In today’s mailbag, a reader asked Troy Renck of The Denver Post if he thinks that the newly-acquired Vernon Davis will have a similar impact to Julius Thomas at tight end. Renck writes that Davis will not have the same impact because the offense is not the same. However, he can be a tantalizing weapon for an offense that is starting to turn the corner. Denver didn’t give up much to land Davis, and Renck feels that was a flyer worth taking for the Broncos.
Here’s more out of Denver..
- A potential deal that would have sent Joe Thomas from the Browns to the Broncos broke down over a holdup on converting his remaining salary for 2016 and 2017 into guarantees for security, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Browns and Broncos agreed on the deal including a Broncos first-round pick in 2017, Mike Klis of 9NEWS tweets. However, in 2016, the Browns wanted to orchestrate a high-round pick swap and Denver declined.
- Klis (link) supports the Broncos’ refusal to part with that much. If Manning were to retire after the season and Denver were to tank in 2016, they might be unable to get a top QB if they finished worst than the Browns and had the picks swapped.
- On the surface, the Broncos’ play for Joe Thomas looks like an effort to replace left tackle Ty Sambrailo, who is done for the year with a shoulder injury. On a deeper level, Mike Florio of PFT writes, the talks can be interpreted as a bad sign for left tackle Ryan Clady, who has suffered two season-long injuries in three years and is earning major money. Clady is set to earn $9.5MM in 2016 and $10MM in 2017.
Florio is probably right at this point, but Clady’s absence has turned the left tackle job over to two street FAs in Tyler Polumbus/Ryan Harris, and with Ty Sambrailo not exactly impressing in his brief audition, Clady will not be easy to jettison, even at those costs.
Florio is definitely right about there being a level of uncertainty around Clady, but their interest in Joe Thomas was mainly about keeping this window open right now and giving that defense as good a chance to roll deep in the playoffs.