A Break from Free Agency: Current Player Contracts

Free Agency has been a whirlwind of information and status updates for the past 4 days. In order to regain some sanity and to start recovering from Free Agent burnout, lets discuss contracts for our own players that we should extend.

Spotrac has an up to the minute list of current Denver Broncos player contracts, so I’m asking you, BroncoTalk faithful, “who should the Denver Broncos re-sign, re-structure, or simply extend the contracts for?”

My list starts with Chris Harris and Von Miller. Chris Harris only made $466,000 last year (not including his 53.6% bonus). For a starting cornerback in the NFL, that is woefully underpaid, and that isn’t even to mention that Harris *might* be the Broncos BEST cornerback. Yes, Champ Bailey is an all time great, but as it stands right now, there is a strong argument that Chris Harris is actually better. I’m going to leave out Elvis Dumervil for obvious reasons (contract talks are ongoing).

Von Miller is paid more handsomely than Chris Harris at $5,250,095, but for the premiere pass rusher and linebacker in the NFL, his salary isn’t quite up to snuff. I would sign Miller to a long term contract sooner rather than later simply because playing the wait game will cost the Broncos even more money. Make no mistake, locking up Miller for a max length contract will still cost a pretty penny, but each season that the Broncos let pass will only add a few extra million per year to that contract.

Some other notable players that appear to be in line for an extension or reworked deal include:

Demaryius Thomas – $2,830,100 Free Agent in 2015. Like Von Miller and Chris Harris, postponing the inevitable will only cost them more money. Peyton Manning loves DT, and with the presence of Wes Welker on the field, Thomas should find himself even more wide open this year than last.

Joe Mays – $4,000,000 Free Agent in 2015. I’m not sure why Mays is still on this team. Nate Irving and Steven Johnson are slated to compete for the starting middle linebacker position. With both of those guys in the hunt, there is simply no room for Mays; not even in a reserve roll.

Ryan Clady – Franchise Tag. A deal needs to be and will be done. Clady knows it, John Elway knows it, and we all know it. Look for him to be making around $10 million per year.

Wesley Woodyard – $2,500,000 Free Agent in 2014. Last year, Woodyard signed a 2 year $5mil extension. I think that at some time during this season, Woodyard will be extended. He is a free agent after this season, and if he plays anywhere near as well as he did last year, the Broncos will find themselves where they don’t want to be: in the middle of a bidding war.

Eric Decker – $828,788 Free Agent in 2014. Like Woodyard, this is Decker’s last year under contract. On top of that, he is almost as underpaid as Chris Harris is. If he can stop making ridiculous mistakes , he can easily be making close to the same money as Welker simply because of his age. Look for a deal to be done sooner rather than later.

Trindon Holliday – $435,000 Free Agent in 2014. Holliday is another player that is playing on the last year of his contract. If last year is a glimpse into the future, Holliday needs to be one of the first players to get a contract extension. Punt and Kickoff returns for touchdowns are arguably the biggest momentum and game changing plays in today’s NFL. As Holliday proved last season, he’s one of the best at taking a return to the house. The flip side to that is his pension for fumbling; Often times during the span of the same game. If I were the Broncos, I would offer Holliday a fair contract immediately. It may not be as much as he would like, but he also fumbles way more than we like. Either way though, a new contract is definitely in order.

Lets hear it BroncoTalk faithful. Who tops your list of current players that need to tweak their current contracts or be extended all together? Do you have players in mind that I left off? Give us your list and reasons why your guy should have a sit down with John Elway during this offseason.