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Published on 03/14/2013 at Thu Mar 14 06:00.
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Broncos Game for Asomugha

Posted Thu Mar 14th by

As of last night the Broncos were stil in play for Nnamdi Asomugha. (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)

Lost in the news (and possibly lost because of the news) of the Denver Broncos signing cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was the fact that there is another Philadelphia Eagles corner still in play here. The sweepstakes for former Eagles (and Dream Teamer) cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha has been narrowed to five teams with the Broncos amongst those remaining according to ProFootballTalk.

What’s that you say? Denver signed Drayton Florence Rodgers-Cromartie, no way they sign Tracy Porter Nnamdi Asomugha as well! Yes, that is what we thought in 2012 too. Florence ended up being jettisoned prior to the season and Porter went on to win AFC Defensive Player of the Week (amongst other things).

So yeah, as long as the Broncos have money to spend and as long as Asomugha wants to play for a contender both Denver and the four time All Pro will remain on each other’s radars.

Those other teams interested in him? The Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals and off course the San Francisco 49ers.

  • MeOMy

    No to Nnamdi!

  • Pete Baron

    Agreed. It’s beginning to feel a lot like Philly around here… and I’m talking about the “they just won the superbowl through free agency” talk that went on in 2011…. I don’t like what I’m starting to see…

  • MeOMy

    Looks like Denver only has about $135,000 left in cap room right now. There could be more but I don’t know if the $123 million includes the 700k or so that teams get from the Dallas and Washington Cap penalties.

  • http://www.facebook.com/tonsing Daniel Tonsing

    You do realize that if you want to look at a team that is trying to win through free agency maybe you should look at the Seahawks and 49ers rather than the Broncos

  • Pete Baron

    I look more at the Buccaneers than anyone.
    I’ve maintained all along that 1-2 splashy signings is fine and good… it’s when you hear name after name after name after name that I’ll start getting worried. Well, After Welker signed, I figured that we had Valdez and Welker as the big names. That was all fine and great. I said we should now add through free agency some solid parts, and then save the rest for the draft…. Then we sign DRC and are in talks with Namdi… I’m sorry, but we are trying to build up too much through Free Agency. We’re on the verge of signing too many big names. While I don’t think we are where the Eagles were, we’re getting dangerously close. To reiterate one more time, nobody has ever won a superbowl, ever, by buying it… ever! Teams win with smart signings and building up their own players through the draft. That’s the recipe. The recipe has never in the history of the NFL been to “win” free agency…. ever!

  • http://twitter.com/badimo badimo

    That article was written before Denver signed Rodgers-Cromartie. There is 0% chance they will sign Asomugha.

  • http://www.facebook.com/tonsing Daniel Tonsing

    So three big names is too many? That makes absolutely no sense. DRC isn’t even that big of a name, he isn’t even flashy. He is a solid corner but not flashy. The Broncos made so many more splashy signings last year and it was perfect. The main focus thus far for the Broncos appears to be bring in a few solid starters and add more depth. You don’t even know if the Broncos are actually serious in Namdi, they could just be jacking up the price for everyone else interested. Through his two first years with the Broncos, how about you show some faith in Elway.

  • http://www.facebook.com/tonsing Daniel Tonsing

    FYI, it says that the Broncos “signed Rodgers-Cromartie.” AND are looking into Namdi. But I agree it will almost definitely not happen.

  • Pete Baron

    We had 1 splashy signing last year… Peyton Manning. Porter was too old to be considered anything but a solid pickup.

    And look, I already said that we’re teetering on that line but aren’t there yet. I’ll be the first to say that he has faith in Elway and laud his moves since he’s been here. I’m just saying that before we as fans and the media “crown our asses”, we need to step back and ask ourselves if we are guilty of falling into the same trap that ruined the Redskins in the early 2000’s and the Eagles of 2011.

    Signing free agents is sexy. It’s very very sexy. It’s also very easy to be an outsider and say that Philly is screwing up big time… It’s an entirely different thing to be the fans of the team that is signing the sexy free agents and then to be blind to the fact that we *might* be screwing up big time. As fans, we always think our team is immune to setbacks. I’m simply trying to not be that type of fan.

    Look, we’ll win the division by default, so unlike the Eagles, we’ll make the playoffs. I’m simply saying that we shouldn’t be crowned superbowl champs just yet because we are killing it in free agency. That’s the dangerous, dangerous trap that Skins and Eagles fans fell into, and I’m reading and hearing a whole lot of that same exact talk going on right now. I’m not joking, if you dug up news articles, fan reactions, and tv shows from 2011 and compared them to the same articles, reactions and shows of TODAY, they are virtually identical. That doesn’t sit easy with me.

    The only saving grace is that we didn’t gut our roster and “rebuild” with high profile free agents the same way that the Skins and Eagles did. That is the only thing saving our collective bacon. It’s also the only reason why I can still confidently say that we are superbowl contenders. Again, I’m simply saying that we are getting dangerously close to falling into the trap that those other 2 teams did. Nothing more, nothing less.

  • Pete Baron

    I think the reason why the Broncos spent so much is because they still have the Elvis dilemma to get finality on. If Doom takes the pay cut, gets cut, or gets traded, we are looking at about $6-12 million in extra cap space.

  • Pete Baron

    I sure hope you’re right. But then again, you already know that. lol

  • Scottey

    Just a minor correction, and I don’t necessarily disagree, but Porter was 26, not too old. I think you may be referring to Drayton Florence.

  • MeOMy

    Signing these draft picks is only making Denver a stronger contender. Denver was already talked about as the favorite to win. At the end of last season, I still think Denver had the best team in the NFL. So long as they don’t get out coached again they have a strong shot at winning it this year.

    This team is looking nothing like the skins and Eagles did. Denver hasn’t signed a bunch of free agents to outrageous contracts. DRC can be cut by Denver before the start of the season with no cap penalty. Vasquez only counts the 1.25 million signing bonus toward the cap. Not sure what his signing bonus is for years 2-4 but I’m guessing they would be the same. Bradley is a 1 year contract 1.2 mill towards the cap. Knighton I haven’t seen salary figures on but I believe he also has no money that goes towards the cap. The only big signing that wasn’t already with the team that affects the cap much is Welker. He is guaranteed 8 mil, 10 mil if he is on the teams once the season starts. Once you understand how the cap works you can realize just how smart Denver has been in the free agent signings. Currently Denver only has around 2.5 million in dead money for this year and 0 dead money for next year. NOTHING like Washington and Eagles!

  • MeOMy

    Just another plug for Dansby. If Denver signed him 1.55 mil of the contract would not count towards the cap!

  • Pete Baron

    Don’t get me wrong my man, I agree with you. But, while I agree, I must mention that I wasn’t speaking at all about the salary cap. Salary cap be dammed, the Eagles and Skins sucked with all those players on their team (hence, the cap didn’t make a difference until years later when they yet again gutted the teams).

    What I was speaking towards is this love affair with all fans of all teams wanting to fit all the big names on their rosters. It’s a very dangerous move to make, and one that the fan bases that have it happen to them will fall in love with while everyone else will see it as possible trouble. 2 years ago I came on here and said that the Eagles would miss the playoffs because they did what the Redskins did. I was ridiculed, laughed at, and told to do certain things to myself. lol. Well, the simple logic I was using sure held true.

    Again, I’m not saying that this is Denver’s fate. I’m just saying that we are teetering on that line. Do I still think the Broncos are a superbowl contender? Absolutely! The reasoning behind me having that much faith in this team is because unlike the Skins and Eagles, we didn’t gut our team to sign a bunch of household names. We kept our core in tact and added a piece here and a piece there. That is what I liked about this free agency period. What I don’t like is that we seem to be overhyping ourselves and the front office is in the early stages of sounding as if they’ll keep adding more and more, which means we’ll have to start jettisoning our talent (much like the skins and eagles did).

    Again, we aren’t there yet, but we’re approaching it. At any moment, we could be finished with free agent signings, and no harm would have been done, but if we don’t stop, there *could* be serious consequences to all these signings. We are snug up against the cap which means any more players we bring in will mean we have to cut some of our good players from last year’s team that you and I both agree was the best in the NFL (even though we didn’t win the superbowl). And don’t forget we still have a rookie class we’ll have to sign. So while we signed guys for cheaper than in years past, they will still come at the cost of cutting or restructuring contracts from the team that was the best last year. I don’t like that. That’s why I’m imploring them to stop while they are ahead.

    I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have Doom back under his bloated and overpaid contract than all of the free agents we already signed minus Welker and Valdez. If Doom walks because we got DRC, I’m going to be LIVID!!! And it’s those types of moves that royally screwed the eagles and skins. I just don’t want to see our beloved team go through the same thing. I think that is why most teams are showing restraint in the names of players and their contracts this year. I think they are finally seeing the flaw in “buying a ring”… We aren’t at that stage yet, but any more household names, and we very well might be. Lets both hope that no more big names (regardless of cost) sign here. We need to keep our chemistry in tact instead of trying to “win free agency.”

  • Pete Baron

    Yes sir!

  • MeOMy

    My point with the salary cap pointers is that Denver is playing is smart so that Denver doesn’t have to gut it’s core. Who has Denver lost this year? So far we have only not signed 4 core players from last year. Stokley, Bannon, Koopen and Brooking. Stokley, who I still believe that in his prime is the best slot receiver ever, was replaced by Welker. The difference is Welker can be out there on more then just 3rd downs because he is much younger. Bannon we replaced, but I could still see us signing him for depth. The other 2 could still be signed to contracts but they are both old.

    As for Doom… I think this might be the 1 mistake Elway make. I don’t see him as a Bronco at this point. I’m guessing that Elway is trying to get him to sign for what he would make if he signs some place else. If you don’t ask Bailey to take a pay cut you need to over pay Doom by the 2-3 mill that Bailey is getting over paid. I see this as a totally different issue though from what you are talking about. This is an issue of a way over bloated contract.

    If Elway doesn’t see his mistake with Doom this year I also see Denver making a mistake next year with Bailey. The only thing that may prevent them from cutting him next year is if they can rework his contract and extend it 3 more years.

  • Pete Baron

    I think you and I are dancing to the same exact tune but not consciously realizing it. lol
    What you said is 100% exactly what my point has been all along when I said we are teetering on making a mistake. What you said is exactly why we need to stop RIGHT NOW with the big free agent signings. We are fine, but with reports that we want more, that is when it *might* become a mistake and push us into the Eagles territory.

    IF we sign more players, then we have to let our nucleus be torn apart (we both agree it would be an enormous mistake). IF we sign more people, we need to free up cap space by letting people go or praying for restructures (which we both agree on). Where we are at now is the sweet spot. We upgraded/replaced where we had to, and there isn’t much left that the draft can take care of (we both agree on). This is precisely what I was saying. We are right there on the fence. Any more, and we tip to the Eagles side to where we have to do the things nobody wants to see us do. Re-Read what I was writing. I never said we are the Eagles, I said we are dangerously close to becoming them. I think where many are misreading my comments is that they think I’m saying we’re hosed and are the new Philly… That’s not what I’m saying at all. I only make reference to them to point out the slippery slope that we are fastly approaching.

    To put it another way, imagine the Broncos are a car, and they are approaching a busy intersection… They can choose to stop at the red light and avoid any potential fatal accidents, or they can choose to ignore the red light and plow through the intersection while crossing their fingers that they’ll come out the other side unscathed… That is exactly where they are at right now in Free Agency. They are approaching that red light. They can either choose to stop, and thus be perfectly safe, or they can choose to proceed further and keep signing more and more players and just hope they come out of the season smelling like roses.

    Call me cautious, but I’d much rather see them stop than proceed. We were the best team last year. We both agree on that. Because of that, we don’t need very much. What we have right now is more than enough as long as we don’t get out-coached (as you stated)… so why keep going? Why push the limit? Why run that red light? We still have the draft to round out our roster. There is just no need to be careless and reckless by running that red light into what history shows is a frighteningly horrible accident.

  • BroncoMan24

    Too old? He is in his 20s… I disagree about too many signings. As long as they are smart signings it doesn’t matter how many. Both DRC or Nnamdi (howerever you spell it) are solid players still even though they had a bad year in 2012. They are great man to man CBs which works for our defense. The Eagles play more of a zone coverage in the wide 9. I really believe that last year was a fluke for them and more of a system issue then anything else. Having said that though, I don’t think it is a good idea to go after Nnamdi. Not because he can’t play, but we don’t really need another CB and if it is going to cost a lot it just doesn’t make sense.

  • Pete Baron

    Yeah, Scottey already pointed out that I was talking about Florence not Porter. But Porter was still a stretch seeing he really only made 1 memorable play in his career up to the point we signed him. It wasn’t as if he was a superstar or even a big star. He was a known player, but nothing more which is why he still wasn’t a big splash when we signed him. Or, maybe it’s just because Manning was a tsunami sized splash that he simply overshadowed absolutely everyone else we signed, so in comparison, Porter was just another average free agent signing. lol

  • Pete Baron

    And I agree. Continue reading on about me and MeOMy discussing it. We get to the root as to what I was saying and what most are arguing me about (trust me, I agree with everyone, it’s just that everyone is taking what I’m saying the wrong way).

  • MeOMy

    But I don’t agree with the “we need to stop right now” part. I’m also not saying “we NEED to keep going” either. I’m saying I’m not worried about 90% of what Elway is doing. I see the salary cap game he is playing and it’s brilliant.

    You can’t treat this year like any other year in terms of free agency. This year is like no other year and a few GM’s like Elway realize this. Right now you are seeing a ton of people being dropped by their teams because they signed monster contracts 3 years ago. This is a chance for teams to sign some big names at very little cost to the teams salary cap. If we can sign two more players at 0 cost to the cap because some other team is taking the hit I say sign them!

    Philly didn’t just fail because they signed a bunch of free agents. They failed on D because they signed a bunch of free agents that had no business playing in the schemes they had them him. Example: Nnamdi is not a zone CB. Yet that is what they expected of him. They also signed them to way over bloated contracts. This meant they had to let a bunch of core players who make 1-3 mil a year go to other teams. They also let leadership positions go. They had a coach who was feeling pressure to succeed now and made bad choices. They also relied on a QB that was over hyped after finally having 1 good season. Reid is doing a much better job of building KC right now because he knows he has 3-4 years to turn things around. In Philly, his job was on the line.

    So I guess my points are I trust in Elway, and Free Agency isn’t something you should stay away from if you have a smart GM who knows how to do it right. Elway isn’t even at the same intersection as Reid. He knows to take 2nd street at 8 am not main street. We still have 3 positions of need 2 of which I think should be filled in free agency IF we can strike the right deal. 4 when Doom goes, but I think Freeney will fill that one for very cheap.

    If DRC isn’t the nickle corner then we ARE making the same mistake Philly made!

  • Pete Baron

    We shall see. I still think team chemistry is important, and signing a bunch of players in free agency kinds disrupts that. I hear what you’re saying, and I mostly agree. I think we should fill more positions in the draft than free agency though. It’s not that free agency is evil or bad or you should be scared of it, it’s just that free agency is a much more slippery slope than I think many see it as. Other than that, great post. And like you, I trust Elway a great great deal. He seems to always make the correct moves, so there really isn’t much reason to think he’ll royally screw this up.

  • MeOMy

    Team Chemistry is VERY important. But unlike philly, Denver hasn’t ditched their leaders. They also haven’t brought in people who would disrupt that chemistry. IE that CB from the jets. If you look at Pitt they are a talented team. The problem is they have no vocal/spiritual leaders. As for filling needs in free agency it takes a once in a life time player to be a really good Safety and really good MLB their first year. They are a hard positions to play and most of the good ones take 3 or more years to develop. When someone screws up in those two positions it usually means big plays for the other team. They are your safety nets in the pass and run games. A young player will give up those plays. Case in point, the big plays blamed on Bailey and the play that sent it to over time. I like Moore but he needs time to develop still.

    I have to say I do enjoy my talks with you. You tend to get football more than the average fan.

  • Pete Baron

    Thanks my man, you too.

    Many years ago, I use to always say “why would you ever draft a player if you can just give up a 4th round pick for a player in their prime?” or “stop using your 1st round pick on an unknown and instead, just dangle that pick in front of the face of whatever superstar you want from another team. They’ll make that deal”…. Again, I use to think that way, even though from time to time I still do. I just think that there’s something to be said for growing your own talent. However, seeing our very small window, filling in free agency is probably “smarter”, however, the back side to it is that we’ll be completely void of talent in 2+ years because of it, unless we re-sign these free agents to longer and larger deals. I mean, who knows, maybe Brock turns out to be even better than Manning? Hell, if Brock is even a strong starter, all these 1-2 year deals in free agency instead of draft picks has the potential to do more damage long term than help short term.

  • MeOMy

    Elway is building for the future VIA the draft. Even if we do sign a MLB in free agency I still think Denver should draft a MLB in the first round. In 2-3 years after he as been splitting time with and aged Vet (keeps the old guy fresh for play offs and gives the new guy experience) you don’t resign the vet and let your new guy play. Remember, this is only Elways 3rd year at building a team through the draft. Moore is only a year or two away from being a very solid starter. But if we have that vet we sign for 1 or 2 years it helps the future because he won’t be eating up cap room when we need to resign the younger guys that the team developed.

    The biggest reason why Pats won those Superbowls was because their D had a bunch of these aged vets on the team. The only problem was that the people they drafted to replaced them turned out to be busts. Younger players are great on offence. Experience is what you need on D. Von Miller is that rare once in a life time player, but even he has had his growing pains!

  • TheTroglodyte

    I’m all for signing Asomugha if we can make it work. The Eagles sucked because of poor locker room leadership and poor coaching. We are not the Eagles.

    John Fox is a terribly stubborn conservative guy but as far as leadership and coaching ability he is incredible.

    We also have PFM and Champ in the locker room. Comparing us to the Eagles is beyond ludicrous.

  • Paradisimo

    Great, Quinton Carter was arrested on a felony charge in Vegas. We might be looking for another safety…

  • MeOMy

    I’m against Nnamdi mostly because he is a 1 dimensional and we already have Bailey filling that role that Nnamdi does well. He has also “slowed down” the last couple years and wouldn’t say he does any better than Bailey at it. Bailey also is a big help in the run support.

    Nnamdi can be a stud for some team but Denver signing him would mean be falling into the trap that a lot of teams fall into when signing free agents “A good player who doesn’t fit your schemes”

  • http://twitter.com/Crintleod Sage Rodriguez

    I would rather get a safety. THere are a lot of great ones out there, not just Ed Reed. Adrian Wilson and Bernard Pollard come to mind. VERY hard hitters.

  • Doom92

    Yeah I don’t think it feels like Philly at all. At that time they were just seemingly grabbing guys with names. We seem to be grabbing guys that can seemingly help. Namdi is no longer a big name, he’s been religated to just being a guy in FA. It’s well proven that even a guy that is brought in isn’t guaranteed anything. Philly didn’t want to be wrong, our guys don’t care if they are wrong, and they’ll bounce’em…

  • Cheyenne Kid

    Actually Lacy is planning on running before scouts well before the draft,so there will be better data for interested teams. We need to get him or Ball, they both would fit the Broncos well. If Lacy takes his speed out of question, he probably wouldn’t fall to 28th. So two strategies, either try to trade up or focus on what it would take to get Mr. Ball. He is projected as second round,so Broncos could snag him as a high 1st. Hopefully things will become clearer with remaining backs by then and how the Broncos are leaning on especially first through third rounds! I am so glad we got Welker. Our passing game will be fantastic, just hope our runnng game holds u

  • Cheyenne Kid

    up as well!

  • Cheyenne Kid

    Yes there will be more cuts made in the next few days. I saw an NFL of ~53k below the cap. And Kuper is at ~5.5 M. We just have to take it one day at a time and reassess each day. Doom will either be with us or not. If not,likely Freeney for a lot less than Dooms is,so we could be 15-25M below real soon if any quality free agents that could help us out! Go Bronco Braintrust. Great work so far,keep it going!

  • Doom92

    Well said Trog… I agree bring him in and see what he can do for you yourself. Have him compete, if he wins awesome(wha) and if he is a one trick dude or doesn’t still have anything thank him and show him the door.

    As I stated above here somewhere he is no longer a “big” name guy. He’s just another decent free agent and can be had easily for market value as I don’t think anyone is jumping on paying him big again. Let’s see if he can help…
    So yes, this means I am for it also…

  • Doom92

    I’ve actually been waiting for Bernard Pollards name to pop and am surprised that it hasn’t.

  • http://www.facebook.com/james.sansoucie James Sansoucie

    YOU CANT COMPARE DENVER TO PHILLY ….MANNING PLAYS A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THIS….VICK SUCKS