Broncos To Re-Sign Jeremiah Attaochu
The Broncos will re-sign edge rusher Jeremiah Attaochu to a one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Attaochu will earn $1.5MM, per Mike Klis of 9News.
A second-round pick in 2014, Attaochu hasn’t necessarily lived up to that draft billing, but he has carved out an NFL career that’s thus far lasted 61 games. After spending time with the Chargers, 49ers, Jets, and Chiefs, Attaochu latched on with Denver last October, and ended up appearing in 12 games and posting 3.5 sacks.
The Broncos boast one of the NFL’s best pass-rushing duos in Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, so Attaochu will return as strict depth. However, he’ll likely be the first man up if either Miller or Chubb goes down.
AFC Contract Details: Bulaga, Cobb, Collins
Here are the latest contract details as of Sunday night. We will focus on the AFC here.
- Bryan Bulaga, T (Chargers): Three years, $30MM. $19.25MM guaranteed; $10MM signing bonus. Bulaga’s salaries in 2020 ($1.5MM) and 2021 ($7.75MM) are guaranteed. A $2.5MM roster bonus is due on Day 3 of the 2022 league year, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
- Randall Cobb, WR (Texans): Three years, $27MM. $18MM guaranteed; $6MM signing bonus. Base salaries in 2020 ($3.75MM) and ’21 ($8.25MM) are guaranteed; non-guaranteed salary of $7.9MM in 2022. Wilson notes (on Twitter).
- Rodney Gunter, DL (Jaguars): Three years, $18MM. $11.15MM guaranteed; $4.25MM signing bonus. 2020 and ’21 base salaries of $2MM and $4.9MM are guaranteed. Non-guaranteed 2022 base of $5.4MM, per Wilson (on Twitter).
- Vic Beasley, OLB (Titans): One year, $9.5MM. The $9.5MM is guaranteed and includes a $6MM signing bonus. $2.5MM worth of sack-based incentives exist in the deal, Wilson adds (on Twitter).
- Maliek Collins, DT (Raiders): One year, $6MM. $5.75MM guaranteed. Deal includes a $1.5MM sack-based incentive, Wilson tweets.
- De’Vante Bausby, CB (Broncos): One year, $825K. The deal contains no guaranteed money, Mike Klis of 9News tweets.
Broncos, Bryce Callahan Agree To Restructure
The Broncos and cornerback Bryce Callahan have agreed to a paycut/restructure, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network (via Twitter). Callahan is now scheduled to earn $5MM in 2020 and can earn another $2MM in playing time incentives. The move will free up $1.8MM in cap space for 2020.
Denver signed Callahan last March with the hope that his strong play as a slot CB with the Bears would carry over to Mile High. But Callahan suffered a broken foot towards the end of his tenure in Chicago, and he re-aggravated the injury during his first training camp with the Broncos. He ultimately underwent stem cell treatment on the foot and missed the entire 2019 campaign.
Still, the Broncos will likely be relying on Callahan to start in 2020. The club traded for A.J. Bouye earlier this month but saw Chris Harris depart in free agency, so Callahan will be a key part of a remade secondary. Denver is also reportedly interested in adding another CB via free agency or the draft.
In other Broncos news, Troy Renck of Denver7 reports that the team has shown no interest in retaining free agent DE Derek Wolfe, who is still in search of a new team.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/21/20
Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns:
- Signed: CB Donovan Olumba
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: LB Joseph Jones
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-signed: RB Rod Smith
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE MyCole Pruitt
Broncos To Sign TE Nick Vannett
The Broncos will add another player to their skill-position corps. They are signing former Seahawks and Steelers tight end Nick Vannett, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
Vannett and the Broncos agreed on a two-year deal, per Rapoport. The pact is worth $5.7MM, Mike Klis of 9News tweets, with $2.5MM guaranteed.
Statistically, Vannett’s best season came in 2018, when he caught 29 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns. He, however, graded as Pro Football Focus’ third-worst 2019 tight end and has not thus far justified the Seahawks’ Day 2 draft investment. His primary skill being blocking, however, figures to help in what will be an interesting tight end competition in Denver.
The former third-round pick will join 2019 first-rounder Noah Fant, sixth-year Bronco Jeff Heuerman and Jake Butt among Denver’s tight ends. Vannett’s contract figures to give him an edge over Butt and 2018 fifth-rounder Troy Fumagalli.
Butt has now suffered three ACL tears and has not played since early in the 2018 season. Beyond Fant, the Broncos look set to hold a crowded competition whenever they reconvene for workouts.
Seahawks, Cardinals, Broncos Interested In XFL QB P.J. Walker
The second incarnation of the XFL didn’t make it a full season due to COVID-19, but before that things had been going surprisingly well. Things were much smoother than in the ill-fated AAF, and some players are already starting to reap the benefits.
The Seahawks, Cardinals, and Broncos have all reached out to the Houston Roughnecks to express interest in their quarterback P.J. Walker, a source told Mark Berman of FOX 26 (Twitter link). XFL players are allowed to sign with the NFL starting Monday morning, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com tweets, and it sounds like Walker could get scooped up pretty quickly.
The Temple product signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2017, and spent most the next three years on their practice squad. Walker became one of the first stars of Vince McMahon’s upstart league, as he led the Roughnecks to a perfect 5-0 start before the rest of the season was cancelled.
In those five games Walker had 1,338 yards and 15 touchdowns, leading the league in both categories. Now we see why Indianapolis kept bringing him back each offseason. All three of the interested teams won’t be looking at Walker as anything more than a backup, but he could make for a good reserve option as all three have similarly athletic and mobile starters.
Broncos To Sign Melvin Gordon
The Broncos have agreed to sign running back Melvin Gordon, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The former Bolts standout will receive a two-year deal worth $16MM, with $13.5MM of that sum being guaranteed. 
Gordon made headlines for his prolonged holdout with the Chargers. When he finally returned to the field, he delivered mixed results.
In 12 games, Gordon averaged 3.8 yards per carry, a far cry from the 5.1 yards per tote that gave him so much leverage in 2018. The two-time Pro Bowler made a name for himself as a touchdown machine, but he didn’t find paydirt all that often – he had eight rushing TDs and one receiving TD, a big dropoff from the previous year’s total of 14 total scores.
There were bright spots, however, giving the Broncos and other teams plenty of reason to still believe in his ability. In Week 9, for example, he torched the Raiders for 108 yards. He also gave the Broncos an up-close look at what he can do in Week 12 – he came one yard shy of the century mark in Denver.
Last year, Phillip Lindsay became the first UDFA in league history to open his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. While he fights for a pay day of his own, the Broncos will add one of the league’s most notable tailbacks.
Broncos Looking For Another CB
- After losing Harris, the Broncos are looking into adding another cornerback, according to Troy Renck of Denver7 (Twitter link). Denver acquired A.J. Bouye from the Jaguars earlier this month to pair with incumbent Bryce Callahan, but the club could still use another defensive back, either via free agency or the draft. Jimmy Smith, Logan Ryan, Nickell Robey-Coleman, and Ronald Darby are among the top corners still remaining on the open market.
Broncos To Waive Joe Flacco
The Joe Flacco era in Denver is over. The Broncos will waive the quarterback with a failed physical designation, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). 
Flacco will join a crowded quarterback market after a rocky stretch with the Broncos. Injuries have hampered Flacco throughout his career and its only gotten worse as of late.
The former Super-Bowl MVP missed time in 2015 and 2018 and also played through back pain in 2017, but his latest neck injury was especially serious. In early November, the Broncos shut the signal caller down for the second half of the season. Up to that point of the campaign, Flacco had completed 65.3% of his passes. While that was an impressive number, he also threw just six touchdown passes against five interceptions.
Now 35, Flacco is set to enter his 13th NFL season. To date, he’s played in 171 games with 218 touchdowns vs. 141 interceptions. The memed “elite” debate aside, he’s accomplished a ton, including 15 career playoff starts and a Super Bowl victory.
Flacco and Jameis Winston are among the high-profile QBs still available in free agency. Meanwhile, Andy Dalton and Cam Newton are on the trading block.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/20
Here are the minor moves from the first day of official free agency. The list will be updated throughout Wednesday.
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: OL Garrett McGhin
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: CB Donovan Olumba, DE Daniel Wise
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: CB De’Vante Bausby
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: T Tyler Shatley
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: C Evan Brown, DB Rashard Causey, T Chidi Okeke, WR T.J. Rahming
- Released with failed-physical designation: LB Mike Hull
Washington Redskins
- Re-signed: LB Nate Orchard