John Elway Calls Broncos TE Virgil Green The Team’s ‘Rock’
We all know about Julius Thomas and his ugly situation at this point as it pertains to the Denver Broncos, but what many people aren’t focusing on is the fact that the Broncos are likely working on a multi-year deal to keep fellow class of 2011 tight end Virgil Green in the building, and for good reason.
“We like Virgil a lot,” Elway said, per The Denver Post. “He is a big part of what we do. He is kind of our rock.”
The statistics support that. At one point last year, Virgil Green went down with an injury and when he left the Broncos’ lineup offensively, the team started losing games. They were, at one point, undefeated (8-0) in games that Green played and 1-3 in games he didn’t, leading to some dark horse Broncos MVP talk…
Regardless of what he accomplished this past season as a receiver, what he’s done to develop into the blocker that he has is an incredible feat. Green is so versatile and so sneakily good, that other teams are going to be surprised if and when he receives a bigger role in the offense.
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We saw a glimpse at the end of last season when he was shredding the Raiders in a blowout win for the Broncos, catching his first touchdown pass from the right hand of Brock Osweiler.
Green’s underrated contributions have not gone unnoticed by Broncos country, and certainly not by the front office, which is primed to bring him back according to people I’ve talked to. From what I have been told, Green is among the Broncos’ highest priority in-house free agents.
The team spoke to player reps for Demaryius Thomas, Terrance Knighton, Rahim Moore, and Orlando Franklin at the Scouting Combine (reportedly) but Green might be the only one among those five to receive a multi-year deal from the team this offseason. It would be a wise move for the Broncos, as he graded out as the team’s best run blocking tight end by a mile and only stands to get better in an expanded role.
With Green projected to be in the fold, the Broncos are also looking at James Casey on Thursday in a move that would provide the Broncos with some nice veteran depth. Not only is Green a free agent, but so are Julius Thomas and Jacob Tamme. The Broncos have only Dominique Jones, a practice squad player most of last year, on the roster under contract.
If Green is the team’s ‘rock’ as Elway claims, you can bet he’ll be re-signing sooner rather than later, and the Broncos will be much better for it.