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Minor NFL Transactions: 7/28/23

July 28th, 2023 at 7:30pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor moves from around the league as we head into the weekend:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

  • Waived: OL Dylan Deatherage

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Waived: LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

  • Waived: OL James Empey

Mullen was placed on the NFI list two days ago. Apparently, his failure to disclose the non-football injury led to his release. Claimed off of waivers early into the offseason this year, Mullen has spent a good amount of time in Baltimore but has yet to see any game time. The Ravens hoped he might add some depth to their secondary, but with today’s transaction, the former second-round pick hits the free agent market.

Dantzler, a former third-round pick in Minnesota, also finds himself available in free agency after a short stint with the Bills. After signing with his second team of the offseason last month, Dantzler was waived with an injury designation.

Broncos Work Out DT Shelby Harris

July 28th, 2023 at 5:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

The latest team to see one of its players hit with a gambling suspension, the Broncos look to be considering a reunion as a result. Shelby Harris worked out for his former team Friday, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic tweets.

On the workout circuit months after his Seahawks release, Harris is obviously quite familiar with Denver. The Broncos featured Harris as a defensive line regular from 2017-21, re-signing him to a three-year, $27MM deal in the process. The team included Harris in 2022’s Russell Wilson trade, however.

Revamping their D-line once again, the Seahawks cut bait on the Broncos-constructed Harris contract in March. The Broncos added Zach Allen to replace Dre’Mont Jones, who ended up replacing Harris in Seattle, but lost one of their 2022 D-line draftees — Eyioma Uwazurike — to an indefinite gambling ban. The former fourth-round pick, obtained with a selection that came back to Denver in the Wilson swap, was found to have bet on NFL games, clouding his future.

Although the Broncos have changed coaching staffs multiple times since Harris last took the field for them, the interior D-lineman has experience with new Denver DC Vance Joseph. The Broncos initially signed Harris during Joseph’s run as head coach. The soon-to-be 32-old DT played for the team throughout the Joseph and Vic Fangio HC tenures.

Harris started 49 games for the Broncos from 2017-21, spending most of the Fangio period as a first-stringer. He became known for pass batdowns while in Denver, deflecting 16 between the 2019 and ’20 seasons, and registered six sacks apiece in 2019 and ’21. With Seattle last year, Harris started all 15 games he played. Pro Football Focus rated Harris as a top-20 inside D-lineman, but while the Seahawks were open to bringing him back, his 2022 production has not led to a known wave of interest.

The Broncos have Allen, D.J. Jones and Mike Purcell up front, with 2022 draftee Matt Henningsen expected to play a key role as well. The team added Tyler Lancaster this offseason, with reserve Jonathan Harris remaining on the team after arriving in 2019.

Sean Payton: Russell Wilson Still Has It

July 27th, 2023 at 5:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Being one of last season’s most disappointing teams, the Broncos launched another reboot by obtaining Sean Payton’s rights from the Saints. Payton, however, will be tasked with coaching Russell Wilson and working with holdover GM George Paton. But the longtime Saints coach can certainly be viewed as the centerpiece presence in Denver.

As such, Payton fired off some strong stances in an interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell. Among the people taken to task by the Super Bowl-winning HC: predecessor Nathaniel Hackett. This Broncos season will do plenty to determine which 2022 pillar was more at fault for the Broncos’ woes last season; Payton is placing considerably more blame on Hackett than Wilson.

“Everybody’s got a little stink on their hands; it’s not just Russell. It was a (poor) offensive line. It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That’s how bad it was,” Payton said, via Bell.

“… I don’t know Hackett. A lot of people had dirt on their hands. It wasn’t just Russell. He didn’t just flip. He still has it. This B.S. that he hit a wall? Shoot, they couldn’t get a play in. They were 29th in the league in pre-snap penalties on both sides of the ball.”

This is not the first time Payton has said the team’s 2022 mess was not entirely on Wilson. The Broncos’ Pat Shurmur–Teddy Bridgewater offensive setup finished 23rd in scoring offense; the Hackett-Wilson pairing sunk it to last. The team gave Wilson a private office and allowed his personal team facility access. While noting QB offices are not out of the ordinary, Payton reiterated he shut down Team Wilson staffers’ facility access.

Perhaps most importantly, the Broncos gave Wilson autonomy in designing the offense last year. Although injuries to the likes of Garett Bolles, Javonte Williams, Tim Patrick and others led to the quarterback’s stunning nosedive, Wilson’s effort to play more from the pocket produced prolonged periods of stagnancy as the Broncos stumbled to a 3-10 start. Paton forced Hackett to bring Jerry Rosburg out of retirement to manage games after glaring managerial snafus transpired during the Broncos’ first two contests, and the GM ended up firing the first-time HC after a blowout Christmas Day loss to the Rams. Hackett, who gave up play-calling duties midway through his short tenure, is one of just three coaches since the 1970 merger to be fired before their first season concluded.

Wilson, 34, still took the brunt of the criticism, having been traded for a picks package headlined by two first-rounders and two seconds. He finished with a career-low 16 touchdown passes, and after closing his Seahawks tenure with QBR rankings of 10th, 11th, fifth, eighth and 10th from 2017-21, the perennial Pro Bowler dropped to 27th in his first Broncos campaign.

“That wasn’t his fault,” Payton said of Wilson’s facility setup. “That was the parents who allowed it. That’s not an incrimination on him, but an incrimination on the head coach, the GM, the president (Damani Leech) and everybody else who watched it all happen. Now, a quarterback having an office and a place to watch film is normal. But all those things get magnified when you’re losing. And that other stuff, I’ve never heard of it. We’re not doing that.

“It doesn’t happen often where an NFL team or organization gets embarrassed. And that happened here.”

It is certainly interesting Payton mentioned Paton, whose job security took a hit after the Hackett-Wilson pairing produced a spectacular letdown. Payton has been connected to potentially bringing in more familiar front office personnel. This could loom as an important season for the Broncos’ GM, given the events of the past year.

Wilson’s five-year, $245MM extension runs through 2028. His cap number jumps from $22MM to $35.4MM between 2023 and ’24. The Broncos can escape this contract with a $35.4MM dead-money charge in 2024 with a post-June 1 cut designation — though, that would be an extreme move, considering dead money would come in 2025 as well — should the form Wilson showed in 2022 represent a true decline rather than a coaching-induced blip.

Payton has praised offseason pickup Jarrett Stidham, who signed a two-year, $10MM deal. But the team remains committed to Wilson, who will have Williams, Patrick and Bolles back, along with big-ticket O-line pickups Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers in the mix. After eyeing a partnership with Payton in the past, Wilson has a clear bounce-back opportunity.

Broncos RB Javonte Williams Avoids PUP To Start Camp

July 27th, 2023 at 12:56pm CST by Ely Allen

JULY 27: Williams confirmed (via 9News’ Mike Klis) Thursday he has been cleared for contact work. The North Carolina alum said he was told his recovery timetable could last around a year. Instead, he has been cleared before the 10-month mark. Sean Payton said the team will proceed cautiously with Williams, who has two years remaining on his rookie contract.

JULY 23: The Broncos delivered some good news as they announced some injury list placements today, leaving third-year running back Javonte Williams off of any lists as he continues to work his way back from last year’s season-ending injury. While there’s still work to be done, Williams’s continued participation in this offseason points to a Week 1 return for Denver’s lead back.

Williams suffered a blow to his sophomore season when he suffered a torn ACL after only four weeks of play last year, ending his season. The initial diagnosis was dire enough, but further reports detailed that Williams had also torn his LCL and posterior lateral corner, making his road to recovery a bit longer.

As Denver entered into the offseason, the goal became clear: get Williams back in time for training camp. Things were looking positive as Williams was on the field for spring activities. He only worked out in a limited capacity, but getting Williams on the field at all that early was a big step. Earlier this month, Williams expressed much of the same optimism that his team had been expressing publicly, believing himself that he’d be able to make a return by training camp. His absence from any designated injury lists today is yet another good sign of where he’s at in his recovery.

Williams injury had originally occurred during a season in which he was expected to take on much more work after splitting carries with Melvin Gordon as a rookie. When he returns this season, though, there won’t be too big of an expectation to work as a bell-cow in the Broncos offense. New head coach Sean Payton is certainly familiar with two-headed rushing attacks dating back to the Pierre Thomas–Reggie Bush duo and the Alvin Kamara–Mark Ingram combinations in New Orleans. While Gordon is now in Baltimore and Mike Boone found his way to Houston, Denver plans to pair Williams with former Bengals rusher Samaje Perine, who signed with the team in March. Perine has a history of being a strong RB2 over his career, which should take a bit of the pressure off of Williams’s shoulders.

While Williams’s absence from any lists is the main news, the Broncos did move four players from the active roster, according to Broncos lead writer Aric DiLalla. Outside linebacker Baron Browning and wide receiver Kendall Hinton were placed on the physically unable to perform list, while wide receiver K.J. Hamler and nose tackle Mike Purcell were placed on the non-football injury list.

Browning underwent knee surgery in June, but he hasn’t yet been ruled out from returning in time for the regular season. Hinton also went through a knee procedure, so his placement on the list is no surprise. Hamler was expected to be ready in time for training camp as he works his way back from a pectoral tear, but Denver will have to wait a little longer.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/23

July 25th, 2023 at 7:43pm CST by Ben Levine

With a number of teams preparing for the start of training camp, a long list of players were placed on inactive lists today. We’ve compiled all of those and today’s other minor moves below:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Free Agents

Isaiah Wilson hasn’t had an NFL gig since he was released by the Giants in January of 2022. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the free agent lineman was slapped with a three-game suspension, but it’s uncertain what led to the temporary ban. Wilson was a first-round pick by the Titans in 2020 but got into only one game with Tennessee before getting shipped off to Miami. He was waived by Miami after showing up late to his team physical, and his practice squad stint with New York only lasted one season.

Max Garcia is an experienced addition to the Saints OL room, with the veteran having most recently started seven of his 12 appearances with the Cardinals in 2022. The 31-year-old has 59 games of starting experience, although Pro Football Focus was iffy on his production last year (63rd among 77 qualifying offensive guards).

Following a three-year stint in Cleveland, Terrance Mitchell has spent the past two seasons bouncing around the NFL. He got into 14 games (13 starts) for the Texans in 2021, finishing with 60 tackles and 10 passes defended. He spent the 2022 season with the Titans, finishing with 39 tackles in 11 games (five starts). 49ers fifth-round pick Darrell Luter Jr. is set to miss some time with a knee injury, providing Mitchell with an opportunity during training camp.

Broncos DL Eyioma Uwazurike Issued Indefinite Gambling Suspension

July 24th, 2023 at 5:44pm CST by Adam La Rose

The identity of the latest NFL player to receive NFL discipline for violation of the league’s gambling policy has been learned. Broncos defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike has been banned indefinitely, as noted (on Twitter) by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Uwazurike was found to have wagered on NFL games in 2022, his rookie season. As a result, he will now miss the upcoming campaign and is ineligible to apply for reinstatement until July 24, 2024. The news marks a blow to the Broncos’ defensive front, and to the 25-year-old’s career future.

A fourth-round pick out of Iowa State, Uwazurike appeared in eight games last year, seeing playing time in the latter half of the season. He saw a 31% snap share on defense, recording 17 tackles and a pair of QB hits while also blocking a field goal. Uwazurike was in line to take on a larger workload this season, but that will no longer be the case. The Broncos saw Dre’Mont Jones depart in free agency, and replaced him with ex-Cardinal Zach Allen. The latter, along with the likes of Matt Henningsen, D.J. Jones and Mike Purcell, will log most of the snaps along Denver’s D-line.

“We were informed by the NFL today that Eyioma Uwazurike has been suspended by the league indefinitely for violating its gambling policy,” the Broncos said in a statement. “Our organization fully cooperated with this investigation and takes matters pertaining to the integrity of the game very seriously.

“The Denver Broncos will continue to provide all members of our organization with the necessary education, resources and support to ensure compliance with the NFL’s Gambling Policy.”

The 2023 offseason has been littered with players being issued either full-season bans for gambling on NFL games, or shorter punishments for placing wagers on non-NFL events while at team facilities. Uwazurike has joined that growing list, and he will now spend at least the next calendar year out of the Broncos’ plans and away from football.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/21/23

July 21st, 2023 at 7:56pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league as teams prepare their rosters for training camp:

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Washington Commanders

 

There are some big names in Baltimore that won’t be healthy to open camp. Two offensive youngsters who can’t seem to stay on the field, Dobbins and Bateman, continue to struggle to get healthy. Bateman sat out most of the spring after receiving a cortisone shot in hopes it would help get him back in time for camp. While he didn’t report, general manager Eric DeCosta expects him back soon, according to the team’s editorial director Ryan Mink. Dobbins has started thinking about his second contract this summer, and getting healthy will be key to gaining any leverage in negotiations. Ricard is no surprise, as head coach John Harbaugh predicted this placement a month ago. Bowser, though, experienced an unexpected flare up in his knee this spring after missing eight games last season.

In Cleveland, Goodwin experienced a medical scare recently when discomfort in his legs and shortness of breath turned out to be blood clots in his legs and lungs, according to James Palmer of NFL Network. He will miss the start of training camp as the clots are addressed.

In Denver, a kicking competition appears to be in the cards. The team held a workout for Maher, Elliott Fry, and Parker White back in May and ended up signing Fry. Now, with Maher joining the team, and the exit of Brandon McManus, the position battle between Maher and Fry will continue.

In Wisconsin, Gary and Stokes each ended their season after Week 9 of last year due to long-term injuries. Both will continue slowly working their way back in order to play big roles on defense.

In Vegas, Wilson, this year’s seventh overall pick, will have to be patient in finding his way to the field for his rookie year. He was expected to be cleared for training camp after ending his college career with a Lisfranc injury, but he’ll have to wait just a bit longer. The Raiders are counting on him to relieve some of the defensive responsibilities of Chandler Jones and Maxx Crosby.

This Date In Transactions History: Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas Sign Extensions

July 15th, 2023 at 9:39am CST by Ben Levine

With the deadline looming for extension-eligible players, two of the league’s top wideouts signed lucrative extensions with their organizations on this day eight years ago. On July 15, 2015, Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant and Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas signed new deals with their squads.

The two 2010 first-round WRs were slapped with the franchise tag before they could hit unrestricted free agency, and negotiations with their respective teams hadn’t necessarily gone smoothly. In fact, the NFL Players Association threatened to file a collusion complaint against the Cowboys and Broncos over the lack of extension progress, and both Bryant and Thomas began teased holdouts as the July 15 deadline approached.

Ultimately, both players ended up getting their desired pacts from their new squads, with the duo seeking deals that approached Calvin Johnson‘s $16.21MM average annual salary. Bryant and Thomas ultimately signed similar five-year, $70MM deals; the two players were previously attached to franchise tags worth $12.8MM.

At that point of his career, Bryant had established himself as one of the league’s elite wideouts. At the time of his signing, Bryant hadn’t missed a game in three seasons, and he was coming off his third-straight campaign with at least 88 catches and 12 touchdowns. He took it to another level during his contract year, hauling in a career-high 16 touchdowns while tying a career-best 15.0 yards-per-catch mark.

Unfortunately for the receiver and the Cowboys, that 2014 campaign that preceded his extension was the last time Bryant would earn an All-Pro selection in his career. His 2015 season was limited to only eight games while he dealt with a lingering foot injury, although he did return to Pro Bowl status in 2016 after finishing with 50 catches and eight touchdowns in 13 games. Bryant managed to revert to his durable self during the 2017 season, appearing in all 16 games. However, his 12.1 yards-per-reception mark set a new career-low, and with two years remaining on his deal, the Cowboys moved on from the wideout.

Bryant joined the Saints for the 2018 season, but he ended up missing the year thanks to a torn Achilles. He sat out the 2019 season while seeking a new job before catching on with the Ravens in 2020. He caught six passes in six games for Baltimore, and he hasn’t earned an NFL contract since that gig.

The Broncos got a bit more production out of their extension with Thomas. Prior to signing his new deal, the receiver was coming off a three-year stretch where he averaged 99 receptions, 1,494 receiving yards, and close to 12 touchdowns per season (he added another five scores in five playoff games). While Thomas would never hit those numbers again, his first season under his new deal was still plenty productive. The wideout finished the year with 1,304 receiving yards and six touchdowns before earning his lone Super Bowl championship.

Thomas would only have one more 1,000-yard season after 2015. Despite losing Peyton Manning under center for the 2016 season, the receiver still earned a Pro Bowl nod after compiling 1,083 yards. Inconsistent QB play led to Thomas finishing with only 949 receiving yards in 2017, and with the Broncos eyeing a rebuild in 2018, Thomas was traded to the Texans. Following a brief stint with the Patriots during the 2019 preseason, Thomas caught on with the Jets, hauling in 36 receptions in 11 games. After not playing during the 2020 season, Thomas announced his retirement.

Teams are naturally cautious when it comes to handing out big-money extensions. You can’t blame the Cowboys nor the Broncos for extending their star wideouts, but it also shouldn’t have come as a huge surprise that neither player ended up completing their deals with their respective teams.

2023 NFL Dead Money, By Team

July 14th, 2023 at 4:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Accounting for players who appear on teams’ cap sheets but not on their rosters, dead money is a factor for all 32 teams. This year, dead money comprises more than 20% of five teams’ payrolls. Two teams who followed through (successfully) with all-in missions in recent years — the Buccaneers and Rams — each have more than 30% of their payrolls devoted to dead-cap hits.

Going into training camp, here is how dead money factors into each team’s cap sheet:

  1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $75.32MM
  2. Los Angeles Rams: $74.23MM
  3. Green Bay Packers: $57.14MM
  4. Philadelphia Eagles: $54.73MM
  5. Carolina Panthers: $51.54MM
  6. Arizona Cardinals: $36.96MM
  7. Tennessee Titans: $36.56MM
  8. Minnesota Vikings: $35.54MM
  9. Houston Texans: $31.72MM
  10. Las Vegas Raiders: $29.95MM
  11. Indianapolis Colts: $24.89MM
  12. New Orleans Saints: $24.58MM
  13. Chicago Bears: $23.52MM
  14. Washington Commanders: $23.01MM
  15. New York Giants: $22.74MM
  16. New England Patriots: $21.82MM
  17. Atlanta Falcons: $18.78MM
  18. Detroit Lions: $18.69MM
  19. Seattle Seahawks: $17.91MM
  20. San Francisco 49ers: $17.16MM
  21. Cleveland Browns: $16MM
  22. Dallas Cowboys: $14.64MM
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: $13.26MM
  24. Baltimore Ravens: $10.78MM
  25. Denver Broncos: $9.72MM
  26. Miami Dolphins: $8.43MM
  27. New York Jets: $7.95MM
  28. Kansas City Chiefs: $7.65MM
  29. Buffalo Bills: $5.23MM
  30. Jacksonville Jaguars: $4.7MM
  31. Los Angeles Chargers: $2.19MM
  32. Cincinnati Bengals: $593K

No team broke the Falcons’ record for dead money devoted to a single player. The Falcons’ Matt Ryan trade left them with $40.52MM last year. But the Bucs and Rams incurred some dead money collectively this offseason.

Tom Brady‘s Tampa Bay exit created much of the Bucs’ issue here. Brady not signing another Bucs deal, instead retiring for a second time, accelerated $35.1MM in dead money onto the Bucs’ 2023 cap sheet. The team had used void years increasingly during Brady’s tenure, and his second restructure created the $35.1MM figure. The Bucs will swallow the post-Brady pill this year, with no dead money related to that contract on their books in 2024.

Three ex-Rams combine to take up $55MM of their dead-money haul. The Rams traded Allen Robinson to the Steelers earlier this year, but that three-year, $46.5MM deal Los Angeles authorized in 2022 will result in Robinson’s former team carrying a $21.5MM dead-money hit in 2023. The Rams are eating $19.6MM of Jalen Ramsey‘s contract, and bailing on Leonard Floyd‘s four-year, $64MM extension after two seasons moved $19MM in dead money to L.A.’s 2023 payroll. The Rams did not use the post-June 1 designation to release Floyd, keeping the dead money on that deal tied to 2023 only.

The Packers did come close to breaking the Falcons’ record for dead money on a single contract. Green Bay following through on the Aaron Rodgers trade left $40.31MM in dead money on this year’s Packers cap. Because the Packers traded Rodgers before June 1, that hit will be entirely absorbed this year. It also took a Rodgers restructure on his way out to move the cap damage down to $40MM. The Panthers trading Christian McCaffrey after June 1 last year left the second chunk of dead money ($18.35MM) to be carried on this year’s cap. It also cost Carolina $14.63MM in dead cap to trade D.J. Moore to the Bears.

The Bears used both their post-June 1 cut designations last year (Tarik Cohen, Danny Trevathan) and also have a $13.23MM Robert Quinn cap hold. The Cardinals had already used their two allotted post-June 1 cut designations this offseason. As result, DeAndre Hopkins is on Arizona’s books at $21.1MM this year. Because they cut the All-Pro wide receiver before June 1, the Cards will be free of Hopkins obligations after this year.

While the Raiders built in the escape hatch in Derek Carr‘s 2022 extension, keeping the dead money on their nine-year QB’s contract low, Cory Littleton — a 2022 post-June 1 cut — still counts nearly $10MM on their cap sheet. Fellow 2022 post-June 1 release Julio Jones still counts more than $8MM on the Titans’ payroll. The Cowboys went to the post-June 1 well with Ezekiel Elliott this year, but their 2022 designation (La’el Collins) leads the way with $8.2MM on this year’s Dallas payroll.

This Date In Transactions History: Broncos Extend LT Ryan Clady

July 14th, 2023 at 2:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mid-July annually features extension talks ramping up, particularly for a small group of players. With the deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions looming July 15 in most years (or around that date if July 15 falls on a weekend, as it does this year), dozens of extensions in the tag era (1993-present) have been completed around this point.

One of them came 10 years ago today. On July 14, 2013, the Broncos and cornerstone left tackle Ryan Clady agreed to terms on a five-year deal worth $52.5MM. The Broncos had tagged Clady earlier that year, keeping Peyton Manning‘s blindside protector off the market for $9.83MM. Illustrating where the salary cap has taken tag values, it would have cost a team $18.24MM to tag an offensive lineman this year.

Clady’s peak reached as high as just about any offensive lineman in Broncos history. Only he and stalwart center Tom Nalen earned two first-team All-Pro nods as Broncos. Denver used its 2008 first-round pick on Clady, who excelled at Boise State, and immediately plugged him in as Jay Cutler‘s blindside protector. (Clady earned second-team All-Pro honors as a rookie and finished third in that year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.)

The franchise abruptly changed course at quarterback upon hiring Josh McDaniels as head coach a year later, leading to the team trading Cutler to the Bears. But Clady earned first-team All-Pro acclaim for his work as Kyle Orton‘s left tackle. Clady suffered a patellar tendon tear suffered while playing basketball during the 2010 offseason, moving him off the Pro Bowl level in 2010, but he rebounded to help the Broncos make a surprise playoff run after changing their offense to suit Tim Tebow‘s skillset the following year.

After returning to the Pro Bowl level in 2011, Clady notched his second All-Pro honor during Manning’s first season in Colorado. With Manning signed to a five-year, $96MM deal, the Broncos made sure to keep his top O-lineman off the market via the tag. Negotiations ramped up just before the tag deadline, and the sides reached an agreement on a deal that made Clady the third-highest-paid tackle — behind Jason Peters and Joe Thomas — at the time.

Denver’s deal came with $33MM guaranteed, and two more All-Pro selections would have bumped the value to $57.5MM. While the contract gave the talented blocker security, injuries soon caught up with Clady. After Clady suffered a shoulder malady late in the 2012 season, he sustained a season-ending Lisfranc injury in Week 2 of the 2013 season. Although Clady came back in 2014 and collected his fourth Pro Bowl honor, he suffered an ACL tear in May 2015. Clady collected a Super Bowl ring as a member of that Broncos team, but he did not play a down that season.

The Broncos, who had plugged in Chris Clark as their LT replacement during their Super Bowl XLVIII-qualifying season, primarily used Ryan Harris as their left tackle during their Super Bowl-winning year two seasons later. The team traded Clady to the Jets in April 2016. After Clady — the Jets’ D’Brickashaw Ferguson successor — wound up on IR in November 2016, he opted to retire during the 2017 offseason. The Broncos used Russell Okung as a one-year stopgap in 2016 before drafting Garett Bolles in the 2017 first round. Bolles is currently tied to a four-year, $68MM extension.

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