Butt “crushing” rehabilitation
When new Broncos coach Vic Fangio conducts organized team activities this spring, tight end Jake Butt wants to be on the field following completion of his third ACL rehabilitation.
“I’ll be here all offseason rehabbing and at the very least I’ll be fully healthy for (training) camp,” Butt said. “I’m progressing and I have goals — I want to at least be doing something during OTAS. I feel really good.”
Butt had eight catches for 85 yards in the first three games of the 2018 season, but tore his left ACL for the first time in practice on Sept. 27.
“Literally a bad step,” he said. “I remember the ground giving way just slightly enough that it angled my knee. I heard it happen and I knew right away. … I really worked hard to get back out there and I was pleased with how I was playing and progressing. You understand it’s part of the game, but it was tough.”
Butt tore his right ACL twice in college. The second injury occurred in Michigan’s Orange Bowl game against Florida State in December 2016. Butt was drafted by the Broncos and sat out all of 2017.
After his latest injury, surgeons shaved part of Butt’s left hamstring, tied it in a bundle and used it as his new ACL. He said rehabilitation is going smoother than two years ago.
“Everything is different,” he said. “My first one, I came back in six months and had no pain, but I didn’t have patella tendinitis. My second one, I had a lot of tendinitis, which prevented me from pushing it and getting back quicker.
“This one reminds me a lot of my first one. I don’t even need to ice it half the time. I’m just rolling. Hopefully this is the last one.”
Tight end Jeff Heuerman is a free agent and if he departs, Butt should be in line for a starting spot in 2019, if he continues to progress this winter.
Watch for Callahan. One former Bears player Fangio and general manager John Elway should target is cornerback Bryce Callahan. Callahan, 27, was undrafted out of Rice, but Fangio helped develop him into a quality nickel corner who has started 29 of 45 games and has had four intercepvia tions.
Callahan played 675 defensive snaps this past season (including playoffs). If he joins the Broncos, it would allow Chris Harris to stay at an outside corner spot in certain situations.
Hiring quick takes
As of Friday afternoon, six of the league’s eight head coaching openings had been filled. Arizona (Kliff Kingsbury):
Losing record as a college coach, but quarterback tree includes current NFL starters Case Keenum, Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield. It may not work, but it will be interesting.
Broncos (Fangio): Elway went for the steak instead of the sizzle, going for a super-experienced defensive coach.
Cleveland (Freddie Kitchens): Once the Browns prioritized keeping Kitchens as Mayfield’s play-caller, they decided to make him the big whistle. His defensive staff hires will be critical. Green Bay (Matt Lafleur):
The Packers interviewed a whopping 10 candidates and settled on Lafleur, a former Sean Mcvay assistant with one year of playcalling experience. I thought Lafleur was a year away. New York Jets (Adam Gase):
The Jets are banking on Gase developing quarterback Sam Darnold and thriving now that he
won’t have final say on the 53man roster like he did in Miami. Tampa Bay (Bruce Arians):
Love it. Arians, 66, spent 2018 in the CBS booth but now gets a chance to save the career of quarterback Jameis Winston.
Around the NFL
Book shelf. The offseason is a great time to catch up on football reading. Each week, I’ll recommend one current book or one from the past. First up is Jeff Pearlman’s “Football For A Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL.” It is a terrific read about the summer football league that played from 1983-85. Pearlman deserves credit for exhaustive research and myriad interviews to describe how the USFL was created and began luring players from the NFL with big-money contracts, but ultimately sunk thanks to terrible ownership. Most amusing were the trials and tribulations of the Los Angeles Express and San Antonio Gunslingers.
Foles’ future. Nick Foles leads Philadelphia to New Orleans on Sunday and it could be his last game with the Eagles. The team has a contract option it can exercise and Foles would then have five days to void the option, pay back $2 million and become an unrestricted free agent. If Foles hits the free-agent market, he would have no shortage of suitors short-term/high guaranteed dollar deal.
Peyton’s magic touch. If Peyton Manning ever becomes a team executive, he should have no problem luring free agents if the financial offers are equal. He already knows how to close a deal for head coaches. Tuesday — Manning recommends Gase to New York Jets CEO Christopher Johnson. Wednesday — Gase is hired by the Jets.
Cousins wasn’t bad. The Vikings were one of the league’s most disappointing teams this past season, going from the NFC title game to out of the playoffs. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was not the final piece to their Super Bowl puzzle. But he wasn’t a dud, either. He was the first player in league history to pass for 4,000plus yards (4,298), 30 touchdowns (30), complete at least 70 percent of his passes (70.1) and throw 10 or fewer interceptions in a season (10).
Mccarthy sits out. Upon his in-season firing, then Packers coach Mike Mccarthy figured to be at the top of the candidate list. But he was too picky or teams weren’t inclined to give him mega-money ($7 million? $8 million?). The Jets chose Gase over Mccarthy. That puts him in the January 2020 hopper.
Footnotes. Harris is a first alternate for the AFC Pro Bowl team and thus needs one player to drop out. His best bet is New England’s Stephon Gilmore (whose team is in the playoffs). The others are Miami’s Xavien Howard, Jacksonville’s Jalen Ramsey and Cleveland’s Denzel Ward. … During Fangio’s news conference, the Broncos were smart to make it his day — he was the only one who answered questions at the podium and made the rounds to the electronic media. It was the opposite approach in Green Bay, where president Mark Murphy opened the event to introduce Lafleur with a 13-minute opening statement that sounded like a victory lap. … Three defensive players did not miss a snap this season: Broncos safety Justin Simmons (1,077), Philadelphia safety Malcolm Jenkins (1,038) and Jacksonville linebacker Myles Jack (1,025).