• Brandon Marshall slipped on a McDonald’s wrapper over the weekend, plowing his arm into a television. He’s stitched up and in an arm cast. Um…. yeah. [NFL.com]
• Ben Hamilton appears 100% healthy as he’s received clearance to participate in the offseason workouts that begin today. [Rocky Mountain News]
• Jay Cutler went 22 for 22 in passes to his old Vanderbilt teammate Earl Bennett in their recent workout. [Boulder Daily Camera]
• Keary Colbert was ready to be a Bronco after he heard Javon Walker‘s season-ending comments, he tells reporters in a recent interview. [My Fox Colorado]
• Strong words on Jason Elam: “Without him, the Broncos were the Raiders; maybe now they are.” [Rocky Mountain News]
• Short list of some of the longest tenured Broncos. [Denver Post]

Happy Bunny Day Folks (that’s Easter for those of you in Oakland)! :)

And as we all do our traditional egg coloring and hunting the Broncos will be trickling back into Denver from all over the world, readying themselves for the start of the official off-season workout program. This year, like most recent seasons, we will have a few new faces reporting to Dove Valley tomorrow and a few stalwarts noticeably missing.

I would imagine the story lines we’ll hear about in the coming weeks will include:

* Rod Smith spottings (Pretty much any news on Rod, but specifically: Will he be there as usual? How does he feel? retirement talk? etc)
* The results of Jay Cutler Camp (How Jay, Brandon & Tony thought their special off-season workouts turned out)
* The return of Ben Hamilton and Tom Nalen (How are they coming along after their injuries?)
* Speaking of returning, expect to see John Lynch on every channel (discussing his return for less pay to a Defense in major flux)
* Don’t be surprised if the local media jumps DJ Williams and begin asking about his ’eminent’ move to WILL
* More about the Bailey Brothers together at last (or… What we like to call SDPF — Standard Denver Post Fluff)
* Interviews with many of our new additions
* And finally… the big question… Will Nate Jackson continue blogging?

Here is a mostly complete listing of players we’ve added, lost and resigned. I’m sure I’ve missed some, but since Easter Church Services start in 15 minutes… this will have to do! :)

Enjoy!

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The Denver Broncos are at a bit of a crossroads as a team. Call it a youth movement. Across the board, a transition is taking place from older, veteran leaders to young playmakers. One only has to look at the free agency moves made this offseason, particularly at linebacker and safety, to notice the changes taking place all run with a consistent theme: out with the old, in with the new.

One unit in particular that is about to embark on this youthful transition is the offensive line. LT Matt Lepsis, who joined the Broncos undrafted during our Super Bowl years, has retired. With both C Tom Nalen and LG Ben Hamilton in their 30’s (Nalen remarkably closer to 40 than 30), and both coming off season-ending injuries, the Broncos have been readying themselves for an offensive line that barely resembles the unit they’ve put on the field for the better part of a decade.

The transition is tricky, though. Even our younger players, who many hoped would be the future of our offensive line, are parting with the team. The obvious and all-too pertinent example is Chris Myers, who was traded for a 6th round draft pick to the Texans after an up-and-down season starting at LG and C. Did any blueprint for the future of the Broncos offensive line NOT include Myers holding down the center spot? It would certainly be hard to find.

From what I’m told by different people, the Broncos were willing to let Myers go for several reasons. They liked his upside, but thought the upside of practice squad player Mark Fenton, a rookie last year, was just as great. One person I spoke to said the Broncos are “high” on Fenton; another told me that the Broncos believed Myers and Fenton were “the same guy.” The Broncos signed Fenton to a future contract the day the season ended – he’ll compete for a roster spot in training camp, and it appears it’s his to lose. Of course, the ultimate decision to let Myers go came because the Broncos weren’t willing to give a backup player starter money.
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Alright, after seeing the Elam news and posting it, I’ve had a few minutes to let it sink in. Wow, I’m making this sound like a tragic death or something, but it’s going to be strange to see #1 in the black and red. With that, I think it would be awesome to post each of our favorite Elam memories and experiences as a sendoff.

Alright, mine is easy. I was able to be at the 97 Jacksonville wild card playoff game where we’re going into half time. We’re at midfield, Shanny gives Elam the ok to run onto the field and boot the hell out of it. I’m siting there thinking myself, “Damn that seems a good way out for a field goal, but probably doable for Elam.” Then I start ticking up the yards in the back of my brain as they line it up. Is that 63 yards? Snap, kicks up, looks strong enough to be good from 70 yards out, and it splits the uprights with room over the crossbar.

Was that 63 yards? People are looking around questioning each other. The the older couple who sat two rows in front of me at the time were wearing headsets listening to KOA as old folks at the game usually do, then it was confirmed about 5 minutes into half time that it was a NFL record tying 63 yard field goal. Freaking awesome. Not to mention all the game winners I’ve witnessed through the years.

Update (2/10/13):  This article is over four years old but has been getting a lot of traffic in resent days, we assume because of Elam’s appearance on the TV show “Buying Alaska“.  For more on Elam’s current status, go here.

The Jason Elam-Broncos relationship of 15 years, predating the Mike Shanahan era by 2 years, has ended. The Denver Post reports that Elam has declined a deal with the Broncos in preference of a 4 year, $9 million dollar deal with Atlanta.

Denver had offered Elam a 3 year, $7 million dollar deal (notably worth more money per year). The dealbreaker was likely the “guaranteed” money involved, along with a long contract to possibly finish his career.

Elam is the Broncos franchise leader in points scored and games played with 236, two more than John Elway.

First on deck for the Broncos would be Matt Prater, the kickoff specialist holdover from last season. The Denver Post also speculates that the Broncos could look into free agency where Olindo Mare and John Carney are currently available.

Drafting a kicker this year is another likely option. Top kickers available this year include Taylor Melhaff out of Wisconsin and Brandon Coutu out of Georgia.

Elam bolts for Falcons [Denver Post]

[Updated 3:15 pm – Kyle] A kicker is a kicker, but we’re talking about one of the most significant players in Broncos history. We’re very sorry to see Elam go. Good luck in your future endeavors.

• So Atlanta offered a better deal to Jason Elam than Denver did, but Elam is giving the Broncos a chance to increase their offer. Too bad the Broncos are broke. [Denver Post]
• That hasn’t stopped Mike Shanahan from building his own small kingdom mansion. [Denver Post]
• Which is a bit ironic, isn’t it? (maybe NSFW) [Deuce of Davenport]
• Nice look at the offensive line help that should come in this year’s draft. [Rocky Mountain News]
• The Raiders are more inept than I thought. This Hall thing is still working itself out. [Rocky Mountain News]
• The Chargers are all banged up. Center Chris Hardwick went under the knife after his 2007 foot injury was aggravated after a misdiagnosis.
• Andrew Mason bids a fond farewell. [Mason’s Morsels]

The Denver Broncos have come to an agreement with fullback Cecil Sapp, the Denver Post reports. According to the article, Sapp signed little (if any) more than a veteran minimum contract for one year at a $605,000 salary and $40,000 signing bonus.

“This will be 10 years for Cecil in Colorado,” said Dave Canter, Sapp’s agent. “He’s got family there. He’s got a child there. He’s got close friends on the team. And in a sense he feels like there’s unfinished business there. He had opportunities in a few other cities and he’s really flattered. In one place in particular, they offered him more money. But Cecil told me, ‘I could make more money playing football elsewhere, but I may not have the experience or the closeness that I have in Denver.'”

Last year, Sapp was tendered as a 2nd round restricted free agent, earning $1.3 million. Sapp’s agent cited Denver’s touchy financial situation as another reason they were willing to sign for so low, even though he claims they received a larger offer elsewhere.

Good.  One less thing, although I still want an upgrade with a 4th or 5th round pick on draft day.

First it was the rumors surrounding Domonique Foxworth on the trade block… then it was the abrupt firing of General Manager Ted Sundquist. Now DenverBroncos.com Feature Editor and BroncosTV reporter Andrew Mason has been unceremoniously canned. As one of our commenters pointed out, there is an eerie connection between these three gentlemen: all 3 ran a blog over at DenverBroncos.com.

Mason’s firing in particular I will never understand. He did an absolutely outstanding job with the main site, his blog, and BroncosTV. Honestly, I’m really going to miss his stuff and the correspondence we’ve had in the past about Broncos news and blogging. [Mason’s Morsels]

In the past, I’ve always applauded the Broncos for their embracing position of blogging in general. Andrew Mason was particularly gracious to fan blogs like ours, even linking to sites like BroncoTalk and Mile High Report in the Mason’s Morsels blogroll. Is this a sign that they’re moving away from that online paradigm? Will the next main editor for DenverBroncos.com have a blog at all?

We all know the real culprits behind each decision – player moves are always tricky; Sundquist and Shanahan‘s professional relationship (or lack thereof); and the state of the Broncos financially. Foxworth’s blog will continue, and Sundquist’s hasn’t updated since December, but I’ll definitely miss Mason and all of his interesting tidbits, especially during training camp.

A warm Mile High Salute to you, Mr. Mason. Thanks for keeping Broncos fans entertained and informed through the past few seasons.

Ted Sundquist is gone. And filling in some of his responsibilities will be Joe Ellis — the Broncos’ COO (Chief Operating Officer).

Joey, let me give you a very unofficial early review of your job performance thus far…

You suck.

Axing Andrew Mason… bad call. VERY bad call.

Maybe you don’t own a computer or you’re a technophobe. It would have to be one of those two, as this decision was obviously made by someone who hasn’t been to the broncos website, blog pages or forums and has no idea what Andrew Mason has created and maintained among fans around the world.

Andrew Mason has not only run one of the top 10 NFL websites (according to hits), he has also created an incredible web community of Denver fans. He did more for your organization than 50 other staffers combined, because he connected with and communicated with tens of thousand of people each year. Mason’s coverage of our team was the envy of the league. Fan’s of other teams hate us for the type of total coverage Andrew provided while they got almost nothing on their team’s site.

This move further demonstrates the total disconnect your front office has with it’s fans.

And I do not buy into the notion that Andrew Mason’s salary was in some way impacting your fiscal budget. Did you really think anyone is going to buy that load of crap? I guess your Director of Media Relations (Paul Kirk) could have warned you that this wasn’t a wise move, but since you also fired him today he probably wasn’t in a mood to help ya out much.

This all brings me to my most important point, Joe… Who the heck can you bring in that could do half the job Mason did?

Answer? …?

Yeah, you’ll probably have to think about that one for a bit… um, and that calculator won’t help you with this one. As it turns out, fans are totally into this thing call loyalty.

The trade between the Denver Broncos and New York Jets for DT DeWayne Robertson is all but dead, according to Tom Rock of Newsday.com. Robertson apparently failed a physical with the team; even then, the Broncos were still interested in acquiring his services based on his production and durability in the past.

The financial burden, however, was too much to bare, as the Broncos would have had to go into debt in order to acquire his services.

There’s still the possibility that the Jets will outright release Robertson, but that could also cause other teams to come calling.

Talks might rekindle in the meantime, but at the moment it looks like this trade is tabled.

First: it looks like the Broncos really are strapped for cash. Who knew?

Second: it’s disappointing we won’t be able to acquire a talented, young player at such a position of need. Cross your fingers he’s released and will come cheap based on the physical.