Colquitt a possible cap casualty?

With a blockbuster deal for Von Miller imminent, one has to wonder about the ramifications of the salary cap and how this will effect the rest of the roster. Unfortunately, it could be the longest tenured player on the Broncos that could be a victim of Von’s deal. 

The day has arrived! The affectionately dubbed “Von Miller day” is in full swing and everybody across the NFL is anxious to see what happens with Miller and the Broncos.  While there has been some optimism that a deal will get done today (the latest report is that the Broncos have offered at least $70 million in guaranteed money), it’s important to keep in mind that all may not be right in Broncos country even if they strike a deal with #58.

It’s the great balancing act. Whenever a team hands out a lucrative contract to a player, a pink slip is handed to another. Now the reasoning for this could vary. Some teams may have  to get rid of a player/s to get more cap room for the extended player. It could also be the case of the player just not performing up to their contract anymore.  In the case of the Broncos, I think there’s one player that has been on the hot seat for a while and would certainly qualify in both of the above distinctions. That player is Punter Britton Colquitt.

Since coming to Denver in 2009, Colquitt has established himself as not only one of the more

consistent players on the team, but one of the best players at his position in the NFL.  It seemed like whenever we needed a clutch play from the punting unit, Colquitt was able to deliver. Very rarely did you see a Colquitt punt that resulted in bad yardage.  Unfortunately, his play plateaued and we have seen a regression from Colquitt in the past two seasons.

After averaging just over 46 yards per punt in his first three seasons as the Broncos punter, his average in recent seasons has slipped to 44 yards per punt. To be more specific, his punting average has gotten worse in each of the last three seasons (2013- 44.5, 2014- 44.2, 2015-43.6). Combine that with a lucrative contract(for a punter) and it’s easy to see why Colquitt may be on the hot seat.

Now despite the regression in the regular season, it’s important to point out that Colquitt was fantastic in the Broncos postseason run in 2015. While he only averaged 43.6 yards per punt in the regular season, he boosted his production to an impressive 46.6 yards per punt in the postseason, helping the Broncos on their Super Bowl run.  It’s encouraging to see a player perform so well in clutch situations but unfortunately, the language of the NFL is money and more than anything else, that may be the deciding factor in Colquitt’s presence on the team.

With a $4 million dollar salary in 2016 and the Broncos using a draft pick on a Punter this spring, it would appear that the writing may be on the wall for Colquitt.  As much as we appreciate his great play in the postseason, it’s hard to justify keeping a player at his position when he is owed that much money and there is a younger player on the roster that could do the job for a fraction of a price. That doesn’t mean that the younger player is better, but this is a common procedure that most NFL teams go through.

Even if the younger, cheaper player isn’t as good as the established veteran, it may be the better move to keep the younger guy IF he can provide solid play. We’d like to think that all NFL teams believe in keeping the best players on their roster but for financial reasons, that’s not always the case.

So to recap, Britton Colquitt’s roster spot with the Broncos isn’t safe for the following reasons.

1. Von’s new deal may force the Broncos to create space on other spots of the team to afford him.
2. The team drafted a punter this year. It’s one thing to bring in competition, but to outright draft a specialist is a clear sign that they want the young guy to stick around (in some capacity).
3. Colquitt’s YPP average has gone down every year for the past three years.
4. His $4 million dollar salary in 2016 makes him one of the highest paid punters in the league and it’s hard to justify a team keeping him at that number considering his decline in play.

We’ll see how this all shakes out but let’s be clear here, somebody will probably pay the price for Von getting a new deal with the Broncos and for a variety of reasons, that person could very well be Britton Colquitt.