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2018 Free Agency Discussion Thread


AnAngryAmerican

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Given RT is our glaring weakness and we’d only commit to 1 year and likely get a comp pick back if we couldn’t sign him as long as it’s no worse than a Day 3 pick I could definitely get behind this.  The T class sucks in FA except Solder but way too $$ at his age.  On the the  hand James is RT only but he’s actually played well the last 2 years, is younger and would also not cost nearly as much at his 9M/1-year salary or as long as Solder.

 A good short term move that can pay off with either an extension if he plays well and wants to stay or a comp pick for 1 year like Okung (if he sucks we don’t get anything lol).   Since MIA in cap hell the price likely isn’t crazy either. 

I imagine SEA and other teams will be interested.  Even after the Landry deal MIA is in real cap trouble so this is a very real scenario IMO.  Deal has to happen before Wed 4 PM so keep an eye here.  

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4 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

Given RT is our glaring weakness and we’d only commit to 1 year and likely get a comp pick back if we couldn’t sign him as long as it’s no worse than a Day 3 pick I could definitely get behind this.  The T class sucks in FA except Solder but way too $$ at his age.  On the ithe hand James is RT only but younger and would also not cost nearly as much at his 9M/1-year salary or as long as Solder.

 A good short term move that can pay off with either an extension if he plays well and wants to stay or a comp pick for 1 year like Okung (if he sucks we don’t get anything lol).   Since MIA in cap hell the price likely isn’t crazy either. 

I imagine SEA and other teams will be interested.  Even after the Landry deal MIA is in real cap trouble so this is a very real scenario IMO.  Deal has to happen before Wed 4 PM so keep an eye here.  

I’d be all for it depending on the price.  What is his cap hit this year?

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5 minutes ago, germ-x said:

I’d be all for it depending on the price.  What is his cap hit this year?

9.3M then a FA.  Very much a value if he plays as well as he did the last 2 years.  And he has a much lower risk of age related decline.  I doubt MIA would be dealing him if they weren’t in cap hell.  He’s literally one of 2 cuts left they can make to clear cap space in a big way.  

I really like this because I think we can get a future G/C in Rd3/4.   But T much harder.  Would allow immediate QB protection too which increases our chances we stick to rookie QB 1.5. 

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2 minutes ago, germ-x said:

I’d be all for it depending on the price.  What is his cap hit this year?

$2.6m plus it would allow us to cut Watson which saves $4.5m. Hard to oppose a move that gets us better, younger and cheaper at RT all in one go. Make it happen Elway. 

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1 minute ago, Broncofan said:

9.3M then a FA.  Very much a value if he plays as well as he did the last 2 years.  And he has a much lower risk of age related decline.  I doubt MIA would be dealing him if they weren’t in cap hell.  He’s literally one of 2 cuts left they can make to clear cap space in a big way.  

 

Oh wait you’re right it’s his option year in 2018. I’m not sure we can afford to pay him that much unless we cut one of the WRs. 

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1 minute ago, paul-mac said:

 

Oh wait you’re right it’s his option year in 2018. I’m not sure we can afford to pay him that much unless we cut one of the WRs. 

If we don’t spend 18-20M for a Keenum but wait for the next tier at 10-12M one year it’s very doable.  

Bradford / McCown / Bridgewater - one of those guys will be left in the cold.  I don’t care which one because whoever we draft will be playing after week 6-10 latest. 

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I’ve been on this for awhile now, but if Denver were to trade for James, Josh Sitton would be a nice FA addition.  Sitton will not come dirt cheap, but on a more than fair deal for an elite OG.  I’m thinking something in the 3 year $20-25 million range, maybe at his age (32) they can get him closer to $18 million if the market isn’t great.

Bolles, Sitton, Paradis, Leary, James would maybe form the best on paper offensive line Denver’s had since ‘98. It would be contingent on Elway being able to draft behind them because there is no way it’s feasible to pay up that OL for more than a year or 2.  But that’s part of the NFL game.  That OL would sure as hell help out a young QB.  It’d also allow Denver to focus their early picks along other units and allow them to draft more toward BPA.

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34 minutes ago, germ-x said:

I’ve been on this for awhile now, but if Denver were to trade for James, Josh Sitton would be a nice FA addition.  Sitton will not come dirt cheap, but on a more than fair deal for an elite OG.  I’m thinking something in the 3 year $20-25 million range, maybe at his age (32) they can get him closer to $18 million if the market isn’t great.

Bolles, Sitton, Paradis, Leary, James would maybe form the best on paper offensive line Denver’s had since ‘98. It would be contingent on Elway being able to draft behind them because there is no way it’s feasible to pay up that OL for more than a year or 2.  But that’s part of the NFL game.  That OL would sure as hell help out a young QB.  It’d also allow Denver to focus their early picks along other units and allow them to draft more toward BPA.

I don't think we would get 2 vet OL - we're likely to get 1 in FA, and in our first 3 picks in the draft.   That's why I favor the G/C in the draft - it's really hard to get a T at 2.7 who's ready to help early, and certainly not at 3.8, but we could get a C/G who could help this year.   I think we'd be definitely using McGovern first at G.  Given Leary's deal isn't guaranteed after 2018, and Paradis' recent struggles last year, we should explore C/G regardless.  

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2 hours ago, thebestever6 said:

I like it for a 5th and a 6th. Especially if only a 1 yr rental. Wonder what the cost is if cj is involved.

I was about to reply that if MIA's goal is to shed salary for the cap, given their roster, they'd be idiots to trade James for CJ.   Kenyan Drake is cheap, and he was nails down the stretch.  They signed CJ to that offer sheet because they had no confidence in Jay Ajayi - when Elway matched, they drafted Drake in the 3rd round.   Ajayi surprised them, but then wouldn't run where they wanted and freelanced too much, so they shipped him off to PHI.   While he won with PHI, Drake was great for MIA as their bellcow (when their other RB got hurt for the RoS) - remember he just mashed us, but did that in all of his games he started except the last one (where they just didn't use him, strangely enough).   

In a vacuum, that speculation would be as baseless as the Talib-for-a-1st/2nd scenario that was being discussed.  It would be really, really dumb to take CJ at 4.5M if their goal is to get cap-healthier.  Clearing as much cap space is the only sound reason to trade James, TBH.  For 29 of the 31 GM's in the league, I'd say it's a complete homer fan-based scenario that has no shot of happening even in a bizarro universe, and the offer would be rejected with a bunch of laughter from the guy on the other end of the phone.

BUT....

Then I remembered Mike Tannebaum is MIA's GM, and he's actually made really awful deals that are complete OMG-what-are-you-thinking head-scratcher deals like that.   And CJ would explain why we're being specifically mentioned instead of the 20+ other teams that would like to upgrade RT - as Tannenbaum made the original crazy offer that no one else came close to making (and then Elway decided to match).  Pretty much any team who doesn't have a top 10 RT would want to explore getting RT James, mentioning us specifically would make sense in that context.

Make no mistake, it would  be colossally stupid on MIA's part to trade James and get CJ back as the main return, but it's Tannebaum.  So it's definitely possible.  Dumb, but altogether possible with him.  Either way, the deadline is 4 PM Wed to get under the cap, I'd expect we'll hear before then.

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3 hours ago, Broncofan said:

9.3M then a FA.  Very much a value if he plays as well as he did the last 2 years.  And he has a much lower risk of age related decline.  I doubt MIA would be dealing him if they weren’t in cap hell.  He’s literally one of 2 cuts left they can make to clear cap space in a big way.  

I really like this because I think we can get a future G/C in Rd3/4.   But T much harder.  Would allow immediate QB protection too which increases our chances we stick to rookie QB 1.5. 

Why on earth would you think that? Hell, we can't even coach up the OL we've got.

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7 minutes ago, AKRNA said:

Why on earth would you think that? Hell, we can't even coach up the OL we've got.

Well, mainly because we cleaned house coaching staff-wise on the OL and strength side.  

We can't just spend 1st round picks on OL and top FA $ for each position and have team balance.   If there's a position of all the OL positions where the market devalues worth, it's G/C.   Last year is a great example - Dan Feeney went Rd3, as did Pat Eflein at C.  Year 1 contributors.  At some point, teams need to hit beyond Rd1.   OL-wise, the best pool of undervalued talent comes at C/G, and thus our best opportunity to find balance.    

Now, it does require Elway to stop whiffing on Day 2 for insane-tool-but-low-football skill guys and taking actual football-talent guys....so you've got me there.   At some point, the realization has got to sink in, but on that, I got nothing else. 

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2 hours ago, Broncofan said:

Well, mainly because we cleaned house coaching staff-wise on the OL and strength side.  

We can't just spend 1st round picks on OL and top FA $ for each position and have team balance.   If there's a position of all the OL positions where the market devalues worth, it's G/C.   Last year is a great example - Dan Feeney went Rd3, as did Pat Eflein at C.  Year 1 contributors.  At some point, teams need to hit beyond Rd1.   OL-wise, the best pool of undervalued talent comes at C/G, and thus our best opportunity to find balance.    

Now, it does require Elway to stop whiffing on Day 2 for insane-tool-but-low-football skill guys and taking actual football-talent guys....so you've got me there.   At some point, the realization has got to sink in, but on that, I got nothing else. 

I get that. We should (operative word here) be able to do that. A 1st about every decade or so, a 2nd about the same, and 3rd and lower every year. You cycle through most, re-sign a couple and always have 2-3 guys on rookie contracts. Outside of Kolar on the DL we just don't develop players. By next year Gotsis will look like a steal.

I just don't trust our coaching or talent evaluation bud. I really hope you're right about our new staff, I'd love it. Until I see it though.........

That's why I like Nelson at 5. He's one guy that as f**ked up as our coaching staff has been will succeed greatly regardless.

Pretty pessimistic post isn't it? Do I get a "Debbie Downer" award or something?

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6 hours ago, AKRNA said:

I get that. We should (operative word here) be able to do that. A 1st about every decade or so, a 2nd about the same, and 3rd and lower every year. You cycle through most, re-sign a couple and always have 2-3 guys on rookie contracts. Outside of Kolar on the DL we just don't develop players. By next year Gotsis will look like a steal.

I just don't trust our coaching or talent evaluation bud. I really hope you're right about our new staff, I'd love it. Until I see it though.........

That's why I like Nelson at 5. He's one guy that as f**ked up as our coaching staff has been will succeed greatly regardless.

Pretty pessimistic post isn't it? Do I get a "Debbie Downer" award or something?

For a guy who is known to be a glass half-full perspective-taker, as you are, I'd just say that's a sadly realistic take, and a sobering one given how you like to view the best of things.   It's like you (and the rest of the fanbase) are a perpetual victim to be so shell-shocked by repeated abuses that now you're gunshy.   Not as much an indicator on you, as it is on our past record.   


And I hear you too.  But as you agree, we just can't spend a 1st on each position (or big $).   So we have to try and maximize our chances of not whiffing.   C/G is just the best chance of picking later, and finding a guy.  It's why I said earlier that I'd pass on Sitton - but would be fine with James, totally on board and pushing it (because the chances we hit on T later are a lot less than C/G).

FWIW, don't take this as me being anti-Nelson.  If we had landed Cousins, I'd be pounding the table for Nelson at 1.5 (trade back if you must Elway, if you are so dead set it's not good draft value because he's a G - I disagree, though).   But if you give me Darnold/Rosen or Nelson in our situation, I go QB - my belief in Darnold/Rosen's floor and ceiling is that locked in.   I know others feel the same way about Allen's ceiling and don't think his floor is risky enough to pass up, either.  I don't agree there, but I get the ceiling is high enough to make the argument.    

But, to be clear, I feel the same way even if we took Nelson.   At some point, we need to hit on later picks.   Paradis is not a given he'll come back to his 2015-16 level of play, this could be his new norm.   Leary is only guaranteed this year, and his back injury also presents the same risk we might be entering the decline phase.    McGovern is the most promising internally develped guy at G we've had in years, but he's no lock.  We shouldn't just be thinking about our C/G position for 1 spot now - long-term, the need will be there - like most positions (except QB, if you find your guy).   And the value at Rd 3 is perenially there.

Either way, it's going to be a fascinating 4+ weeks to draft weekend.

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