Charges Dropped For Adam Gotsis
Prosecutors have dropped rape charges against Broncos defensive end Adam Gotsis, as Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic tweets.
Gotsis was arrested back in March on the allegations that date back to 2013, and it was reported back in May the district attorney handling his case was still mulling whether to proceed to trial. Ultimately, it seems there wasn’t enough there to move forward.
“The evidence presented does not warrant any further action in this case” the statement from the district attorney’s office read. Gotsis has been practicing with the team, and the Broncos have apparently believed in his innocence all along. Although the charges have been dropped, he’s still not completely out of the woods. While today’s news “increases the chances he will not” face punishment from the NFL, “he could still face league discipline” writes Troy Renck of Denver 7 (Twitter link).
Assuming he isn’t hit with a suspension, Gotsis should play a big role for Denver in 2018. The 63rd overall pick of the 2016 draft, Gotsis started 13 games for the Broncos last season. He racked up 41 tackles, with two sacks and four pass breakups.
Chad Kelly Now Broncos' No. 2 QB
The Broncos have a new backup quarterback, as head coach Vance Joseph told reporters Chad Kelly is now the club’s top reserve to starter Case Keenum (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic). Former first-round pick Paxton Lynch continued his abysmal NFL run by completing just 6-of-11 passes for 24 yards and one interception during Denver’s first preseason games, while Kelly — the 2017 drat’s Mr. Irrelevant — completed 14-of-21 attempts for 177 yards, two scores, and one interception. Clearly, the Broncos’ decision isn’t solely based on the results of a single exhibition contest, as Lynch also played poorly in two starts last season. Given Kelly’s inexperience, and Lynch’s lack of results, Denver could conceivably aim to acquire a veteran No. 2 signal-caller before the 2018 season gets underway.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/18
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Austin Wolf
- Released: WR Rashad Ross
Denver Broncos
- Claimed: WE DeAndrew White (Texans)
- Waived/Injured: WR Philly Brown
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: RB Tion Green
- Waived: LB William Ossai
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: OL Alan Knott
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived from injured reserve: OL Avery Young
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived from injured reserve: CB David Rivers
Details On A.J. Johnson's Deal
- The Broncos signed Alexander Johnson earlier today, and it sounds like the organization has high hopes for the embattled linebacker. Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets that the organization is giving the rookie $50K in guaranteed money, more than they gave to any of their other undrafted rookies. The former Tennessee star, who has dealt with his share of off-field issues, hasn’t played organized football in more than four years.
- Denver wasn’t the only suitor for Johnson. Volin tweets that the Dolphins (along with a “couple other teams”) had expressed interest in the rookie linebacker before he joined the Broncos.
[SOURCE LINK]
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/18
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived/Injured: LB Jeremy Cash
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: DT Simeyon Robinson
Denver Broncos
- Signed: S Shamarko Thomas, LB Alexander Johnson
- Released: LB Stansly Maponga
Houston Texans
- Waived: WR DeAndrew White
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: RB Ray Lawry
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: G Kaleb Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: C Oni Omoile
- Waived/Injured: OL Parker Collins
Washington Redskins
- Signed: WR Dan Williams III
Broncos’ Jamal Carter Done For Season
Broncos safety Jamal Carter is done for the year, according to Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter). Carter suffered a torn hamstring in Saturday’s preseason contest against the Vikings that will require surgery. The Broncos will place Carter on IR in order to free up a roster spot.
[RELATED: Latest On Broncos’ QB Situation]
Carter played in all 16 games for the Broncos last season as a reserve. Although he was not a star for Denver, the Broncos were counting on him to serve as an important special teams player in 2018.
Luckily, the Broncos still have quality depth behind starting safeties Darian Stewart and Justin Simmons. Will Parks and Su’a Cravens figure to see a fair amount of snaps while Dymonte Thomas and Jordan Moore may have improved odds of making the final cut.
Latest On Broncos’ QB Situation
It is never wise to read too much into preseason games, particularly the first preseason game. But after the Broncos’ current backup signal-caller, Paxton Lynch, played miserably in last night’s loss to the Vikings, writers and fans are understandably wondering whether Chad Kelly — who looked quite good outside of one interception — will begin taking reps with the second team.
Case Keenum, whom Denver signed to be its starting QB after he shocked the world with an excellent 2017 campaign for Minnesota, did not play very well in his first real action for the Broncos either, but his job is secure (even though it must have been a little painful for Broncos fans to watch Kirk Cousins, deemed too expensive by Denver’s front office, march his Vikings down the field for a touchdown in his only drive of the night). The real question is how long Lynch, who has been abjectly terrible since the Broncos traded up to draft him in the first round of the 2016 draft, will remain the team’s No. 2 QB (or, for that matter, how long he will remain on the roster).
Both Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post and Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic (Twitter link) believe that the team has to bring in a veteran QB to be Keenum’s backup, either through trade or free agency. Kiszla goes so far as to say that GM John Elway made an egregious error in signing Keenum over Cousins, as Cousins is clearly the superior player, and Kiszla calls Elway’s decision penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Kelly, a 2017 seventh-rounder who missed his entire rookie campaign as he recovered from wrist and knee surgeries, was 14-of-21 for 177 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception last night, while Lynch was 6-of-11 for 24 yards and an interception. Lynch was also booed pretty emphatically by his hometown fans, who began “KELL-Y! KELL-Y!” chants while the former Mr. Irrelevant was on the field.
There were already rumblings earlier this week that Kelly could become Keenum’s backup, and head coach Vance Joseph did nothing to dispel that notion after last night’s game. Joseph said, “We’ll see. We’ll watch the tape and see where we are. Obviously Case is the starter, so that’s my main concern. But Chad, he’s played well. He played well tonight outside of the one interception. He is a guy that plays with a lot of confidence” (Twitter link via Jhabvala).
The current list of free agent quarterbacks is fairly uninspiring, but a player like Teddy Bridgewater could be available via trade if the Broncos do indeed choose to go that route.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/12/18
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB Alex Carter
- Placed on IR: S Damian Parms
Denver Broncos
- Waived: OL Leon Johnson
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Quan Bray
Los Angeles Rams
- Placed on IR: CB Kevin Peterson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Claimed off waivers: CB De’Vante Harris
- Waived: CB Aaron Davis,
New Orleans Saints
- Waived:G Trevor Darling
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Elijah Battle, LB Jason Hall, C Marcus Henry
- Waived: FB Jalston Fowler, TE Je’Ron Hamm, LB Warren Long
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Tony Washington, LB Davond Dade, DL Francis Kallon
- Waived: LB/FB Nick DeLuca, S Joshua Kalu
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/18
Here are Saturday’s minor moves.
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Ryan Neal
- Waived: T Kendall Calhoun
Denver Broncos
- Claimed off waivers from Bengals: T Austin Fleer
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DL Lord Hyeamang
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Mike Jones
- Waived: DE Kristjan Sokoli
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR: TE Adam Zaruba
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DB Trey Caldwell, DB Kenneth Durden
- Waived: CB Jarell Carter, CB Joseph Este
Washington Redskins
- Placed on IR: RB Derrius Guice, TE Manasseh Garner
- Signed: TE J.P. Holtz, LB Jeff Knox, DL Jalen Wilkerson
- Waived/injured: FB Elijah Wellman
Thomas Eyeing Several More Seasons
Hip and neck troubles plagued Demaryius Thomas the past two seasons, enough so the Broncos’ top wide receiver contemplated near-future retirement — either after the 2018 season or the ’19 campaign, James Palmer of NFL.com reports. But a now-reinvigorated Thomas is looking at his career differently.
A new diet and a leaner physique has the 30-year-old wideout wanting to extend his career well into the 2020s, even though he acknowledges things change quickly.
“Now I’m thinking, 15 or 16 (years),” Thomas told Palmer. “Like, for real, I’m going to be like Larry Fitzgerald. Maybe even more. It just depends, you know? I mean, s—, tomorrow I could finish my career off of one crazy injury. But yeah, my mindset has changed.”
Thomas dropped more than 10 pounds this offseason, being currently under 220, per Palmer. And he’s obviously not experiencing the kind of hip pain that bothered him in 2016 and ’17. Even entering this season on the heels of the aforementioned injury-restricted ones, Thomas has played in 107 straight games since the 2011 season.
“For, like, the past two years, for real, it’s been my neck and my hip,” Thomas said, via Palmer. “It was just times I couldn’t compete my best. And you know, sometimes, I remember one game we were playing the Patriots, and the (then-Patriots) corner (Logan Ryan) called it out. He said, ‘You’re not yourself.’ And I was like, ‘Man, I’m doing whatever I can to try to get (coverage) attention.’ ”
“Like, for real, with all the problems with my hip, especially with my hip, it was like, sometimes I couldn’t even stop.”
Palmer notes one of Thomas’ hip labrums is partially torn. It’s not known what medical treatments Thomas underwent (if any) to recover from these maladies in order to be ready for this season.
If Thomas wants to play well into his 30s, he may have to relocate. By virtue of the Broncos picking up Thomas’ $4MM option, the Georgia Tech product will play a fourth season on his five-year, $70MM deal. But Thomas’ 2019 contract year will feature a $17.53MM cap number — up $5MM from this season’s — and the Broncos shedding that salary will save them $14MM. Of course, Emmanuel Sanders‘ contract expires after the 2019 season as well, and he’s due nearly $13MM in 2019.
With the Broncos having drafted Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton this year, it seems a somewhat safe bet to assume at least one of their longtime starters will be elsewhere in 2019. Though, they might be hesitant to part ways with both Thomas and Sanders given their importance to the Denver passing game the past four seasons. The Broncos and Thomas believe both rookies will make an immediate impact, per Palmer, with Sutton in particular drawing rave reviews in camp. Denver, though, has failed repeatedly to identify auxiliary receiving talent over the past three years, with previous Day 2 draft choices Cody Latimer and Carlos Henderson not working out.
Although Thomas’ 1,000-yard streak stopped at five due to 2017’s 949-yard showing, he passed Shannon Sharpe in both career receiving yardage and touchdowns (as Broncos) last season. He’s second behind Rod Smith in both categories with the Broncos.