Broncos Release Richard Gordon
- The Broncos announced today in a press release that they’ve cut veteran tight end Richard Gordon, a little over two months after re-signing him to a new contract. It’s the third time Denver has released Gordon since last October.
Broncos Agree To Terms With 21 UDFAs
The Broncos have officially agreed to terms with 21 rookies who went undrafted over the weekend, according to the team’s official website. Denver’s undrafted free agent class is heavy on front-seven defenders and wide receivers — those players make up 13 of the 21 UDFAs headed to the Broncos.
Here’s the full list:
- WR Bralon Addison (Oregon) ($8K signing bonus, per Mike Klis of 9NEWS)
- DE Vontarrius Dora (Louisiana Tech) ($2K bonus)
- WR Mose Frazier (Memphis) ($3K bonus)
- S Antonio Glover (Georgia Southern) ($2.5K bonus)
- T Lars Hanson (Sacramento State) ($4K bonus)
- DT Calvin Heurtelou (Miami) ($2K bonus)
- DE Shaneil Jenkins (Shepherd) ($1K bonus)
- TE Henry Krieger-Coble (Iowa) ($10K bonus)
- DL David Moala (Utah State) ($8K bonus)
- T Justin Murray (Cincinnati) ($8K bonus)
- WR Durron Neal (Oklahoma) ($2.5K bonus)
- G Aaron Neary (Eastern Washington) ($5K bonus)
- LB Dwayne Norman (Duke) ($2K bonus)
- TE Anthony Norris (Southern Utah) ($5K bonus)
- NT Kyle Peko (Oregon State) ($11K bonus)
- WR Kalif Raymond (Holy Cross) ($2K bonus)
- LB Frank Shannon (Oklahoma) ($3K bonus)
- LB Sadat Sulleyman (Portland State) ($2K bonus)
- LS Nathan Theus (Georgia) ($2.5K bonus)
- CB John Tidwell (Sioux Falls) ($3K bonus)
- DE Eddie Yarbrough (Wyoming) ($1K bonus)
Broncos Cut Ryan Murphy, Will Johnson
- The Broncos cut safety Ryan Murphy and punter Will Johnson, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Murphy has the unfortunate distinction of having been sent home from the Super Bowl.
Broncos Decline Sylvester Williams’ 2017 Option
The Broncos will not be exercising Sylvester Williams‘s $6.757MM option for 2017, a source tells Troy Renck and Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post. As the Post duo details, GM John Elway and the Broncos like what Williams brings to the table, but are wary about committing significant money to a nose tackle.
[RELATED: Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker]
Williams, 27, had perhaps his best season in 2015, starting 15 games for the Broncos and establishing new career bests in tackles (25) and sacks (2.5). Primarily a two-down player, Williams helped anchor Denver’s stout run defense, appearing in just under half of the club’s defensive snaps for the season.
As we’ve seen throughout this offseason, the Broncos have been careful about not overpaying in contract negotiations, even for players who were crucial cogs on their Super Bowl team. Brock Osweiler, Malik Jackson, and Danny Trevathan were among the players who departed in free agency, while the club has yet to work out new long-term deals with franchised pass rusher Von Miller or RFA linebacker Brandon Marshall.
In Williams’ case, the team would like to keep him around beyond the 2016 season, but didn’t want a $6.757MM cap charge on the books for him in 2017. Since the Broncos would prefer to extend him at a lesser salary, they weren’t interested in using that figure as a starting point in negotiations, as Mike Klis of 9NEWS writes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
West Notes: Rams, Austin, Broncos, Seahawks
The Rams are expected to pick up their 2017 fifth-year option for wide receiver Tavon Austin, but Los Angeles hopes to sign Austin to a long-term extension before the ’17 season rolls around, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (Twitter link). We heard in February that the Rams are intent on extending both Austin and linebacker Alec Ogletree. Bookmark our 2017 Fifth-Year Option tracker.
The draft is still dominating today’s coverage, but life goes on the NFL world. Let’s dive into some more notes from the NFL’s two West divisions…
- Like the Rams, the Broncos must decide on a fifth-year option — in Denver’s case, it’s for defensive tackle Sylvester Williams, who would command a $6.757MM salary in 2017. Broncos GM John Elway said he’ll make a decision on Williams on Monday, but called the $6MM+ figure a “pretty big number” (links via Troy Renck of the Denver Post and Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com).
- Though the Broncos‘ next offseason focus will obviously be coming to terms on a long-term deal with Von Miller, Elway says the club also wants to work something out with receiver Emmanuel Sanders and linebacker Brandon Marshall, tweets Renck. Both Sanders and Marshall are both entering the final years of their respective contracts, and Sanders, for his part, recently expressed a desire to stay with Denver.
- Former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch still hasn’t filed his retirement papers, but Pete Carroll thinks Lynch is committed to remaining retired, according to Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “Your guess is as good as mine,” said GM John Schneider when asked about Lynch’s plans (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times).
- Both Carroll and Schneider said the Seahawks are working on finding another quarterback, and are still speaking with free agent Tarvaris Jackson, tweets Condotta. For what it’s worth, the Seattle duo made those comments before reportedly agreeing to terms with former TCU QB Trevone Boykin.
Titans Acquire No. 157 Pick From Broncos
The Titans have traded back into the fifth round, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS, who tweets that Tennessee has acquired the No. 157 overall pick from the Broncos. The Titans led off the fifth round by snagging UMass wide receiver Tajae Sharpe and have now landed a second pick, which they used to draft Southern Utah cornerback LeShaun Sims.
In exchange for the No. 157 overall pick, the Broncos have received the 176th overall pick (a 2016 sixth-rounder) and a sixth-round pick for 2017, per Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Titans also picked up a 2016 seventh-rounder in the deal, which falls at No. 253 — that’s the last pick of this year’s draft, so Tennessee is currently in line to select this year’s Mr. Irrelevant.
One reason the Broncos may have added this 2017 selection: the trade with the Eagles for a conditional ’17 choice that brought Mark Sanchez to Denver now looks like it will be for a sixth-round pick and not a seventh-rounder, Klis tweets. The presumptive Week 1 starter for the Broncos, Sanchez was traded for a conditional 2017 draft choice last month.
The Broncos initially acquired this fifth-round choice from the Jets in the teams’ Ryan Clady swap — one that also involved Denver sending a seventh-rounder to New York — earlier this month. The defending champions now hold three picks in the draft’s final two rounds.
Tennessee selected a safety during its busy Day 2 in Kevin Byard of Middle Tennessee but could use some help at corner presently beyond starters Jason McCourty and Perrish Cox. The Titans also added to the position by signing Brice McCain, however.
Draft Notes: Cowboys, Dolphins, Broncos
With the fourth round nearly halfway done, let’s check in on some draft whispers from around the league…
- The Cowboys‘ gameplan for the second round was to select Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and then move up and select Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). Ogbah was ultimately selected by the Browns with the first pick of the second round, and Dallas snagged Smith two picks later.
- NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport says there was a general belief that the Cowboys would select quarterback Connor Cook with pick No. 101, leading to the Raiders‘ acquisition of the 100th pick. Meanwhile, Rapoport notes that Oakland is planning on keeping Matt McGloin and allowing the two quarterbacks to compete for the back-up job.
- According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter), the Dolphins slapped Leonte Carroo with a “second-round grade.” Miami ended up snagging the Rutgers wideout late in the third round.
- If Laremy Tunsil hadn’t been around at No. 13, the Dolphins would have selected UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, tweets Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. Eli Apple, who was selected 10th overall, was also under consideration for the pick.
- Speaking of Tunsil, ESPN’s Adam Schefter determined how much money the offensive lineman actually lost on Thursday evening (via Twitter). The Ravens were prepared to select the embattled University of Mississippi product with the sixth-overall pick, but Tunsil ended up falling to No. 13. Schefter estimates that the rookie lost nearly $7MM after having fallen eight spots.
- The Broncos are fielding calls on several of their picks, reports Mike Klis of 9News in Denver (via Twitter). The team has a compensatory fourth-round pick (which can’t be traded), as well as two fifth-round selections.
AFC Rumors: Browns, Bills, Broncos, Pats
After selecting USC quarterback Cody Kessler with the No. 93 pick in the draft, Browns executive Sashi Brown said he doesn’t think the team needs to make a roster move involving a quarterback right away, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).
Cleveland’s depth chart at QB is getting crowded, with Kessler joining Robert Griffin, Josh McCown, Austin Davis, Connor Shaw, and Pat Devlin, so the team will have to make some decisions eventually, but Brown said tonight that he likes encouraging competition at the position.
The Browns’ executive VP of football operations also said after round three that the team will consider trade options at the start of day three. Cleveland currently holds the top two picks of the fourth round, and has four overall picks in the round. The team hasn’t been shy about trading down so far, and Brown is sure the team will receive calls about those fourth-rounders, as Ulrich tweets.
- The Bills are exploring finding a way to land Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook on Saturday, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who suggests (via Twitter) that it would take “some 2017 ammo” for Buffalo to move up. The club currently doesn’t own a 2016 fourth-round pick that can be traded.
- Broncos general manager John Elway confirmed that his team is in no rush to add a fourth quarterback to a roster that features Mark Sanchez, Paxton Lynch, and Trevor Siemian, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Elway didn’t rule out adding another signal-caller, but suggested it’s not a priority for the club.
- If the Cowboys hadn’t taken Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith early in the second round, the Patriots are one team that would have had interest in nabbing him, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. New England had back-to-back picks late in round two, but traded one of them, with Smith no longer available.
Broncos Out On Hoyer; Three Teams Have Made Offers
On the heels of selecting Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch with the 26th pick in the draft, the Broncos informed free agent Brian Hoyer on Friday that they won’t be signing him, Mike Klis of 9News reports. The Broncos will instead go forth with their current signal-calling trio that consists of veteran starter Mark Sanchez, Lynch and second-year man Trevor Siemian.
General manager John Elway doesn’t currently intend to add any more QBs because he doesn’t want to take reps from any of Sanchez, Lynch or Siemian. Further, team brass is confident that Sanchez is a good fit for head coach Gary Kubiak‘s West Coast offense. Sanchez, whom the Broncos acquired last month from the Eagles for a conditional pick, has struggled mightily since going fifth overall to the Jets in the 2009 draft. However, he was part of two Jets teams whose strong defenses helped lead them to back-to-back AFC title games. The Broncos, of course, won the Super Bowl last season on the strength of their all-world defense and figure to continue stymieing opposing offenses next season.
Prior to adding Lynch, the Broncos visited with Hoyer shortly after the Texans released him this month. They wanted to sign Hoyer as of last week, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link), but Thursday’s developments obviously changed that. Hoyer has offers to serve as a backup with the Steelers, Cowboys and Bears, per Renck, and will decide his next team soon. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune corroborated Renck’s report that the Bears are in on Hoyer (via Twitter).
The 30-year-old Hoyer made 11 appearances (nine starts) for the Texans in 2015 and enjoyed his best season as a pro. The Michigan State product completed more than 60 percent of his passes and racked up 2,606 yards, 19 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. The AFC South-winning Texans went 5-4 in Hoyer’s starts, but his horrible first-round playoff showing (four interceptions in a 30-0 loss to Kansas City) helped lead to the signing of ex-Bronco Brock Osweiler, thus sealing Hoyer’s fate in Houston.
AFC Rumors: Broncos, Wilkerson, Ravens, Fins
Having traded up on Thursday night to nab Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch, the Broncos may now be in a better position to negotiate a long-term deal with star pass rusher Von Miller, suggests Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link).
Lynch’s rookie contract will likely call for cap hits that range from about $1.7MM in 2016 to $3MM by his fourth year in 2019, meaning Denver may not have much money tied up in the quarterback position for the next few years. While a Broncos source who spoke to Cole cautioned that the team still needs to make sure it has room to extend players like wideout Emmanuel Sanders and linebacker Brandon Marshall, there’s some optimism between the team and Miller’s camp that a long-term pact can eventually be reached.
Here’s more from around the AFC:
- The Jets have in fact fielded calls on Muhammad Wilkerson in recent weeks, but no serious suitors emerged, according to sources who spoke with Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. On Thursday night, GM Mike Maccagnan confirmed that a Wilkerson deal is now unlikely.
- Kevin Byrne of BaltimoreRavens.com takes a behind-the-scenes look at the Ravens‘ process last night as their No. 6 pick approached, including how the Laremy Tunsil video affected the team’s decision. Meanwhile, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald examines the thinking of the team that did take Tunsil, at No. 13: the Dolphins.
- The NFL’s stance on having a franchise in Las Vegas is “evolving,” per commissioner Roger Goodell, but Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) hears that the league still wouldn’t want a team like the Raiders to have any part-owners who have a stake in a Vegas casino.
- Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com explores the Browns‘ day-one draft decisions, noting that plenty of execs around the league are skeptical about the team’s approach and the selection of Baylor wideout Corey Coleman.
- Houston defensive tackle Tomme Mark got calls from the Chargers and Raiders and has drawn interest from Texans as a late-rounder or a priority free agent, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Zach Links contributed to this post.