AnAngryAmerican Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I know we all love the draft but, before the draft, we have free agency. Let's use this thread to discuss that topic now that we have our GM in place. For those who are newer and may not know, there are two great websites for following salary cap information - Over The Cap and Spotrac - use those websites to keep tabs on things. As regards the cap, Mike Klis shared some good news for us regarding the 2021 free agency period, we've been able to roll over $17.788 million to the 2021 cap, giving us more room even with the revenue downturn that will lead to an expected cap decrease. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsthomp2007 Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I'd like Paton to get in there and clean house to get as much money as possible available for FAs...not that he needs to spend it all. In terms of applying that money...Simmons should get a good fraction of that money. And in all honesty, that's about the only FA I'd like to see them make, unless it's for a shut down corner. I'm on board with Paton building through the draft, which we've done. We are a QB, a MBL, and some depth away from being significant. I agree with Paton...we are a sleeping giant...we are Tom Glavin, or the 90s Cowboys...we suck and then all of a sudden we explode and nobody can stop us!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
germ-x Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 What does the cap space look like? Though I read Denver is in good shape there. Able to bring back Simmons and address other issues by adding a couple other bigger name FAs. Haven’t looked at who all is on the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
germ-x Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Gotta say. I think edge is somewhat of a big need for this team. Chubb is a good player. Miller is either done in Denver or declining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnAngryAmerican Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 7 minutes ago, germ-x said: What does the cap space look like? Though I read Denver is in good shape there. Able to bring back Simmons and address other issues by adding a couple other bigger name FAs. Haven’t looked at who all is on the market. According to Spotrac, we have $16.8m in cap space with the NFL’s projected cap of $175 (that is not set in stone, yet, and the exact figure will be announced sometime in February). We can save the following amounts by cutting the following players: Von Miller - $13.2m Jurell Casey - $12.2m AJ Bouye - $11.9m Kareem Jackson - $7.2m There are others at smaller amounts but those four represent the top-4 in savings we could get. I would say it’s a safe bet that both Bouye and Casey are gone, saving us a total of $24.1m, which is huge. Also worth noting is that when we give Justin Simmons his long-term deal it will be structured in a way that spreads the guaranteed money over multiple years and has a low impact on next year’s cap. Most (all?) teams will do this in free agency as revenue next season will likely be significantly higher post-pandemic and the cap is likely to rebound to, with any luck, the $190-$200m range. With $24.1m and Simmon’s contract being structured in a way that his cap hit in 2021 is $5m or less, we still have plenty of money to make another big splash, sign some role-players and have money for our draft picks. The way I see it, we can get one “A” free agent + three or four role players or two “B” free agents and two or three role players. That’s assuming we keep Von and Kareem, things would look differently if we parted with one or both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
germ-x Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 9 minutes ago, AnAngryAmerican said: According to Spotrac, we have $16.8m in cap space with the NFL’s projected cap of $175 (that is not set in stone, yet, and the exact figure will be announced sometime in February). We can save the following amounts by cutting the following players: Von Miller - $13.2m Jurell Casey - $12.2m AJ Bouye - $11.9m Kareem Jackson - $7.2m There are others at smaller amounts but those four represent the top-4 in savings we could get. I would say it’s a safe bet that both Bouye and Casey are gone, saving us a total of $24.1m, which is huge. Also worth noting is that when we give Justin Simmons his long-term deal it will be structured in a way that spreads the guaranteed money over multiple years and has a low impact on next year’s cap. Most (all?) teams will do this in free agency as revenue next season will likely be significantly higher post-pandemic and the cap is likely to rebound to, with any luck, the $190-$200m range. With $24.1m and Simmon’s contract being structured in a way that his cap hit in 2021 is $5m or less, we still have plenty of money to make another big splash, sign some role-players and have money for our draft picks. The way I see it, we can get one “A” free agent + three or four role players or two “B” free agents and two or three role players. That’s assuming we keep Von and Kareem, things would look differently if we parted with one or both. I see. Agree with moving on from both Casey and Bouye, though they both were injured I liked both those moves for Denver. Von is the interesting one. Considering his current off the field look and his age and the fact that Denver won’t be competing for a SB, keeping him seems more about sentiment than what is smart for the franchise. He only has 1 year left on the contract. Unless he’s willing to restructure or resign for a bargain, I don’t see why if I am Paton I wouldn’t be moving on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Helicopter Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 4 hours ago, germ-x said: I see. Agree with moving on from both Casey and Bouye, though they both were injured I liked both those moves for Denver. Von is the interesting one. Considering his current off the field look and his age and the fact that Denver won’t be competing for a SB, keeping him seems more about sentiment than what is smart for the franchise. He only has 1 year left on the contract. Unless he’s willing to restructure or resign for a bargain, I don’t see why if I am Paton I wouldn’t be moving on. Give him an incentive based restructured contract (similar to PM). He stays out of trouble, starts 16/17 games, and hits certain performance milestones then he gets paid handsomely. If he doesn't accept that deal then consider other options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broncofan Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 4 hours ago, germ-x said: I see. Agree with moving on from both Casey and Bouye, though they both were injured I liked both those moves for Denver. Von is the interesting one. Considering his current off the field look and his age and the fact that Denver won’t be competing for a SB, keeping him seems more about sentiment than what is smart for the franchise. He only has 1 year left on the contract. Unless he’s willing to restructure or resign for a bargain, I don’t see why if I am Paton I wouldn’t be moving on. 26 minutes ago, The Helicopter said: Give him an incentive based restructured contract (similar to PM). He stays out of trouble, starts 16/17 games, and hits certain performance milestones then he gets paid handsomely. If he doesn't accept that deal then consider other options. Barring the legal issue becoming a real thing - Von isn’t going to take a pay cut - he might restructure if Paton offers an extension (by converting the salary to a bonus). It’s part of what makes elite players great at their peak - they don’t see the decline happening. Von won’t see a cut as deserved - and frankly, Elway committed to this last year. Elway sold the PFM restructure so he could afford the last pieces of a SB run. Paton can’t sell that at all. It’s really going to come down to 3 choices besides playing out the string - cut, trade or extend. The flip side is Von knows like the rest of us that we don’t have EDGE depth. So it’s a stare down. I personally don’t think an extension is wise. A trade or release seems the most likely scenario before a straight pay cut. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnAngryAmerican Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 (edited) 48 minutes ago, Broncofan said: Barring the legal issue becoming a real thing - Von isn’t going to take a pay cut - he might restructure if Paton offers an extension (by converting the salary to a bonus). It’s part of what makes elite players great at their peak - they don’t see the decline happening. Von won’t see a cut as deserved - and frankly, Elway committed to this last year. Elway sold the PFM restructure so he could afford the last pieces of a SB run. Paton can’t sell that at all. It’s really going to come down to 3 choices besides playing out the string - cut, trade or extend. The flip side is Von knows like the rest of us that we don’t have EDGE depth. So it’s a stare down. I personally don’t think an extension is wise. A trade or release seems the most likely scenario before a straight pay cut. We have Von’s right for only one more year, 2021. If the legal stuff goes away (which I think appears possible, if not likely) I wouldn’t be surprised to see Paton offer him a restructured contract with a 2 year extension. In 2023, Von will be 34, same age as Ware was when he retired. I envision something where the money remaining on his deal - $17.5m - and an additional portion, maybe $5.5m, is guaranteed but spread out over the 3 years to mitigate the cap hit and give us a way to move on in 2022 should Von significantly regress this year. I say the deal is 3 years, $40m with $23m guaranteed. If such a hypothetical contract is structured so the $17.5m hits this year (thus no impact, but no savings, on this year’s cap) and remaining $5.5m is all guarantees left, if he regresses we get out next year with only a 5.5m in dead money and, if we move on before the 2023 season, we off for free. Take the numbers as you want, it’s just an off the top of my head example, but a deal structured in this fashion is mutually beneficial - it gives Von an incentive to play well, work hard, be a leader, stay out of trouble and earn a lot more money; shows that Paton will take care of the team’s great players, demonstrating organizational loyalty (this will happen with the Simmons extension as well); it’s a win-win cap wise as we don’t put ourselves in cap hell if Von regresses significantly but at the same time provides the possibility to get a team-friendly price for an impact player at a critical position. Edited January 22, 2021 by AnAngryAmerican 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolly red giant Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 I don't think there has been any word on who Paton's Assistant will be - and I think it is important that this hire is made asap - and there has been nothing reported as far as I can see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broncos67 Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Bouye is gone. Klis basically said so. I would expect Casey is gone too. I also expect they either part ways with one of Jackson or Miller, but it won't be both. I expect Simmons to be re-signed. At first glance, the CB FA class looks poor. Patrick Peterson is the biggest name, and it wouldn't shock me if he was re-signed. The OLB class, however, looks pretty deep. Definitely some value at OLB- would love for us to bring someone in. Would also like to see some more DL depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grizmo78 Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 2 hours ago, jolly red giant said: I don't think there has been any word on who Paton's Assistant will be - and I think it is important that this hire is made asap - and there has been nothing reported as far as I can see. He said he’s going to make that decision after this offseason. Wants to work and evaluate the current scouting team before making that decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebestever6 Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Can we get out of the Gordon contract easily? If so I definitely would. And I'm interested to see how much Marlon Mack would command as like a bridge rb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broncofan48 Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Looks like getting rid of Driskell and Vannett will add some decent savings too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebestever6 Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 45 minutes ago, broncofan48 said: Looks like getting rid of Driskell and Vannett will add some decent savings too Never got these two signings Brandon Allen and even Jeff heurman were probably better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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