RB Perine gets two-year deal
Veteran is the seventh player Denver has agreed to terms with this week
Day 2 of the NFL’S negotiating period didn’t bring any further blockbusters for the Broncos, but it did deliver some backfield help.
Denver on Tuesday agreed to a two-year, $7.5 million contract with Cincinnati running back Samaje Perine, a league source confirmed to The Post, adding a veteran back to the stable of players general manager George Paton and company have added in the first two days of de-facto free agency.
The league year doesn’t begin officially until 2 p.m. Wednesday, but when it does the Broncos now have six new players expected to sign contracts — Perine, offensive linemen Mike Mcglinchey and Ben Powers, tight end Chris Manhertz, quarterback Jarrett Stidham and defensive lineman Zach Allen — in addition to agreeing to a three-year deal with returning linebacker Alex Singleton.
Perine checks another box Denver figured to try to fill via free agency considering running back Javonte Williams is attempting to return from a serious knee injury sustained Week 4 against Las Vegas. Paton said at the NFL Combine that the expectation is Williams will be ready by the beginning of the season, but if he’s not, Perine provides 76 games worth of experience as the next man up.
The 27-year-old spent the past three seasons with the Bengals and averaged 4.4 yards per carry in that span. In 2022, he carried the ball 95 times for 394 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Perhaps just as noteworthy: He caught 38 passes on 51 targets for 287 yards and four more scores.
Perine, 5-foot-11, 235 pounds, served primarily as a third-down back in 2021 and saw his playing time tick up from 27% that year to 41% in 2022. A 2017 fourth-round draft pick of Washington’s, Perine