The 2013 free agency signing period begins next week (March 12) and if John Elway continues his recent trend, the Denver Broncos will be making a few splashes.

Two years ago, the Broncos plugged a hole in the backfield with Willis McGahee.  Last offseason, the team changed the entire landscape of the AFC West by signing quarterback Peyton Manning.

Will the team bring in more big-name free agents this year?  Only time will tell.

While we wait, consider following these players in free agency:

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There is a rumor going around that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was involved in a car crash.

The team has confirmed that those rumors are FALSE.

Manning was not involved in an accident and is in good health.

Charles Woodson could be a viable option for the Broncos secondary. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

It is still too early for fans to hear the mention of the Denver Broncos and their secondary without receiving a seething response. A simple mention of Denver’s cornerbacks or safeties opens up a AFC Division Playoff loss wound that has just started healing.

Enter: Darrelle Revis and those rumors, a lot of readers may swing their fingers towards the fact that they are internet rumors started by a guy that was pretty spot on when he vehemently claimed that he Peyton Manning would be going to the Broncos (perhaps even before Manning himself knew). It should also be noted that same Twitter personality placed Maurice Jones-Drew as a likely new resident of Denver earlier last season.

The Revis trade rumors most likely have their roots in ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson guessing that Revis could end up a Bronco, because heck Manning did. Yet, as a resident of Denver myself, I heard ESPN 102.3’s Cecil Lammey go beyond just linking to Williamson’s original post and state that he had heard the Broncos had initiated some type of conversation about Revis with the New York Jets during last week’s scouting combine.

Couple that together with the aforementioned claim that Denver had contacted the Jets’ doctors in regards to Revis and that is three mentions. That’s a hat trick (but only if you aren’t playing American football, football fans just call that a good day in fantasy). The biggest proof in my opinion? The fact that most of this talk happened at the end of January, February was real quite on the Denver/Revis front.

Assuming that Revis is in the plans the Broncos will still need help in the secondary. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

If Denver Broncos star outside linebacker Von Miller has seen the future, things look promising in Denver.

Miller sent out the above tweet early Tuesday morning after learning that his cousin, Jeremiah, a recent victim of a serious automobile accident, emerged Monday from a coma.  Excited by the news, Miller took to Twitter, letting the world know his plans for the 2013-2014 NFL season.

It is usually alarming when a player guarantees a trip to the Super Bowl—or a win!—but this case may be a little different.  The Broncos were already primed to go into the 2013 season looking to bounce back from a divisional loss to the Baltimore Ravens, motivated to not repeat their playoff woes next season.

Now the team, especially Miller, has more motivation to win—for a cause.  Does it add pressure?  Definitely.  But so did Ray Lewis‘ “Last Ride” speech to the Ravens last fall.

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Last week, the Denver Broncos locked up Ryan Clady by placing their franchise tag on the Pro Bowl left tackle.  Once the new league year begins, they are expected to place a second-round tender on punter Britton Colquitt.

“Colquitt is already a restricted free agent. To make sure he stays restricted, the Broncos are expected to place a second-round tender on him March 12, which would pay him a $2.023 million salary for 2013,” wrote the Denver Post‘s Mike Klis.

“Other teams can still try to sign away Colquitt, but besides paying him a relatively lucrative contract they would have to give the Broncos a second-round draft choice. That’s highly unlikely to happen.”

Klis went on to note that the Broncos would ultimately like to wrap up both Colquitt and Clady with multi-year deals.  Meanwhile, fullback Chris Gronkowski has been informed he will not be tendered, making it highly unlikely that he will return with Denver next season.

Britton’s brother, Dustin, just became the highest paid punter in the league when he signed a five-year, $18.75 million deal with the Chiefs, keeping him in Kansas City.  Both of the Colquitt brothers are high-powered kicking machines.

As expected, the Denver Broncos are planning to part ways with veteran linebacker D.J. Williams this spring.  Per the Denver Post:

“When the NFL season officially opens for business March 12, the Broncos are expected to place Williams on the trading block. It won’t be easy trading a player who is scheduled to make $6 million in 2013, is on the wrong side of age 30 and is coming off a double suspension that crippled his production in 2012,” wrote Mike Klis.  […]

“If no team is willing to give the Broncos a draft pick in return, they are expected to release Williams before April 15, when players report to Dove Valley headquarters for team conditioning.”

Williams (30) was drafted by the Broncos in the first round (17th overall) in 2004.  Since then, he has recorded 824 tackles, 20.5 sacks, and forced 10 fumbles.

With the emergence of Von Miller (23) and Wesley Woodyard (26), Williams has become expendable at outside linebacker, especially when his off-the-field troubles are added into the equation.  Moving forward, middle linebacker is the LB position up for grabs, with third-year, 240-pounder Nate Irving appearing to have the inside track to win the gig this summer.

On Friday, the Denver Broncos used their franchise tag on tackle Ryan Clady.  The one-year tender is worth nearly $10 million.

Per the Denver Post:

The tag gives Clady a $9.828 million salary for the 2013 season—nearly triple the $3.5 million salary he earned in 2012. However, the tag also drastically restricts Clady from enjoying the bidding fruits of free agency.

Teams can still bid on Clady’s services, but the Broncos would have the right to match any offer. If the Broncos decline to match the offer, they would get two first round draft picks in return from the team that would sign him.

Yesterday, it was announced that teams have a $123 million salary cap for 2013, leaving Denver with over $17.5 million in available cap space.  After Clady signs his tender (assuming he eventually will), the team will be left with over $7 million remaining in cap space.

Clady is currently recovering from shoulder surgery and is not expected to participate in the team’s offseason workouts this spring.  Clady allowed just one sack in 2012.

On Thursday, the NFL announced that the 2013 salary cap will be $123 million per team.  According to spotrac.com, the Denver Broncos currently have $119.5 million invested in 2013 salaries.

That means, with their $14.1 million rollover from 2012, the Broncos have over $17,552,686 available.  A large chunk of that, around $9.8 million according to Yahoo! (via IAOFM), will go towards the franchise tag the team is planning to use on left tackle Ryan Clady.

Clady isn’t planning on signing his tender anytime soon, seeking a long-term commitment from the team.  The Broncos can clear up more cap room by making several cuts and re-structuring the contracts of players including quarterback Peyton Manning, who is due to make $20 million this season.

The Broncos have room to bring in a few free agents and can create more room by cutting players including linebacker D.J. Williams (who is due $8 million).  How do you think the Broncos should handle their $17 million this spring?  Dish out your thoughts in the comments below.

We all found out today that the worst kept secret is as official as it can get until March 12th… That secret is that the Kansas City Chiefs have traded for QB Alex Smith. They are giving up this years second round selection (34 overall) and a conditional pick next year. So what kind of impact will this have on the Denver Broncos?

While on paper, this seems to be a slam dunk win for the Chiefs, a little perspective is in order. For starters, quarterbacks are generally not traded to another team to which they go on and have great success, especially not former starting quarterbacks still in their “prime.” When was the last time one of these trades really worked out, and once you tell me, ask yourself “man, how far back did I have to go in history to find this shining example?”

The quick answer is also the most obvious answer… Joe Montana! Joe Cool was traded from the San Franchisco 49ers to the Kansas City Chiefs back in 1993. That was 20 years ago. And although that move worked out of the Chiefs, it never netted them a championship; Not to mention that Joe Montana is still regarded as quite possibly the best QB in NFL history… What I’m trying to say is that it’s practically sacrilege to even mention Smith in the same article as Montana. So although we all might want to sound smart by bringing this up, lets try to refrain from using that particular instance as an example.

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Kudos to Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, Colts offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen and free agent wide receiver Austin Collie, who are visiting U.S. troops at bases in Iraq and Afghanistan this week.

Manning and Collie are buddies, which causes us to wonder if Collie could land in Denver this offseason.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has agreed to restructure his contract with New England.  Should Denver’s Manning do the same?

The Broncos are coming away from the combine with many options for their 28th overall draft pick.

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