Sunday, he’ll join fellow receiver Phillip Dorsett (ankle) on the bench.  Old friend Nate Irving (knee) will also miss the chance of playing against his former team.

Meanwhile, there should probably be a separate report for all of the dissension going on behind the scenes in Indianapolis.  The latest news to emerge, via Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star, is that a players-only meeting was conducted in an effort to drown out the conflicts between the coaches and the front office.

Continue reading Colts Injury And Drama Report

Tony Grossi: Broncos Tried To Trade For Joe Thomas

The calls to and from Elway’s office continue:

According to a source, the Browns had talks with the Denver Broncos early in the season after Denver lost left tackle Ryan Clady to injury in the preseason. The Broncos were willing to part with their first-round pick in 2016, but the Browns also asked for second-year linebacker Shaq Barrett, and that apparently killed the deal.

In my opinion, that rightly killed the deal.  In the wise words of Ernie Accorsi, you “don’t trade young pass-rushers”.  That’s what he said as Giants GM when Chargers GM AJ Smith tried to get him to include Osi Umenyiora in the famous Eli Manning/Philip Rivers deal.

With less than six hours remaining before the trade deadline, it remains to be seen if the Broncos or anyone else can pry Thomas away from Cleveland.  But to offer another opinion, barring some kind of crazy Herschel Walker type offer, I think the Browns are crazy to even put Thomas on the trading block. If you’re going to conduct a fire sale properly, you want to offer players that either have expiring contracts (such as Alex Mack’s option to void after this year) or players that don’t fit in your system (potentially Barkevious Mingo).  But Thomas is one of the best left tackles in the league, and more importantly he’s under contract for 3.5 more seasons.  You’re supposed to construct rosters around players like that.  If the Browns trade Thomas, they’re not rebuilding, they’re demolishing.

And sadly for Browns fans, it’s something that they are all too accustomed to.

Broncos Acquire Vernon Davis From 49ers

Assuming Davis remains on the Broncos’ roster for the remainder of the season, Denver will pay him 9/17ths of his 2015 base salary, or approximately $2.5 million.  With the Broncos having approximately $7.3 million in current 2015 cap space, this is an acquisition they could easily afford.

Giving up two 6ths for a 7th and Davis is a great deal. Remember that the Broncos have one of the most stacked rosters in the NFL, and in 2016 it’s likely that some of those late draft picks might not make the team.  That likelihood increases when you remember that the Broncos should get three compensatory picks to further pad their 2016 pick total.  As it stands right now, the Broncos’ 2016 draft slate consists of the following: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd or 4th (compensatory), 4th (compensatory), 5th (from BAL), 5th, 6th (compensatory), 7th (from SF), 7th (from HOU), and 7th.

Also, Davis is in the last year of his contract. With Virgil Green under contract for a long while and Jeff Heuerman expected to come off IR, it would seem unlikely that the Broncos would retain him.  And if they don’t, he’ll factor into the Broncos’ 2017 compensatory pick formula, giving them an excellent chance to get that 2017 6th back, if not improve on it.

John Elway has confirmed the transaction.