The Denver Broncos have agreed to a one-year deal with Justin Bannan (Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE).

The Denver Broncos have made one of the more important signings of the off-season, even though it will remain in the shadows of the Peyton Manning deal.

On Wednesday, the Broncos signed 6’3″, 310 pound defensive lineman Justin Bannan to a one-year deal.

While the team will most certainly have defensive line in mind with the 25th pick in this month’s draft, the need for depth made Bannan’s signing prudent, if not necessary.  The versatile and athletic Bannan has played each position on the line in a 3-4 scheme with the Broncos in 2010 and a 4-3 with the Rams in 2011.

During his 11 year career, Bannan has gotten better with age, starting 30 games over the last two years after being a bit player in stints with Buffalo and Baltimore.  His signing is a welcome sight to a defensive line that is scary thin leading up to the draft.

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The Broncos' brass needs to tread cautiously in their pursuit of Peyton Manning. (Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

A marriage vow is a contract of sorts, but a contract is no marriage.  For team owners it’s a good thing NFL deals don’t come with a prenuptial rider.

It would seem that Peyton Manning only has two suitors he’s willing to consider offering a rose to: the Arizona Cardinals and the Denver Broncos.  The uncomfortable part is that both teams already have starting quarterbacks.  Kevin Kolb signed a five-year, $63.5 million extension with the Cardinals last year, while the Broncos named Tim Tebow the starter in a post-season press conference.  This is where the NFL parts from the ridiculous marriage idiom, “you can look at the menu, you just can’t order.”

There is no doubt that the goal of every person on the Denver Broncos’ payroll from public relations, to members of the practice squad, to Pat Bowlen is to win championships.  Sometimes that end is going to result in difficult, even unpopular means.

Suffice it to say, this is what is transpiring at Dove Valley at this moment.  Based on the spirited discussions going on at the office water cooler, talk radio, and the comments of our readers, not everyone is convinced that this is the right call.  Perhaps you’re not convinced it’s the wrong call either; preferring to let the process play out before casting a concrete opinion.  Albeit very different, both Tebow and Manning have sensational upside and significant concerns moving forward.  A quick positive spin: there are fans clamouring to have Denver Broncos “problems” right now.

One thing that is concrete is that is NFL is more than just a business.  Just a business doesn’t draw 75,000 fans to a stadium on Sunday afternoons.  Just a business doesn’t attract 110 million Americans to its championship game.  Just a business doesn’t bring two grown men in Jim Irsay and Peyton Manning to the verge of tears at a press conference.  There is a passion, an energy, and an inexplicable force behind the game.

Three years ago the Broncos flirted with Matt Cassel.  The result of that pursuit was misinformation, assumptions, and ultimately bad blood that led to Jay Cutler being traded to the Chicago Bears.  While Cutler doesn’t really present himself as an expert on work-place relationships, he felt that the whole conflict could have been neutralized had the decision makers reached out to him.

I went in there with every intention of solving the issue, being a Bronco, moving forward as a Bronco.  We weren’t in there but about 20 minutes, (Josh McDaniels) did most of the talking and as far as I’m concerned, he made it clear he wants his own guy. He admitted he wanted Matt Cassel because he said he has raised him up from the ground as a quarterback. He said he wasn’t sorry about it. He made it clear that he could still entertain trading me because, as he put it, he’ll do whatever he feels is in the best interest of the organization.

At the end of the meeting, he wasn’t like, ‘Jay, I want you as our quarterback, you’re our guy.’ It felt like the opposite. He basically said that I needed to tell him if we can’t work this out, to let him know.  I thought he was antagonizing me and that was disappointing because I was ready to move on, committed as a Bronco. Really, I figured we’d hash things out, shake hands, laugh a little and move forward.

You know, even after the meeting, I hung around town, kind of expecting him to call me and say, ‘Hey, let’s just me and you get away and have lunch or a cup of coffee’ and mend things, but that didn’t happen. So, I get it, really, it’s a business. I’m disappointed because I love being a Bronco but I think it’s run its course.  -Jay Cutler, March 2009

If the Broncos end up signing Peyton Manning, they’ll have gotten a player they think will lead them to another Super Bowl victory.

However, if Manning decides to take his game to the desert, the Broncos need to be exceptionally diligent in reaching out to their starting quarterback to clear the air, lest history repeats itself.  That’s just good business.

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The billboard at 58th & Logan in Denver is all over Denver Broncos' quarterback news yet again.

The staff over at Multiline International Imports in Denver is at it again!  Dedicating every single LED on their electronic billboard to the Denver Broncos’ quarterback situation. 

You may remember last September when simple orange font on blue background read, “Broncos fans to John Fox: Play Tebow!!” 

Now we all know the history of October 2011 as it pertains to the Denver Broncos; the billboard even took the liberty of declaring October 11, 2011, “National Tebow Day” shortly after he was announced as the starter.

Well, something must be stirring in Dove Valley (okay, okay…Peyton Manning flew into town to meet with the Broncos’ brass), because the billboard has stopped advertising StarStuddz Body Jewelry and artificial flowers.  In its stead fans are asked, Manning or Tim Tebow?

So?  Who will it be?  The incumbent who captured our imagination with an impossible playoff run or the challenger who just happens to be the best quarterback of our time and/or history?

No matter where you stand on the issue, two things are certain: the billboard is indicates a conundrum and if you’re Pat Bowlen, John Elway, Brian Xanders, and John Fox, you absolutely have to at least take number 18 out for a steak to see how he’s enjoying Denver thus far.

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