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Published on 02/11/2009 at Wed Feb 11 16:50.
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Broncos Cut Alridge, Four Others

Posted Wed Feb 11th by

Anthony Alridge blasts by Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie. [AP Photo]

Anthony Alridge blasts by Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie. (AP Photo)

It has just been announced that the Denver Broncos have released five players including rookie running back Anthony Alridge.

Other casualties include running back Alex Haynes, tight end Chad Mustard, running back P.J. Pope and wide receiver Clifford Russell.

With running backs Michael Pittman and Tatum Bell both unrestricted free agents this off-season, that leaves the Broncos with an interesting trend at tailback.

Ryan Torain, Peyton Hillis, Selvin Young and Andre Hall remain. With the exception of Hall all are a bit on the larger side for running backs (depending how Young shows up to O.T.A.s this season). Other backs on the larger side of things available in free agency include Derrick Ward (Giants) and Correll Buckhalter (Eagles).

Nation, yes, Alridge didn’t get much of a shot here in Denver, but we always run the risk of jumping to conclusions. There may be something that we’re not aware of, like when Travis Henry was let go out of nowhere (as if that’s not jumping to conclusions, sorry do as I say, not as I do). For what it’s woth I thought Pope killed for the small amount of time that he was here as well. The new Denver brass may not see the potential in keeping eight running backs on the squad.

  • john

    nooooooooooooooooooo he never even had a damn chance. never!!!!!!!!!! effin mcdaniels. the worst thing u cood ever do is cut a player that hasnt been given a shot. watch him get 2000 yard for the giants next year. noooooo

  • Shawn

    Anthony Alridge getting cut is very strange. Tatem Bell is fast, too and he can stay healty for a season. He can’t hang on to the ball, but the upside of fumbling the ball away is that you don’t get hit more than once per play. It is nice to know that the tradition of cutting Chad Mustard will continue. I can imagin what the second interview between Bowlen and McDanials was about:

    Bowlen: “Josh, we have a tradition of cutting Chad Mustard every week and re-signing him the next. Think of it as busy work for Brain Xanders. Can we count on you to help us justify having three GM’s?”

    McDanials: “Yes, sir!”

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    It’s not a Broncos season until we’ve cut Chad Mustard 3 times. Only twice more to go!

  • Roy

    It is strange that they would cut Alridge without even seeing what he can do in camp now when he is healthy. Maybe the thought is that he may never be really healthy, and they do not want to pay a salery to someone that has no shot at helping the team? I have no idea, but I expect a lot more changes to come very soon. All of the fans will then talk smack and second guess our new coach without giving HIM a chance. Frankly, I think there was too much dead weight on the roster as it is. A lot of Shanny’s favorites, that he would inexplicably keep instead of better players (ie. Carl Paymah), will be gone soon. Hopefully we can then get guys with more actual talent than “upside.”

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com Danh

    This is just the beginning… we’ll see an overhaul of this team in two years…. it;s no longer Shanny’s show.

  • Pete

    I think these moves say 2 things.
    #1. Denver may be less of a RBBC than under Shanahan because maybe McDaniels sees something in Hillis and Torain and will make one of them the primary back, and if that’s his thinking, we won’t need 8 RB’s on our roster, especially broken down rookies.

    #2. What Shanahan was seeing in the RB’s wasn’t necessarily good things. I mean, look at all the ones that went down? Maybe, just maybe, Shanahan picked the wrong people, and McDaniels will keep the good and let go of the bad?

  • T-Money

    I have mixed feelings. I think 8 is way to many anyway. plus think about how the patriots run the offense. We are only going to need a big guy and a change of pace guy.

  • Awesome, Austin

    Pete according to your logic they should have cut Hillis and Torain too after all they got injured. I am shocked they didn’t get Alridge a shot in preseason, he reminded me of what chargers have in Sproles (sp) and it will be sad if he turns out that way for another team.

  • Pete

    Austin,
    Yeah, I realized that when I wrote that, but Aldridge never made it out of the first game of the preseason. Hillis got hurt on a great play. I wouldn’t have been shocked to see Torain get the axe too, but I think in the VERY limited action Torain got, he showed enough to warrant a chance. Plus, he’s bigger. Aldridge’s size was probably a deciding factor in him being cut. Small guy who is already injured = overwhelming odds of being injury prone and a washout at the pro level.

  • Soxbigdog

    Both the Aldridge and Pope cuts seem odd, not even to at least bring them back into camp next season would make no sense… seeing as where I don’t see Bell or Pittman coming back next season… possibly there is something lying deeper with Aldridge that doesnt have to do with his football skills, we may never know.

  • Broncoholic

    “The new Denver brass may not see the potential in keeping eight running backs on the squad.”–>We kept our strength and conditioning coach didn’t we? That right there justifies having 8 RB’s on the roster : )

  • http://broncotalk.net Ian Henson

    Pope averaged 7.9 yards per-carry btw. Granted he only had 17 carries.

    Broncoholic- LOL, touche.

  • http://myspace.com/paraleipsis jchase8410

    Alridge getting cut doesn’t surprise me one bit…what really surprises me is that the first 5 cuts were all from the offense! I thought for sure that they would get rid of the garbage in defense first. Shows how much I know. I guess that’s why I coach 7 year olds and not in the NFL. More cuts will be coming soon. I can’t wait to seewho gets the axe next!

  • http://birty.blogspot.com mikebirty

    If I’m Knowshon Moreno my ears have just pricked up!

    There are very few NFL teams out there who would consider having a 7th rounder (Hillis) and an undrafted rookie (Adldridged) as their starting backfield. The guy was undrafted for a reason. To me this is a clear sign that there’s either going to be a high draft choice or a vet free agent coming in.

  • flbronc

    i didnt realize buckhalter was a fa after this year. guess i should do a little more homework… he’d be a nice addition for us if we could land him.

    at this point i think that (and hope that) we get a good rb via free agency rather than pick high in the draft for one. i also think that if we do get a good back somehow, that young may be a camp casualty.

  • http://birty.blogspot.com mikebirty

    i’m surprised young and hall have lasted this long! I fully expect them both to be cut maybe even before camp.

  • MIAbronco

    we will not bring in a big name running back.

    hillis could be the marooney and/or the faulk of our offense, he has the skills for both.

    we will not bring in a running back through the draft other then camp fodder through URFA.

    you know what really bothers me? it seems that alot of people are forsaking McD for cutting a guy that has DONE NOTHING IN THE NFL. c’mon everybody, McD knows what hes doing, AND you guys ca sa all you want about the stregth and coditioning coach ric tuten, but he is one of the best, oh and a S&C coach in the nfl does nothing, all the players generaly do there own training and have there own guys. also, you can have the best workouts in the world, but if all your players half ass through them, then you get weak and injury prone players.

    if you look at all the injuries that plagued our players, they were all generally freak accidnets that could not have been deterred by strong muscles or better flexibilty. I myself am an exercise physiologist/strength coach and what rich tuten does is no different then what other teams do.

    Tuten is not the problem.

  • http://BroncoTalk.net Mr.East

    These cuts do not surprise me at all. None of these guys were all that impressive and they weren’t drafted. Alridge is way too small to ever stay healthy and Pope isn’t worth keeping around when you have more RBs on the squad.

    Offensive cuts do not surprise me when it’s these guys… especially Mustard. My friend knows his wife and she told me that he doesn’t care about getting cut because it’s extra money in his pocket, the only thing that annoys him is that he’s trying to become a teacher.

    mikebirty… I hope to the heavens on highest that Denver picks Knowshown Moreno in the first round… that is if Raji is gone. Moreno is elite talent and he is flying under the radar because of the lack of RB need.

  • broncoNM

    not surprised with this first round of cuts. I agree with mikebirty… I would not have been surprised to see either Young or Hall on this list too. I am interested to see the first wave of cuts on the defensive side of the ball.

  • Katch22

    I bet we draft a reciever before we draft a running back. Think about it, McD doesn’t want to tie up money in a running back in FA or big money by drafting one in the first round. I think he knows what he already has at running back and is happy with that. I will say I thought Young and Pittman would be done before Ant and PJ. The guy I really feel bad for is Mustard, how much rejection can one guy take???

  • SanDiegoBroncoFan55

    I agree with all the cuts and with most of comments but man, i wish alridge would have had a shot in camp to prove that he has some skills…He could have been our P/K returner next year..Royal is great, dont get me wrong but I dont want to see him get hurt on Special Teams, hes too valuable of a receiver for us..I think we should draft a RB and WR with our late round picks (the 5ths?)…I just think he wouldve been a decent returner for us, someone mentioned Sprolesequ, that dude is so small, like anthony, that they lose him being under the blockers haha…
    But yeah the defensive cuts should be real interesting..later Niko, Manuel, Mcree…Bly? (get Dunta Robinson!!!! or go big with Asomugha!!!!)

  • broncobobmeridian

    Does anyone know what the broncos salary cap # is. Ive heard a few different #’s, from 2 million under to 30million under

  • NathanH

    From what i’ve heard, we should have about 24ish mil to spend.

    As for cutting Aldridge, its really not a big deal to me. PJ Pope was a lot more impressive imo.

  • DC

    just heard jim and jeff goodman are out and brian xanders is in as the GM….weird i thought jim and jeff did a good job last year…oh well.

  • DC

    oh yea….get Peppers and draft Raji….that would be a greatly improved d line.

  • DC

    What do you guys think? pick 1 free Agent and 1 draft pick that you would like to see in a bronco uni

  • Jordan C

    Where did you hear about the Goodmans being fired?

  • Jordan C

    It’s looking more and more like the Broncs are not going to get a shot at signing Peppers or Suggs. It’s really a shame. I’m becoming a bigger fan of signing Chris Canty (3-4 DE). Heard that he’s good, had a down year last year (read: cheaper FA), and wants out of Dallas. Does anybody know much else?

  • john

    yep, both goodman are fired. first story on nfl.com.
    xanders is the new, sole gm.
    and guys this is bad. if u think xanders was part of the brillant draft picks these past few years. he wasnt’t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he was signed in may! the goodmans an it all and now we have sum new guy. uhhhhhhhh

  • inrodwetrust

    I wanted to spit beer at my computer after I read that on nfl.com, why would Bowlen cut the duo that organized the most incredible draft class I have ever seen? Pat should have put the whiskey down and drop kick himself in the nuts, It would be less painful.

  • Andy

    Who knows… maybe they knew something we didnt… which I am sure is the case.

  • http://broncotalk.net (dee)

    The only surprise was aldridge…he could have been a sproles type player

  • MikeY55

    i really on’t get why u guys are so angry about xanders being brought in…. so they had that good draft class doesn’t automatically make them THE best gms ever come on xanders hasn’t even been given a shottt and half the time when u think of it…how many SURPISE picks are there in the first round… when it comes down to the draft the top ten is pretty much guaranteed and after that it kinda all falls in place in the first so its hard to say whether its thatgm because if there was any other gm he would probably take that same player so if he bust or not… i could be wrong but just my opinion

  • Broncoholic

    MIABronco said, “AND you guys ca sa all you want about the stregth and coditioning coach ric tuten, but he is one of the best, oh and a S&C coach in the nfl does nothing” –> So he’s one of the best at doing nothing???

  • CJ

    I think alridge should have had another look. I mean he was worth that. Every Denver fan saw the Chad Mustard coming a mile away! As for the rest i dont see any shockers. I think Xanders is gonna have to prove himself to me by giving denver a solid draft! That means Defense.

  • broncogibby

    Ray Lewis is going to be a free agent this season; even though I am not a fan of his, I think the Broncos should go after him. He is a great defensive player and a TEAM LEADER and that is what the Broncos need. They do not have a team leader.