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A Preferred 2017 Broncos Schedule

The Broncos’ preseason slate was met with deserved yawns. The real fun will come later in the month for the regular season schedule.  The Broncos allegedly have the toughest 2017 schedule–in my opinion, using last year’s results on next year is regularly a dark art.  Regardless, be it a tough schedule, easy schedule, or somewhere in between, it never hurts to get a schedule lined up more favorably.  Here’s my attempt at how I’d do so. Continue reading A Preferred 2017 Broncos Schedule

Three Decisions About Current Broncos

It’s not likely you’re going to see the Broncos consider any more free agent signings until after the draft, but once the draft is finished, you’ll not only see the likelihood of veteran FA signings increase, but there will be some other decisions the Broncos will need to make, too.

Those pertain to players who are on the current roster; specifically, what to do regarding the fifth-year option on Bradley Roby’s rookie deal and the second-round restricted free agent tenders given to Todd Davis and Brandon McManus.

While each situation might seem simple to some people, one thing to keep in mind regarding any decision is to consider all factors that can come into play and not just judge the situation based on the player’s most recent season.

Let’s examine the three players and consider the factors that will be weighed in regarding their contract situations.
Continue reading Three Decisions About Current Broncos

Rating The Broncos’ Veteran Contracts

As I sat down to examine the veteran contracts the Denver Broncos have given out, I thought about a way to rate contracts that made sense in terms of what’s important to a contract from a team’s perspective.

Obviously, from the player’s perspective, the objective is to get the maximum possible amount of money from the team with the more fully guaranteed money, the better. From a team perspective, it’s not just making sure the team doesn’t give more fully guaranteed money than the player may be worth, but about structuring a deal to be salary cap friendly and not overpaying a player in terms of average salary, even if the player isn’t likely to collect the full amount of the contract.

So I put together a ranking system that takes into account the three most important factors of a contract and weighed them in order of importance. These rankings do not take into account the total sum of the contract because most players will not collect the total sum.

Here is how I scored contracts.
Continue reading Rating The Broncos’ Veteran Contracts

Top 10 (or so) Draft Prospects By Position

With several celebrity draftniks updating their rankings recently, I thought some readers might be interested in taking a peek at what my composite rankings currently look like. For this particular exercise, I’ll be including only positions that would fill needs I’ve identified for the Broncos.

To lighten things up, I’ll be sticking with the theme established in today’s Orange Overview with Bob’s Beastie Boys joke.  So let’s get it together.

Continue reading Top 10 (or so) Draft Prospects By Position

Would You Give An Offensive Tackle This Contract?

While free agency can be a good place to find immediate help at positions of need, you have to be careful with how you structure a deal, regardless of what the market dictates. That’s because you want to be able to get out of a deal as early as possible if the player doesn’t live up to expectations.

We’ve seen how John Elway operates with most free agent contracts. The bulk are the type he can get out of after a year from a cap and cash standpoint, though he is willing to go with a two-year commitment in some cases and, with players who the Broncos have drafted and developed, a three-year commitment. The two-year commitments usually go to players who don’t have carry too much risk.
Continue reading Would You Give An Offensive Tackle This Contract?

Broncos Redo Donald Stephenson’s Contract

Remember that the term “restructure” is often used too broadly by the media. It should specifically refer to the technique of converting base salary to a signing bonus for the purposes of gaining cap space in the current year. While possible with Stephenson, I highly doubt that was the case here.  I would instead be thinking Stephenson either took a pay cut or agreed to some other alteration to make the contract friendlier for Denver.

UPDATE – 9:30 AM MT: Stephenson and the Broncos have agreed to split the difference between his pending $4 million salary guarantee:

If Stephenson does not make the final 53, the dead money will depend on how Stephenson will receive the $2 million:

  • If the $2 million is still part of his salary, the Broncos would incur $3 million of dead money in 2017, and $1 million in 2018.
  • If the $2 million was given as a signing bonus, the Broncos would incur $2 million in dead money in both 2017 and 2018.

Making Sense Of A Possible Sheldon Richardson Trade

The Broncos have addressed their needs on the offensive and defensive lines as they have seen fit save for one: A defensive end who can stop the run and be moved to defensive tackle on passing downs. The original intent was to sign Calais Campbell, but he chose to sign with the Jaguars instead.

There has been continued talk about the Broncos possibly trading for Jets defensive end/defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. One trade that was brought up in discussion was the idea of the Broncos sending quarterback Trevor Siemian to the Jets to acquire him.

We have no idea what the Broncos or Jets might be thinking in terms of players they want to deal or acquire, but the idea of sending Siemian for Richardon is a bad idea. That does not mean trading for Richardson isn’t possible. It just needs to be thought of in better terms, regarding what Siemian is really worth and what Richardson is really worth.

Let’s go over why trading Siemian for Richardson is a bad idea, but that a trade is still possible as long as you keep in mind certain considerations.
Continue reading Making Sense Of A Possible Sheldon Richardson Trade

Broncos Sign Domata Peko & Zach Kerr

As Klis subsequently tweeted, “Broncos now have two Pekos on D-line: Domata and cousin Kyle.”  As a UFA, Peko will count against the Broncos as a compensatory free agent signed.  Kerr, on the other hand, was an RFA that was not tendered by the Colts, and thus will not count in the compensatory formula.

Klis also has some contract details for Peko: