New-look Broncos begin defense of title
DENVER — The 2016 NFL season starts the same way the last one ended, with Von Miller staring down Cam Newton. Denver’s star linebacker got the best of Newton in Super Bowl 50, stripping both the football (twice) and the Lombardi Trophy from the Carolina quarterback’s grasp in the Broncos’ 24-10 win over the Panthers.
The sequel won’t feature Peyton Manning, who retired a month later. His replacement is Trevor Siemian, a seventh-round draft pick in 2015 from Northwestern who’ll be making his first NFL start Thursday night.
Siemian has never thrown a pass as a pro. At least he won’t have to face star cornerback Josh Norman, who signed with Washington after the Panthers rescinded their franchise tag in the offseason.
Instead, Siemian will square off against two rookie cornerbacks in James Bradberry and Daryl Worley, the biggest changes on the NFC champions’ roster that returns 18 starters.
“I’m not going to look at them like they’re rookies,” said Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who agreed to a three-year, $33 million contract extension Wednesday. “I’m going to treat them like they’re Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman.”
Sanders is one of just five offensive starters from the Super Bowl returning for the Broncos.
Brees, Saints agree to new deal
Quarterback Drew Brees agreed to a new contract that keeps him in New Orleans through the 2017 season, and a person familiar with the deal says it guarantees the recordsetting QB $44.3 million the next two years.
The deal also provides the Saints with nearly $13 million in additional spending flexibility under the 2016 salary cap as the team continues to shuffle the roster before Sunday’s opener against Oakland.
Odds and ends
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell disagrees with Colin Kaepernick’s choice to kneel during the national anthem but recognizes the quarterback’s right to protest. “We believe very strongly in patriotism in the NFL,” Goodell said. “I personally believe very strongly in that.” … The Bears signed three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Kyle Long to a four-year contract extension through 2021.