No Timetable On Broncos' Kaepernick Pursuit?
The Broncos‘ precise pursuit of Colin Kaepernick doesn’t have an expiration date, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports, with the employment of Mark Sanchez going on a month and some other trade targets — like Mike Glennon, Brian Hoyer and Josh McCown — populating No. 2 spots on various depth charts.
At some point during the spring, though, the Broncos and 49ers would need to decide if this will work since Kaepernick will have to learn a new system regardless of where he plays this season. The 28-year-old passer didn’t have a good year in 2015, and the longer this drags out, the harder it will be to take command of a new offense, whether it’s in San Francisco or Denver.
Von Miller Wants Broncos To Sign Johnny Manziel
- Broncos star linebacker Von Miller wouldn’t mind if his team added his former college teammate, embattled quarterback Johnny Manziel. “If I had to make my decision on it, he would already be with the Broncos. But we’ve got guys in the front office that make those decisions, and they’ve put us in the championship with those decisions,” Miller said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com).
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Details On Jared Crick's Contract
- Jared Crick, DE (Broncos): Two years, $4MM. $1MM signing bonus. Annual $250K workout bonus (Twitter link).
Broncos Interested In Moritz Boehringer
- German receiver Moritz Boehringer “impressed” with his sure-handedness and route-running skills at his workout Friday, Pauline reports. Representatives from the Bengals, Bills, Patriots, Broncos, Jets, Bears, Falcons, Saints and Panthers were in attendance.
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Broncos To Consider Josh McCown
The Broncos’ brief look at Johnny Manziel won’t amount to anything, but Denver is keeping its eye on another quarterback who started games in Cleveland last season. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Broncos will consider acquiring Josh McCown if they don’t ultimately land Colin Kaepernick from the 49ers.
McCown, who turns 37 in July, was arguably the Browns’ most effective signal-caller in 2015, despite the fact that the team lost seven of his eight starts. McCown tossed 12 touchdowns to just four interceptions, completing 63.7% of his passes and surpassing 2,100 yards passing in just half a season. His campaign was cut short by a broken collarbone.
Even with Manziel no longer in the mix though, McCown looks somewhat expendable in Cleveland. Robert Griffin III and Austin Davis are among the QBs currently on the roster, and the Browns are widely expected to use an early pick in this month’s draft to fortify the position. With the franchise in rebuilding mode, McCown, who has a $5MM+ cap hit for 2016 and remains under contract through 2017, doesn’t fit into the long-term plan.
For Denver, McCown wouldn’t necessarily represent a noticeable upgrade on the club’s in-house options of Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian, but he’s capable of starting, and would make for a reliable backup if he didn’t win the job. If the Broncos fail to acquire Kaepernick, they could attempt to land McCown in a deal similar to their trade for Sanchez, in which they surrendered only a conditional late-round draft pick.
The Broncos may prefer for the Browns to simply release McCown, since they could explore signing him on their own terms at that point. Still, the veteran’s salary on his current contract isn’t exorbitant — he would count for $4.375MM in cap space for any team that acquired him in a trade, with no guaranteed money beyond 2016.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Broncos Sign LS Casey Kreiter
- About a month after cutting veteran long snapper Aaron Brewer, the Broncos have signed a potential replacement. Per Mike Klis of 9NEWS (Twitter links), Denver worked out Air Force Academy long snapper Harrison Elliott, who has another year of military commitment, but ultimately signed former Iowa long snapper Casey Kreiter.
Broncos Inquired On Tyrod Taylor, Worked Out Paxton Lynch
- GM John Elway and the Broncos have inquired about Taylor, according to Benjamin Allbright of AM1340 in Denver (Twitter link). A trade probably isn’t likely, as the Bills prefer to hang onto their quarterback and the Broncos are just exploring all their options, but it’s an interesting tidbit nonetheless.
- Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak says the team worked out Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch at his pro day on Wednesday, as Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets. Denver will still bring Lynch in for an official pre-draft visit down the line, as Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post tweets.
Latest On Broncos, Johnny Manziel
The Broncos have spoken with Johnny Manziel about his potential fit with the team, according to ESPN’s Jeff Legwold (Twitter link). However, the Broncos have no plans to sign Johnny Manziel and signing him has not been discussed, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS (on Twitter). Even though head coach Gary Kubiak reached out to Manziel’s camp about a month ago, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter) also hears that team has no intention of signing him. 
[RELATED: Latest On Broncos, Colin Kaepernick]
Kubiak and Manziel are both former Texas A&M quarterbacks and have a relationship stemming from that commonality, Klis notes (on Twitter). The Broncos head coach reached out to Manziel sometime after his release from the Browns, but it doesn’t sound like there were substantive conversations after that point.
The Broncos, of course, are searching for a quarterback after Peyton Manning announced his retirement and Brock Osweiler signed with the Texans on a four-year, $72MM deal. In March, Denver acquired Mark Sanchez from the Eagles, though he could be relegated to No. 2 on the depth chart if the team finds a better alternative at QB. The Broncos have discussed acquiring Colin Kaepernick from the 49ers, but Kaepernick is not interested in taking the kind of pay cut that Denver is pushing.
Earlier this year, Manziel was dropped by both the team that drafted him and his agent. In March, the controversial signal caller signed on with polarizing agent Drew Rosenhaus. Days later, Rosenhaus claimed that there were teams interested in his new client. That assertion was (understandably) met with some eye rolls from around football, but it appears that the defending champs at least kicked the tires on the former first-round pick.
The 23-year-old made eight starts and played in 15 total games for Cleveland, completing 57% of his passes (147 of 258) for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions. His overall passer rating was 74.4.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Deon King Worked Out For Broncos
- Norfolk State linebacker Deon King has worked out privately for the Broncos, Raiders, 49ers, Colts, and Washington and will visit with the Cowboys, according to Wilson. King finished his collegiate career with 372 tackles, 52.5 tackles for losses, 22 sacks, five fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles and three interceptions. King was an All-American selection and a three-time all-conference selection.
Broncos Can Save $9MM+ With Thomas Restructure
As the Broncos continue to reside up against the salary cap, ESPN.com’s Field Yates points out Demaryius Thomas‘ contract can help the Super Bowl champions clear $9.18MM worth of space.
A clause in the seventh-year wide receiver’s five-year, $70MM deal indicates the Broncos can convert any amount of Thomas’ $13MM 2016 salary into a signing bonus, which would then be spread out over the final four seasons of the pact, Yates reports. The Broncos reducing that salary to the veteran minimum of $760K would free up $9.18MM of cap space this year. The team currently resides in cap peril, with barely $1MM in space before signing Jared Crick on Wednesday, as it attempts to work out a Colin Kaepernick trade.
A Thomas restructure would make sense for the Broncos, who have many high-priced contracts on a cap sheet — although, Ryan Clady and Von Miller‘s respective $10.1 and $14.1MM numbers could well be reduced soon, or removed in Clady’s case — that doesn’t include a high-priced quarterback. Denver currently wants Kaepernick at $7MM for 2016 and ’17, but in 2017, the Broncos are as of now set to have $72.36MM of space — second-most in the league.