Vance Joseph: Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch On Equal Footing
- Trevor Siemian will reportedly enter the Broncos’ forthcoming quarterback competition with an edge over Paxton Lynch, but head coach Vance Joseph insists he’ll give each a “50-50” shot. “It’s going to go down to the wire, I hope,” he added (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9News).
Todd Davis Signs RFA Tender
- Broncos linebacker Todd Davis has signed his restricted free agent tender, reports Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Broncos applied a second-rounder tender to Davis, meaning it would have been quite costly for anyone to sign him away from Denver. The 24-year-old Davis set career highs in starts (15) and tackles (97) last season, when his performance ranked a decent 43rd among Pro Football Focus’ 87 qualified linebackers.
Siemian Has Upper Hand On Lynch
Tony Romo now being out of the picture for the Broncos turns them back to their incumbents, whom the franchise has praised this offseason. Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch now will have a full-fledged competition for Denver’s starting job, and despite the first-round investment the Broncos made in Lynch, he may have an uphill battle edge going into the team’s offseason workouts. Siemian indeed has the upper hand going into the Broncos’ first Vance Joseph-led program, James Palmer of NFL.com notes.
Joseph himself told Palmer that “players want to play for” Siemian and “they want to win for him.” The Broncos’ staff believes Siemian “played at a higher level than many assume” last season, per Palmer. Conversely, Joseph identified leadership and grasp of Denver’s offense as areas Lynch needs to improve upon.
Mike McCoy did well to tailor previous Broncos offenses to the strengths of Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow before incorporating much of Peyton Manning‘s Colts concepts into the 2012 Broncos’ playbook. Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com writes that observing whether or not McCoy can tailor an offense to Lynch’s strengths will be worth monitoring this offseason. Earlier this year, Lynch looked like the player the team wanted to win the job. Lynch being a first-round pick might mean that’s still the case, but Siemian looks to have a big backer in Joseph just as he did in Gary Kubiak.
Christian McCaffrey To Visit Broncos
Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, whose stock is so high that he could be a top 10 pick in this year’s draft, will visit the Redskins and Broncos, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com). Given where they’re slated to select (Washington’s at No. 17, Denver’s 20th), those two teams could have difficulty reeling in McCaffrey, though it would make for an especially interesting story if he ended up with the Broncos. His father, Ed McCaffrey, was a standout receiver in Denver from 1995-2003. While there, he caught passes from quarterback John Elway, who’s now the Broncos’ general manager.
Broncos, Cowboys, Rams Extended Offers To DeMarcus Ware
Less than a month after his retirement, DeMarcus Ware shed some light about what could have been had he sought to return for a 13th NFL season. The future Hall of Fame edge defender told Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post he received three offers this offseason as a UFA — from the Broncos, Cowboys and Rams.
Ware told the Denver-based reporter something changed between early February and mid-March, leading him to retire. The 34-year-old posted on social media on New Year’s Eve of last year he planned to play in 2017, but he reversed course. However, Ware told Jhabvala had he been under contract with the Broncos for another year he would be suiting up for them this coming season.
Denver’s right outside linebacker said retirement didn’t cross his mind during last season, but he did reveal that he played around three games with a herniated disc in his back. He underwent back surgery following the Broncos’ Week 16 game in Kansas City.
“I’d sit down in meetings not knowing if I’d be able to get up,” Ware said, via Jhabvala, about going through weeks with the herniated disc. “This is stuff people don’t know you go through because I love playing football. … That [Chiefs] game, I was hurting so bad. I told myself, ‘You need to just get yourself fixed.”
It wasn’t known until today how serious a possible reunion with Wade Phillips in Los Angeles was. Ware visited the L.A. in March, with the Rams joining the Broncos and Cowboys in the pursuit. Jane Slater of NFL.com reported multiple teams offered Ware at least $7MM per year. He finished out a three-year, $30MM contract with the Broncos last season.
Bibbs, Fowler Sign ERFA Tenders
- Broncos contributors Bennie Fowler and Kabri Bibbs signed their ERFA tenders, Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post tweets. A fourth-year running back, Bibbs will continue to vie for a backfield job after seeing some time last season after C.J. Anderson went down. A third-year wide receiver, Fowler resides in the glut of auxiliary pass-catchers that sits beneath Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders in Denver’s aerial hierarchy.
Broncos Waive Travis Raciti
- The Broncos have waived defensive end Travis Raciti, reports Troy Renck of the Denver7 (Twitter link). Raciti originally went undrafted out of San Diego State in 2015, and has since bounced between Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Denver. He has yet to appear in an NFL game.
Cowboys QB Tony Romo Retires From NFL
Tony Romo will retire from the NFL in order to begin a new career in broadcasting, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes. Romo has reportedly drawn interest from at least two of the league’s major television partners, but it’s not clear which network he’ll be joining. What we do know is that he won’t be taking the field for the start of the 2017 season. 
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Ultimately, Romo’s decision came down to health. After two lost seasons, Romo apparently did not feel good about the idea of taking the field for his age-37 season. The veteran has suffered collarbone and back injuries, including the compression fracture that opened the door for Dak Prescott in 2016.
This year, speculation was rampant that the Texans and Broncos would go hard after Romo. However, in recent weeks, we’ve been hearing that their interest has cooled. At minimum, both teams had decided that they would not be willing to trade for him, which makes sense given his enormous contract and Jerry Jones’ asking price, which was believed to be high. It’s not clear what each franchise would have been willing to offer Romo as a free agent, nor do we know if he would have been guaranteed a starting job in Week 1. That’s especially true in Denver, where the Broncos have two quality young QBs. For now, it’ll be Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch fighting for the job in Denver. Meanwhile, Houston as Tom Savage penciled in as the QB1 with Brandon Weeden as the understudy.
Dallas will be able to split Romo cap hit over two years without designating him as a post-June 1 release or even releasing him, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. If Romo officially retires on June 2 or later, they can take cap hits of $10.7MM in 2017 and $8.9MM in ’18 rather than one giant $24.7MM hit in the coming year. However, not everyone is convinced that Romo is done for good.
“Romo is now every teams emergency backup QB in case your starter gets hurt. [They can] pay him to come out of “retirement.’ ,” one anonymous team executive texted to Schefter (on Twitter).
Meanwhile, Jane Slater of NFL Network (Twitter link) hears from one source that it’s a soft retirement for Romo. If the Cowboys ever really needed him, he would consider a return. As CBS and FOX (and possibly NBC) vie for him, Romo may push for an opt-out clause that would allow him to come back to the NFL whenever he chooses.
Broncos Hope Paradis Ready For Week 1
- Matt Paradis underwent offseason surgery on both of his hips and has an uncertain timetable back to his spot on the Broncos‘ starting offensive front. The fourth-year center shed his crutches last month and is expected back. But Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post notes the hope now is Paradis won’t miss any regular-season action, meaning Paradis might not be a lock for training camp. The former sixth-round pick enjoyed a breakout season in 2016, finishing as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 center and doing so on one of the league’s shakiest offensive lines. He’s played every Broncos snap over the past two seasons.
Three Broncos Sign ERFA Tenders
- Three Broncos signed their ERFA tenders. Starting center Matt Paradis, reserve wide receiver Jordan Taylor and long snapper Casey Kreiter signed tenders and will make $615K in 2017, Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post reports. Denver extended ERFA tender offers to five other players — including outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett — but none of the remaining contingent has signed yet.