Suggestions to rename the Stapleton neighborhood had an orange and blue hue.
While residents of Stapleton can now vote on nine new names, there were a handful of Broncos fans in the neighborhood who wanted it renamed in honor of a Denver football great.
Among the 331 names suggested via a community straw poll from 3,422 people, there were seven Broncos-related names.
None of those made the cut to be a finalist, but as the neighborhood moves forward with shedding the namesake of a former mayor who belonged to the Ku Klux Klan, it’s worth visiting what might have been.
Three ideas were centered around honoring the legacy of former Broncos owner and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Pat Bowlen: Bowlen Green, Bowlen Place and Bowlenville.
Denver’s Super Bowl-champion quarterbacks were also the recipient of name nominations — Peyton Place and Peytonville for Peyton Manning, and Elwayville for John Elway.
There was also a nomination to call the neighborhood Briscoe, in honor of former Broncos quarterback Marlin Briscoe.
In 1968, Briscoe made five starts for Denver and thus became the first Black quarterback to start in the American Football League (and the first Black quarterback of the modern NFL era).
Of sports-related suggestions, there was also one for former Nuggets coach Doug Moe — Doug Moe Town.
Simmons signs franchise tender. Safety Justin Simmons signed his franchise tender Tuesday, according to a league source. If Simmons and the Broncos don’t reach agreement on a long-term contract by 2 p.m. Wednesday, he will be paid $11.441 million this year. The team’s leader with four interceptions last year, Simmons told the Broncos last week he intended to sign the tender, which means he will report to training camp, tentatively scheduled for later this month. A secondteam All Pro in 2019, Simmons will be eligible for free agency in March 2021 if the Broncos don’t tag him again.