The Denver Broncos might want to take heed.
Free agency, even though it doesn’t officially begin until Wednesday afternoon, is catching up to the defending Super Bowl champions.
The division rival Oakland Raiders, young and ever-improving, are adding the most sought after offensive lineman, Kelechi Osemele.
Meantime the day after Peyton Manning announced his retirement, the Broncos lost one of the NFL’s best defensive lineman with Malik Jackson, tweeting he’s headed to Jacksonville.
They also face the proposition of now being without their two top quarterbacks of 2015, with the Texans eyeing a bidding war for Brock Osweiler.
The offensive line takes a hit with the release Tuesday of former Pro Bowl right guard Louis Vasquez (saving them $5.5 million in salary cap), while left guard Evan Mathis is set to become a free agent. The post-Super Bowl makeover also includes the release of tight end Owen Daniels and long-snapper Aaron Brewer, freeing nearly $3 million in cap space.
The Broncos losses — the Denver Post reports Chicago is making a big push for linebacker Danny Trevathan — are quickly becoming everyone else’s gains. Free agents can’t officially sign with teams until Wednesday but there is plenty of preparatory discussion.
“What a time to be alive,” tweeted Jackson, who reportedly is getting $90 million from Jacksonville in a six-year deal, with $42 million guaranteed.
Jackson had a career-best 45 tackles for the NFL’s No. 1 defence and knocked down a career-most seven passes. One of Jacksonville’s priorities was to improve a defence that ranked among the league’s worst at rushing the passer in 2015 with 36 sacks. With the return defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks from injury, Jackson’s addition should provide the Jags with a markedly improved defence.
The deal is expected to make Jackson the fourth-highest paid defensive lineman in the NFL; a cost the Broncos simply couldn’t afford under the cap.
Particularly not if they hope to retain Osweiler, who has indicated he’ll test the open market. He’s getting plenty of attention from Houston.
Broncos’ GM John Elway indicated at the Scouting Combine that he believed Osweiler should take less money to stay in Denver where he’s familiar with the offence and where he had his initial success this season. But the Texans might be an intriguing landing spot with owner Bob McNair saying the club wants to find its franchise quarterback.
And, with Sam Bradford and Kirk Cousins cashing in with $17 and $19 million deals, it has pushed Osweiler’s value significantly higher than the $5 million, or even $15 million, Elway was speaking about at the combine.
If the Texans open the vault, by the end of the week the Broncos most experienced quarterback could be Elway — and, only Elway.
That would put them in a precarious position in a tough division, including a Raiders team that will now have Osemele on an offensive line that needed an upgrade to go with its young building blocks including quarterback Derek Carr, receiver Amari Cooper and tight end Clive Walford.
Baltimore had hoped to retain Osemele to protect Joe Flacco’s blind side but the Raiders are reportedly paying $11 million per season, a price the Ravens couldn’t match. Oakland had the second-most cap room in the NFL; the Ravens the second least.
So it’s a good thing the Broncos can celebrate winning Super Bowl this year; because next year just winning the division might be asking too much.
Link : http://www.torontosun.com/2016/03/08/broncos-lose-jackson-to-free-agency-could-qb-osweiler-be-next
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