2018 Free Agency Discussion Thread

[jsthomp2007]

Dig the McDonald signing.  Still want to get younger there through the draft.  

[broncos67]

We should still draft someone on the DL, but McDonald is a good signing. He might be the highest graded pass rusher on the line. Like I said, he's been very steady and consistent over a period of years, and if an interior depth DL can land us 5 or 6 sacks, that's a hell of a deal.

[Broncofan]

11 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

We should still draft someone on the DL, but McDonald is a good signing. He might be the highest graded pass rusher on the line. Like I said, he's been very steady and consistent over a period of years, and if an interior depth DL can land us 5 or 6 sacks, that's a hell of a deal.

It does allow us to not reach for DL, which is a good thing.    Still, this signing is just a sign of how talent poor we are overall - DL is probably on paper our 2nd or 3rd strongest position, and we still need help.   Wolfe's big 2019 cap # and Gotsis' uncertainty (and the fact is his development last year was as a pure run-only guy, no pass rush chops yet, which you need from our DE's).   Plus Walker's development isn't a given...but at least it's his 2nd year, that's understandable.   Just sucks that we had to go Rd2 for 3-4 DE 2 years in a row, and quite frankly, reached early at least 1x, if not 2x.

[thebestever6]

Heard Denver was at Manziels proday thoughts? Elway wasn't kidding hes looking under every nook and cranny.

[champ11]

45 minutes ago, thebestever6 said:

Heard Denver was at Manziels proday thoughts? Elway wasn't kidding hes looking under every nook and cranny.

klis made an error, broncos weren't there

[Broncofan]

31 minutes ago, champ11 said:

klis made an error, broncos weren't there

Klis issued an apology.  Ironically we are all probably happier he made the mistake lol.  No thx.  

[bMiller031]

1 hour ago, Broncofan said:

Klis issued an apology.  Ironically we are all probably happier he made the mistake lol.  No thx.  

His stock has taken quite a hit over the last 8 months 

[AnAngryAmerican]

17 hours ago, Broncofan said:

Klis issued an apology.  Ironically we are all probably happier he made the mistake lol.  No thx.  

Yeah you can say that again. I was scared when I caught wind that they were actually looking at him. The fact that they're even considering Baker Mayfield is bad enough. 

[anewdawn]

On 3/21/2018 at 5:30 PM, AnAngryAmerican said:

It’s like we’re the Packers or the Steelers with all this penny-pinching in free agency. 

I am so disappointed with this years free agency up to this point.  With all the things going on with the line and Von giving us even more cap money I was expecting things to happen.  I was hoping for Poe and even Sly coming back to us.  We need DL depth because of Gotsis and Wolfe.  We all agreed that Sly wasnt worth 5mil but he was had for 3 and so was Poe.  What compounds this abysmal free agency is the draft and our poor record with regard to it.  I liked getting Keenum but man there was a lot of work to be done and it wasn't.  I like what the Browns did with a lot of their draft picks which was move them for able bodies meaning they know exactly who they brought in versus drafting a bust in the second or third.  I think we had the ability to get some free agents like the two I mentioned and it would have filled holes with value at a predetermined price.  I also would have picked up a half azz receiver too.  I am not happy at all and I am losing faith in Elway!  

[AnAngryAmerican]

53 minutes ago, anewdawn said:

I am so disappointed with this years free agency up to this point.  With all the things going on with the line and Von giving us even more cap money I was expecting things to happen.  I was hoping for Poe and even Sly coming back to us.  We need DL depth because of Gotsis and Wolfe.  We all agreed that Sly wasnt worth 5mil but he was had for 3 and so was Poe.  What compounds this abysmal free agency is the draft and our poor record with regard to it.  I liked getting Keenum but man there was a lot of work to be done and it wasn't.  I like what the Browns did with a lot of their draft picks which was move them for able bodies meaning they know exactly who they brought in versus drafting a bust in the second or third.  I think we had the ability to get some free agents like the two I mentioned and it would have filled holes with value at a predetermined price.  I also would have picked up a half azz receiver too.  I am not happy at all and I am losing faith in Elway!  

It appears we're done in free agency as well. Klis reports that, because of the cost of signing our draft picks, the odds are we're done with adding new pieces to the roster until the draft. 

Quote

 

Blame the projected contract for the No. 5 overall draft pick as a big reason why the Broncos’ free-agent spending so far hasn’t gone much past quarterback.

Based on the typical annual increases with the slotted NFL draft system, the Broncos must budget a four-year, fully guaranteed contract of about $27.5 million for their No. 5 overall pick.

Included in that contract would be a signing bonus of about $18 million. The Broncos have about $19 million in salary cap space after signing McDonald on Wednesday.

 

Looking at SpotRac, we're allotting an estimated $10.6m for the rookies, meaning we're doing to single-digit millions left. Maybe we can one veteran, maybe a TE or No. 3 WR, but I'm not holding my breath. 

To say the offseason has been a disappointment so far would be an understatement. We retained the in-over-his-head head coach, we signed heretofore one-year wonder with some physical limitations to be our starting QB and made a few signings of on the margins players in Todd Davis, Clinton McDonald and Tramaine Brock. So much for getting better in the offseason. 

[broncos67]

1 hour ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

It appears we're done in free agency as well. Klis reports that, because of the cost of signing our draft picks, the odds are we're done with adding new pieces to the roster until the draft. 

Looking at SpotRac, we're allotting an estimated $10.6m for the rookies, meaning we're doing to single-digit millions left. Maybe we can one veteran, maybe a TE or No. 3 WR, but I'm not holding my breath. 

To say the offseason has been a disappointment so far would be an understatement. We retained the in-over-his-head head coach, we signed heretofore one-year wonder with some physical limitations to be our starting QB and made a few signings of on the margins players in Todd Davis, Clinton McDonald and Tramaine Brock. So much for getting better in the offseason. 

Again, short of signing Cousins to a massive deal, what players should we have signed at the contracts they got? This was not a strong FA class at all, and we would have had to spend insane money for average players. I would pass on that any day given our current cap situation. Honestly, this offseason was always about the draft considering our poor season last year. I'm surprised we were as active in FA as we ended up being.

Also, FWIW, I do think Elway was close to some splashier things (trades for Cravens, trade for Ja'Wuan James) which would have been insanely good for this team. Unfortunately neither have come to fruition.

[AnAngryAmerican]

37 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

Again, short of signing Cousins to a massive deal, what players should we have signed at the contracts they got? This was not a strong FA class at all, and we would have had to spend insane money for average players. I would pass on that any day given our current cap situation. Honestly, this offseason was always about the draft considering our poor season last year. I'm surprised we were as active in FA as we ended up being.

Also, FWIW, I do think Elway was close to some splashier things (trades for Cravens, trade for Ja'Wuan James) which would have been insanely good for this team. Unfortunately neither have come to fruition.

The latter part is true. I was just hoping for some more reinforcements. I don't think what we've done with the money we've spent, and the player we traded away, we're a markedly better team. Maybe we hit on two or three draft picks like the Saints did last year and we improve, but the recent history of this FO doesn't provide me a lot of confidence that happens. 

[anewdawn]

2 minutes ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

The latter part is true. I was just hoping for some more reinforcements. I don't think what we've done with the money we've spent, and the player we traded away, we're a markedly better team. Maybe we hit on two or three draft picks like the Saints did last year and we improve, but the recent history of this FO doesn't provide me a lot of confidence that happens. 

This was exactly what I was trying to convey - getting some good reinforcements.  Elway's trading ideas were very good but everyone has those and getting the other team to see it your way well that's the trick isn't it?   AAA I totally agree with your draft outlook.  The realization of it is founded in history through past drafts.  We better hit on 2 but I believe three is pushing it though I'm hoping we hit on like 6-7!

[Broncofan]

55 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

Again, short of signing Cousins to a massive deal, what players should we have signed at the contracts they got? This was not a strong FA class at all, and we would have had to spend insane money for average players. I would pass on that any day given our current cap situation. Honestly, this offseason was always about the draft considering our poor season last year. I'm surprised we were as active in FA as we ended up being.

Also, FWIW, I do think Elway was close to some splashier things (trades for Cravens, trade for Ja'Wuan James) which would have been insanely good for this team. Unfortunately neither have come to fruition.

 

15 minutes ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

The latter part is true. I was just hoping for some more reinforcements. I don't think what we've done with the money we've spent, and the player we traded away, we're a markedly better team. Maybe we hit on two or three draft picks like the Saints did last year and we improve, but the recent history of this FO doesn't provide me a lot of confidence that happens. 

 

9 minutes ago, anewdawn said:

This was exactly what I was trying to convey - getting some good reinforcements.  Elway's trading ideas were very good but everyone has those and getting the other team to see it your way well that's the trick isn't it?   AAA I totally agree with your draft outlook.  The realization of it is founded in history through past drafts.  We better hit on 2 but I believe three is pushing it though I'm hoping we hit on like 6-7!

This is the reality with our cap situation though - we were never going to get an impact player, unless we somehow landed Cousins - and then it would have left the cupboard bare except in the draft.    With Keenum, we saved 10M AAV more for the next 2 years - but honestly, that 10M is getting us Todd Davis and Tramaine Brock and 2M more.  That's it.   That was my point on Cousins' impact vs. Keenum's impact.   Both are still big drains on our FA budget - Cousins hamstrings us more, but Keenum's deal is no bargain, either.   People say it's a mid-level deal, and that's fair - but it's still a big drain when we have such little room to spare.    The way our team is constructed, we need to have at least 1-2 major bargains at premium positions - it's why rookie QB at 1.5 is so appealing.   No Keenum next  year, and suddenly we have 15M to address other needs, and frankly, year 3-4-5 of the rookie deal, the savings are compounded even more.    Of course, that rookie has to be at least league-average to be worth it, and at 1.5, you'd like a top-10 QB by year 2-3 to justify the price paid.  But cap-wise, it's why it's so damn attractive. 

As for FA, my main objection to how Elway is spending in FA - there's literally no future gain to be had.  It's all 1-year stopgaps.   Part of Manny Sander's 3-year, 15M deal in 2014 (which would be like 3/21M now) is that it had long-term appeal.   We're spending 2M on the Billy Turners and 5M on the Todd Davises of the world - with literally no upside.   And as people pointed out, we are likely no better than we were last year - when we were truly deserving of our 5-11 record.    

It's why I've been saying we should be going on the cheap in FA - I know Elway won't think that way.  I get it.  But as much as it's heresy to say, it's the truth - we have no realistic shot to contend in 2018.   If we are lucky, 2019 is our earliest - but only if we don't commit ourselves to cap hell, and only if we don't draft with 2018-need as the primary driver.  It's what's got us to this mess in the first place.  

[The Helicopter]

2 hours ago, Broncofan said:

 

 

This is the reality with our cap situation though - we were never going to get an impact player, unless we somehow landed Cousins - and then it would have left the cupboard bare except in the draft.    With Keenum, we saved 10M AAV more for the next 2 years - but honestly, that 10M is getting us Todd Davis and Tramaine Brock and 2M more.  That's it.   That was my point on Cousins' impact vs. Keenum's impact.   Both are still big drains on our FA budget - Cousins hamstrings us more, but Keenum's deal is no bargain, either.   People say it's a mid-level deal, and that's fair - but it's still a big drain when we have such little room to spare.    The way our team is constructed, we need to have at least 1-2 major bargains at premium positions - it's why rookie QB at 1.5 is so appealing.   No Keenum next  year, and suddenly we have 15M to address other needs, and frankly, year 3-4-5 of the rookie deal, the savings are compounded even more.    Of course, that rookie has to be at least league-average to be worth it, and at 1.5, you'd like a top-10 QB by year 2-3 to justify the price paid.  But cap-wise, it's why it's so damn attractive. 

As for FA, my main objection to how Elway is spending in FA - there's literally no future gain to be had.  It's all 1-year stopgaps.   Part of Manny Sander's 3-year, 15M deal in 2014 (which would be like 3/21M now) is that it had long-term appeal.   We're spending 2M on the Billy Turners and 5M on the Todd Davises of the world - with literally no upside.   And as people pointed out, we are likely no better than we were last year - when we were truly deserving of our 5-11 record.    

It's why I've been saying we should be going on the cheap in FA - I know Elway won't think that way.  I get it.  But as much as it's heresy to say, it's the truth - we have no realistic shot to contend in 2018.   If we are lucky, 2019 is our earliest - but only if we don't commit ourselves to cap hell, and only if we don't draft with 2018-need as the primary driver.  It's what's got us to this mess in the first place.  

We can't draft nor coach up players so this is what we have - perpetual next year menfality. Elway may be great at managing contracts, but he hasn't figured out how to pick a draft committee or a coaching staff.