The first few days of free agency has not been kind to the Broncos. First, Malik Jackson left for a huge deal to join Jacksonville. Then, the Broncos got outbid by the Houston Texans for Brock Osweiler. The Broncos lost their heir apparent to Peyton Manning. Then, Danny Trevathan left Denver to go join John Fox in Chicago. As it seems like the world is falling apart around the Super Bowl Champions, as you look deeper into the moves, there is one reason why these guys aren't Broncos anymore: Money. It always comes down to money. Here is the breakdown of these three departures with a little bit of my analysis sprinkled in.
1) Malik Jackson (6 years for $90 million/$45 million guaranteed in the first 3 years): We all knew that the Broncos were not going to be able to keep Jackson and Von Miller, and Jackson will get a whopping $15 million in the first three years. The Broncos were never going to be able to do that, and Jackson took the money and ran off into the abyss of Jacksonville. We will always appreciate Jackson, who was home grown player from the 2012 draft, but money talks and we knew Jackson was going to go to the highest bidder.
2) Danny Trevathan ( 4 years for $25 million/$12 million guaranteed): Trevathan was another guy that we knew was not going to come back to Denver. The Broncos weren't going to be able to afford him if he got a big deal, and he got a big deal from the Bears. I love Trevathan and he did a great job this year, but once again they just couldn't afford him and he took the money and ran. I understand this move, and I think that he does play a position that can be replaced easily. Plus, they need to pay the other ILB Brandon Marshall, and Trevathan was more expendable.
3) Brock Osweiler (4 years for $72 million/$37 million guaranteed in the first 2 years): If NFL free agency was the like the WWE, then on Wednesday Brock Osweiler's music would have hit, he would have come down to sign a contract to return to Denver, then hit John Elway over the head with a chair, took off his suit to reveal and Houston Texans jersey, sign the contract with Houston, and then spit on the Broncos and flip off the fans in the crowd. Osweiler just went heel, and now he became public enemy #1 in Denver. I was surprised that Brock didn't come back to Denver, but in the days leading up to Wednesday, it started to look like he might jump to Houston. The market was set at $18 million a year for Brock, and the Broncos never got up to that number. Houston did and he decided to go to the Texans. I can't disagree with John Elway on this one. There is no way the Broncos should have gone to the $18.5 million guaranteed in the first two years that Osweiler got on the basis of seven starts. I also think the rumors that Osweiler was miffed about the fact that he was benched in Week 17 for Peyton Manning. I think Osweiler has the chance to be a good NFL QB, but I don't think that he is anywhere near a franchise QB, and the Broncos were smart enough to walk away. It is a shame that the Broncos had their potential heir apparent to Peyton Manning right there for them, and it got away from them. Only time will tell if this screws the Broncos, but I do think that John Elway will prove to be right with this one.
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