Broncos To Let Booker, Riddick Walk
- The Broncos have a crowded backfield, but it’s about to get a little thinner. Both Devontae Booker and Theo Riddick will be allowed to walk in free agency, sources told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link). Booker was drafted by Denver in the fourth-round back in 2016, and had an up and down career with the team. He was the team’s starter for some of his rookie season, and he often played a big role on passing downs. At the same time, he was often relegated to the bench for extended stretches. 27 now, it’ll be interesting to see how his market develops. Riddick is another passing-downs specialist who signed with Denver this past summer after a productive six-year run with the Lions. He ended up missing the entire season with a shoulder injury, although Klis notes that he is healthy now and has been medically cleared. He’s 28 now, and will likely have a tough time finding much guaranteed money coming off the injury.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/5/20
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL John Wetzel
Denver Broncos
- Released: DL Billy Winn
- Waived: CB Horace Richardson
San Francisco 49ers
- Tendered as exclusive rights free agents: OL Daniel Brunskill, TE Ross Dwelley, CB Emmanuel Moseley, QB Nick Mullens, RB Jeff Wilson
Broncos Not Expected To Pick Up Ronald Leary’s Option
Ronald Leary is expected to hit the open market. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Broncos aren’t expected to pick up the option on the offensive guard.
The 2012 undrafted rookie out of Memphis spent the first five seasons of his career with the Cowboys, starting 31 games between the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He was limited to only 17 games (16 starts) combined in 2015 and 2016, but he still managed to earn a four-year, $36MM deal ($20MM guaranteed) from the Broncos in 2017.
While Leary has started each of his 23 games during his Broncos career, he’s never surpassed 12 games played in a single season. This includes a 2018 season that was limited to only six games thanks to a torn Achilles.
Leary was set to count towards $10MM against the cap in 2020. We previously learned that the Broncos were picking up the options for kicker Brandon McManus and linebacker Todd Davis.
Mike Adams Retires From NFL
Mike Adams is calling it a career. On Wednesday morning, the former Pro Bowl safety announced his retirement on NFL Network (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero). 
Adams leaves the sport after 16 seasons and 228 games played. The 38-year-old suited up for the 49ers, Browns, Broncos, Colts, Panthers, and, most recently, the Texans, over the course of his career. In 2014 and 2015, his first two seasons in Indy, he stepped into the limelight with back-to-back Pro Bowl nods. Remarkably, he did it in his age 33 and 34 seasons.
Eventually, Father Time caught up with Adams. After spending two seasons as a Panthers starter with snaps at both safety spots, the Panthers allowed him to walk following the 2018 season.
Adams’ 228 games played ranks him third all-time among NFL safeties, slotting him ahead of John Lynch, Brian Dawkins, and other football legends. We here at PFR wish Adams the best in retirement.
AFC West Notes: C. Jones, Broncos, C. Harris
The Chiefs will hit star DT Chris Jones with the franchise tag, and Jones is none too happy about it. “It’s like a mix of emotions,” Jones said in a recent interview with Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “Because you figure, you know, after four years, you do everything the right way, within the team way, you try to stay under the line, out of trouble, and be a good citizen for a team and for the city, you expect to be rewarded….It’s like, ‘Man, what else you want me to do?'”
Jones isn’t exactly the first player to express frustration with the tag, and Cowherd, as is his custom, did his best to wrangle noteworthy soundbites out of the 2019 Pro Bowler. But Jones will almost surely get the contract he’s looking for, either with the Chiefs or another club after a tag-and-trade. For what it’s worth, Florio does not believe KC will let Jones get away.
Now for more from the AFC West:
- The Broncos made a splash today by acquiring CB A.J. Bouye from the Jaguars, which has furthered the belief that Chris Harris will leave in free agency. Indeed, Mike Klis of 9News believes that, unless Harris’ market falls dramatically, he will be suiting up elsewhere in 2020 (Twitter link). A team source acknowledged that Bouye’s presence makes it less likely Harris will be back, but the source did not close the door on the possibility (Twitter link via Klis).
- After all, the Broncos still need another veteran CB, though Troy Renck of Denver7 believes the club will target a mid-range FA and draft a corner (Twitter link).
- Another free agent the Broncos could have a tough time retaining is safety Will Parks. Renck reports in a full-length piece that Parks, lauded for his energy and versatility, has attracted significant interest from as many as 10 teams. However, the club has had positive dialogue with DE Derek Wolfe, per Renck. Wolfe has made it clear that he wants to remain in Denver.
- The Raiders are one of the teams interested in Harris, and they also have their eye on one of the market’s other top CBs, Byron Jones.
Jaguars To Trade A.J. Bouye To Broncos
The Broncos have themselves a new cornerback. On Tuesday, GM John Elway struck a deal with the Jaguars to acquire A.J. Bouye, as Mike Klis of 9News tweets. Klis notes in a separate tweet that multiple teams were interested in trading for Bouye, but he preferred to be dealt to Denver, and Jacksonville GM Dave Caldwell made it happen.
In exchange, the Jaguars will receive a 2020 fourth-round pick (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). The trade will be officially processed on March 18, when the new league year kicks off.
Once finalized, the Broncos will assume the $13.4MM owed to him in 2020 and the $13.5MM coming to him in 2021. The Broncos will honor that deal “for now,” Klis writes, so it sounds like the Broncos may look to restructure the contract once all of the dust settles.
The deal, in all likelihood, will mark the end of Chris Harris‘ tenure in Denver. Harris is set for free agency and he was already preparing himself to move on. The arrival of Bouye all but seals it. This also means that the Broncos will be less bullish on this year’s crop of free agent CBs, which includes notables like James Bradberry, Josh Norman, Logan Ryan, and Byron Jones.
Bouye teamed with Jalen Ramsey two years ago to help form one of the most talented secondary units in the NFL and aid the Jags in their run to the AFC title game. Now, that whole group has been revamped.
Instead, the Jaguars are choosing to retool and they’ll have a bevy of draft picks to make that happen. With the trade, they’ll have ten picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, with six of those picks coming in the first four rounds and two in the first round. As Schefter (Twitter link) notes, they’ve also got nine picks in 2021. And, in both years, they’ve got two picks in Round 1 and Round 4. The Jaguars will also have more to spend – by dealing Bouye, the Jaguars have cleared an additional $11.4MM in cap space.
Last year, Bouye recorded 65 tackles and one interception for the Jaguars. Still, he didn’t fit the Jaguars’ plans – Jacksonville would have released Bouye if they didn’t find a deal for him, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears (via Twitter).
Broncos Targeting Top Free Agent RBs
The Broncos are doing their due diligence on top running backs in this year’s class, Mike Klis of 9News hears. This year’s crop includes Derrick Henry (Titans), Kenyan Drake (Cardinals), Melvin Gordon (Chargers), and several other big names.
The Broncos believe that a reliable running back can help to keep defenses honest and, in turn, aid in the development of young quarterback Drew Lock, Klis writes. Henry is at the top of the shopping list for many RB-needy teams, though he’s expected to command a hefty asking price. He also might not reach the open market; the Titans are expected to cuff him with the franchise tag if they cannot work out a long-term deal, which would tender him at roughly $11MM for the coming season.
Drake, Gordon, and Carlos Hyde (Texans) may be in the mix, however. Between those veteran options and the draft, it’s likely that the Broncos will move to upgrade their RB room which currently leads with Royce Freeman and Philip Lindsay. Last year, the Broncos ranked 20th in the NFL with 103.9 rushing yards per contest.
As Klis notes, the Broncos met with a number of RB prospects at the combine late last month, including J.K. Dobbins, Cam Akers, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and A.J. Dillon.
FA Notes: Clowney, Harris, Hooper, Saints
Jadeveon Clowney has drawn interest from other teams — the Colts and Giants among them — but the Seahawks remain interested in bringing him back. However, they may not be ready to pay top dollar for the former No. 1 overall pick. The Seahawks are trying to extend Clowney before he hits free agency March 18, but Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com report the franchise is unlikely to compete with a true top-market price (ESPN+ link). If the bidding goes into the $18-$20MM-per-year range, which it almost certainly will given other teams’ franchise tags keeping edge players off the market, the Seahawks are not expected to go there. This would mean the Seahawks will have lost two standout edge rushers in two years, after trading Frank Clark to the Chiefs. Seattle, which did not see much from first-round defensive end L.J. Collier last season, is set to carry more than $44MM in cap space.
Both the Colts and Titans are interested and are not afraid of Clowney’s asking price, per Fowler and Graziano. A new entry in the Clowney sweepstakes, Tennessee could use edge help but seemingly has key issues to sort out involving Ryan Tannehill (or a replacement) and Derrick Henry first.
Here is the latest from the free agency market, shifting to one of this era’s top cornerbacks:
- Chris Harris appears set to have a busy legal tampering period. The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback has drawn interest from the Cowboys, Jets, Lions, Raiders and Texans, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. The final holdover from the Broncos’ dominant Super Bowl-winning secondary, Harris both expressed a desire to finish his career in Denver and hit the market for the first time. While the Broncos have not ruled out another extension for the 30-year-old cornerback, Harris expects to be elsewhere in 2020. Harris met with at least 24 teams at the Combine, including the Cowboys, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). A Cowboys fit would be interesting, with the team set to lose Byron Jones. The Broncos are one of the teams targeting Jones.
- In Demario Davis, the Saints already have a 30-something entrenched as a starting linebacker. However, New Orleans is interested in Patriots free agent Jamie Collins, Larry Holder of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Collins, 30, enjoyed a bounce-back season back in New England, after he did not justify his then-off-ball-‘backer-record deal in Cleveland. The Saints have A.J. Klein as a free agent-to-be and can save $8MM by releasing Kiko Alonso.
- While the Saints were willing to let Kenny Vaccaro walk two years ago, they want to retain Vonn Bell, Holder adds. It would be at a price, however. Considering the Saints added promising safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in the fourth round last year and have Marcus Williams as an extension candidate, their Bell price point may be low.
- The tight end landscape could look strange by the time George Kittle‘s negotiations ramp up. Austin Hooper is expected to become the league’s highest-paid tight end — by a considerable margin — in free agency, Graziano and Fowler note. A 2016 third-round pick, Hooper has made the Pro Bowl twice but has only one 700-yard season on his resume. However, the Falcons tight end was on pace for nearly 1,000 yards before a midseason hamstring injury. The Falcons will let Hooper test the market, and with this draft not deep at tight end, the market will likely be robust. The Bears, Packers and Redskins are interested.
- Phillip Lindsay has exploded out of the blocks to start his career, becoming the first UDFA to start his NFL run with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. But backfield mate Royce Freeman, a Broncos 2018 third-round pick, has underwhelmed. The Broncos may be eyeing an upgrade, with Mike Klis of 9News tweeting the team is exploring veteran backs on the market. With teams potentially skittish about big deals for backs, after some recent ones backfired, some bigger-name backs may be available at reasonable rates.
Broncos, Eagles, Lions In Play For Byron Jones
The Cowboys prioritizing Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper over Byron Jones will soon make the cornerback quite the coveted commodity on the market. More potential destinations have emerged.
After the Raiders’ reported interest, Jones will be in the mix for another AFC West team. The Broncos are expected to make a run at Jones, per Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post, with Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com noting (ESPN+ link) that the Eagles and Lions join the Broncos as “strong possibilities” for Jones.
Denver outflanks both Detroit and Philadelphia in cap space, sitting in the top 10 at $70MM-plus, and has a major need at corner. Four-time Pro Bowler Chris Harris is a free agent-to-be, and the odds currently lean toward the final holdover from Denver’s Super Bowl champion secondary leaving after nine seasons. The Broncos are a rumored Darius Slay suitor, with Fowler and Graziano adding the team wants to make a strong effort to improve at corner. Beyond Harris, the Broncos struggled throughout 2019 to find capable outside cover men.
Detroit and Philly hold $47MM and $41MM in cap space, respectively. The Lions have far more invested at corner, with Slay in a contract year and Justin Coleman attached to a $9MM-AAV deal. The Eagles have barely $6MM committed to the position in total, with Ronald Darby on track for free agency.
The bidding for Jones will likely escalate to the point the 27-year-old defender exits free agency as the league’s highest-paid corner — perhaps by a substantial margin. The cornerback market has barely budged over the past half-decade; Xavien Howard‘s $15.1MM extension barely topped Josh Norman‘s 2016 deal. Jones, however, is viewed as this market’s top corner, and a deal north of $17MM annually would not be surprising.
Broncos Interested In DL D.J. Reader
The Broncos have Derek Wolfe and Shelby Harris set for free agency. While both have expressed a desire to return, the prospect of the Broncos needing two replacement defensive ends certainly exists.
Denver has expressed interest in Houston defensive lineman D.J. Reader, according to 9News’ Mike Klis (on Twitter). Other teams will be in the running for the breakout interior defender, but the Broncos are monitoring the four-year Texans defender.
Reader broke through last season, registering 13 quarterback hits — more than his first three seasons combined — and ranking as Pro Football Focus’ No. 7 interior defender. At 25, he is much younger than Wolfe (29) or Harris (28). Denver drafted Dre’Mont Jones in Round 3 last year and could use him as a starter, but if both Wolfe and Harris exit, the franchise will need help up front.
The Texans and Reader have discussed an extension, but nothing has emerged on the sides being close on a re-up that would keep the former fifth-round pick in Houston. Reader started 52 games for the Texans. Both Denver and Houston rank in the top 10 in 2020 cap space, with the Broncos holding north of $70MM (seventh) and the Texans at $61MM-plus (ninth).