Elway-led Broncos entering key week of their offseason
Wednesday night, three days after arriving in Indianapolis for a week of watching and talking, Broncos general manager John Elway will stand in front of reporters inside the Indiana Convention Center to discuss NFL prospects and quarterbacks and his evaluation process of both. He may even discuss players’ hand size. He probably will weigh in on the importance of interviews and emphasize the gigantic leap these players will take from college to the pros.
The NFL scouting combine has a routine and Elway has his script, but what really matters for that week — and for the days to follow — is what he doesn’t say, what he doesn’t show and what happens away from media.
While attention will be paid to some 300 prospects in the meat market of the combine (Feb. 27 through March 5), the Broncos will have much more on their agenda. In addition to analyzing future draft picks, they also will be planning their biggest moves of the offseason.
The combine, an event geared for the draft, also is where the foundation for many free-agent moves is laid and where the Broncos likely will begin their roster revamp in earnest. And this year, the combine may be the most important yet in Elway’s seven-year tenure as an executive, as discussions will continue about not just his current list of future free-agent players but likely those he targets, too.
The NFL’S anti-tampering policy bans under-the-table negoti-
ating or comments of interest to players or agents of those players not currently on a team’s roster. The league allows a two-day legal tampering period before the new league year begins, promptly at 2 p.m. MST on March 14, and those 48 hours of lead-up are designed for such conversations. In that time, deals can be agreed upon but not signed.
But the foundations for those deals — the initial conversations, the back-andforth over drinks — begin months in advance and are often solidified in Indianapolis.
But the gray area in the NFL is huge. Consider: Mike Mccartney, the son of former Colorado football coach Bill Mccartney, is the agent for Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian. Once a starter, Siemian has one year remaining on his contract, so discussion between the Broncos and Mccartney about Siemian’s future is kosher by league rules.
Mccartney also is the agent for quarterback Kirk Cousins, likely soon to be the highest-paid player in the NFL. Since he’s not on the Broncos’ roster, his name technically can’t be discussed by the Broncos. Right.
Art of back-room dealing
It’s in Indianapolis where the true suitors and their plan for trying to acquire Cousins likely will come into view. The Broncos could be one, along with the Vikings, Jets, Browns, Cardinals and Bills — all with varying salary cap space and selling points. And whether it’s Cousins or another name, the Broncos have made it clear they need an upgrade at quarterback.
“That position didn’t perform as well as we wanted it to,” Elway said at the team’s season-ending news conference in January.
After two playoff-less seasons behind a rotating cast of starters, the Broncos need someone to grab hold at quarterback and many — especially current Denver players — believe Elway will make a splash in the free-agent market to find his guy. It may be Cousins. It may be Case Keenum, who had a breakout season with Minnesota. It most likely will be someone not currently in Denver.
Should the Broncos land a free-agent quarterback and/or pick one high in the draft, they also have to figure out what to do with the other three on their roster: Siemian, Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly. Siemian, a seventh-round draft pick in 2015, went 13-11 as a starter but likely is the odd man out. If the Broncos do land a veteran or draft a quarterback at No. 5, he is expected to be shopped for a trade or released.
“We all understand how the quarterback position has a direct influence on your team plays. Obviously we have to get better there, whoever is going to be the quarterback,” coach Vance Joseph said. “That being said, we can get better in a lot of areas, like protecting the quarterback, continuing to run the football better and to play dominant defense. Having a quarterback that help us become a more efficient offense and help us score more points and not turn the ball over, that can only help us get better. But we have to focus not only on that, but also on other parts of the football team.”
The Broncos’ biggest change may be at quarterback in 2018, but it won’t be the only one. Denver is on the hook for only about $5 million to all three quarterbacks in 2018.
Cousins is expected to land close to $30 million a year and perhaps more than $90 million in guarantees, and to make room the Broncos would have to make changes to their current stable of players. Two names atop the list of potential exits are cornerback Aqib Talib and running back C.J. Anderson who, collectively, would create an additional $15.5 million in salary cap space if released.
“It’s our goal to keep all of our good players, but obviously it’s a business where every year you have to do a selfevaluation of what’s best for our football team,” Joseph said. “If those guys are the best fit for our football them, then they’ll be here. We want every player that can help us win football games here. But it’s also a business side that we have to consider.”
Top talent could be gone
If Talib is released, the hunt for depth at cornerback in his absence will begin. The need for help on the offensive line still exists for the Broncos — it has for nearly five years now — and the Broncos could use additional offensive weapons at wide receiver, running back and tight end.
Their starting inside linebacker, Todd Davis, and top reserve, Corey Nelson, will be free agents in March, and discussions about their future will surely take place in Indianapolis. Talks about talent on the defensive line could be had, too, as well as special teams.
All the while, Elway must balance maintaining one of his selling points in the Broncos’ defense while revamping their glaring weakness.
“I really don’t like taking away from a strength,” he said. “If it’s a known strength and you’re not that positive that you’re going into another strength, I like what I know rather than what I might not know even though I think it might help us.”
The strategizing in Indianapolis may come to fruition in the weeks to come. But while most eyes will be on the prospects and the talk will be on the upcoming draft, the week ahead is about much more.
“We want to find players that will help us get better in all aspects,” Joseph said. “Obviously the quarterback, that’s a big topic in the city, but we want to find players that we can get better at in a lot of positions and not just with just one. But simply finding Broncos, guys who are going to do it our way and do it for the team first.”
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or @Nickijhabvala