 get Sylvester Williams extended or if they address the position with another free agent.
Cornerback: I would expect the Broncos to examine draft prospects here, given that it remains to be seen if they will extend Bradley Roby and, even if they do, they need to think about a young player to groom behind Aqib Talib. Cornerback is a deep position in this year’s draft, so it’s a good time to find one who could help out in the near future. It wouldn’t surprise me if John Elway decides to draft a cornerback in the first round, especially if there isn’t anybody at other positions of need worth taking at that point. And if he drafts for another position in the first, I can see him using a second-round pick on a CB.
4. Free agency is another avenue in which Elway will likely address positions, though if he does, it will be to find players who can help sooner than later. So that means I wouldn’t expect him to pursue cornerbacks here, but he might explore the safety market, depending on what happens with Darian Stewart. Here is the link to Over the Cap’s free agent list — you can click on the tabs at the top to narrow the list by position.
Offensive tackle: The top two left tackles are Andrew Whitworth, who is aging, and Matt Kalil, who is coming off an injury. I doubt the Broncos pursue either player with the idea of kicking them to the right side. Most of the other left tackles are depth players, though one could be added to compete for the job at swing tackle. On the right side, keep in mind that Ryan Schrader has already been extended, so scratch him from your list. There’s Sebastian Vollmer, but he’s an aging player coming off injuries, though he might be OK on a one-year “prove it” deal. I doubt people will be enthused by the likes of Marcus Cannon, Mike Remmers and Gosder Cherlius. One intriguing player is Riley Reiff, but the question will be how much money he and his agent seek, given he’s collecting $8M under the fifth-year option of his rookie deal. It’s also worth asking if the Lions try to extend him — they have $31M in cap space for 2017, so they are in a position to retain him.
Tight end: Martellus Bennett is the most notable player on the list, but I imagine several teams will be pursuing him, assuming he doesn’t re-sign with the Patriots, who have $63M in projected cap space for 2017. After that, the quality of available players drops. Keep in mind that Kubiak will want tight ends who can block well, so the Broncos won’t pursue any tight end who struggles with that. And be wary of going after any player who is coming off a better-than-expected season but hasn’t had a consistent track record, yet might demand more money than he’s really worth.
3-4 defensive end: Most of the players here will have to take short-term deals, but there might be somebody who could help out. It’s not a position at which I would spend a ton of money, though.
Nose tackle: Dontari Poe is the most notable name and he’s arguably worth the franchise tag, which means that’s exactly what you should expect the Chiefs to do. The rest of the potential free agent crop doesn’t feature top drawer talent, but when you consider the going rate for most 3-4 defensive tackles, that means the Broncos wouldn’t have to spend a lot of money to acquire a veteran player. Ideally, they get Sylvester Williams extended, but that depends on whether or not he thinks he can get more playing in a 4-3 scheme.
Safety: If Darian Stewart departs, there are a lot of players available at this position who could help out and come at a reasonable price. You’ll see a few names that should be familiar, like old friends Mike Adams and Duke Ihenacho. I wouldn’t expect the Broncos to chase Eric Berry, who is likely to want a big payday. But given that Justin Simmons and Will Parks show promise, the Broncos could go the same route they went when they signed Stewart: Find a veteran who comes at a low cost but would fit the scheme well.
5. It doesn’t hurt to keep tabs on what your division rivals may have to do in the coming offseason. If you examine the cap and roster situations for each of the AFC West rivals, you can see each team is faced with a different predicament.
Oakland is in the best situation with a projected $42.3M in cap space and with not a lot of free agents who are likely to get big contracts. Nate Allen and Latavius Murray are two players the Raiders may want to keep, though neither is worth breaking the bank to do so. I would expect the Raiders to be active in free agency again, though not to the extent they were this past offseason. That’s because they also need to think about an extension for a player you’ve probably heard about: Derek Carr. After that, they need to consider extending guard Gabe Jackson. They have the fifth-round option they can exercise to keep Khalil Mack around for another year, but he’ll be due an extension next. It’s going to be interesting to see how Reggie McKenzie manages the roster and how well he drafts this offseason.
San Diego has $22.2M in projected cap space but has more key pending free agents. The most notable one is Melvin Ingram, who is having the best season of his career, but looks more like a secondary pass rusher alongside a top talent, rather than the primary guy. But if he seeks a payday in line with top pass rushers, the Chargers may have no choice but to let him walk and find somebody else. The franchise tag is an option, but that commits the Chargers to paying Ingram at the level of a premier pass rusher. They also have to consider if it’s worth extending Danny Woodhead, who fits their scheme well but has missed the bulk of two seasons with injuries, and Manti Te’o, who has been a solid performer at inside linebacker but might not be kept if the Chargers extend Ingram. The Chargers will have to be careful with their offseason moves, because while they have a chance to improve their position, the wrong move could constrain their position in the coming seasons.
Kansas City is in the toughest cap position. The Chiefs are expected to be about $800,000 above the cap. They can get under the cap by cutting Jamaal Charles, which I think everyone expects will happen. But the Chiefs have other issues, too. As mentioned, Dontari Poe and Eric Berry are free agents. The franchise tag is worth using in Poe, but that means they can’t extend Berry. There is no chance they’ll tag Berry, even if Poe is extended, because Berry’s cap number will increase to the point it’s not worth tagging him. Ideally, they would get both Poe and Berry extended without having to use the tag, but it doesn’t appear likely they’ll get both extended. I expect Berry to seek his fortunes elsewhere. The Chiefs won’t be done there, though — they have to figure out their quarterback situation, in which they must part ways with either Alex Smith or Nick Foles. Cutting or trading Smith frees $9.7M in cap space with $7.2M in dead money, while cutting or trading Foles clears $10.4M in space with no dead money. I doubt the Chiefs will be able to trade Foles, but there’s an outside chance they could trade Smith. Whatever they decide to do, though, it’s clear that the Chiefs need to draft a quarterback in 2017. But even after making the quarterback move, they still need to find more wiggle room. It means the Chiefs need to be careful not to fall into the same trap the Saints fell into, in which they keep trying to squeeze players under the cap and keep punting hits down the road, for which the end result is a team with some talent, but not enough overall to keep them a playoff contender.
6. Finally, I am happy to announce that I will be having a novel published in the near future. I’ll just leave a link here to my personal blog at which you can get some of the details, the post that discusses the basics of what the book is about and to my Facebook author page. The book is currently in the editing phase with my publisher and there hasn’t been a release date set yet, but you can check those links I’ve provided to keep updated on that. I’m excited about my future prospects with novel writing, but even as that may keep me occupied, I plan to continue contributing here.
And that wraps it up for this week. Go Broncos!
Myrlen Ambrose Smith, 83, of New Stanton, Pa. died Thursday December 13, 2018 at Walden’s View of North Huntingdon. He was born October 20, 1935 in New Stanton, Pa. Son of the late Myrlen Ambrose and Marie Anna Wise Smith. Prior to his retirement, he was employed at the Greensburg Block Company as a truck driver. Myrlen was a very hard worker. He loved his dogs Angel and Daisy. He loved watching Western movies as well as wrestling. He loved to go hunting in Cane County, as well as camping at Scotty Land Campground, in his early years. He is preceded in death by both parents and survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Rosella