The Denver Broncos have signed all but two members of their 2015 NFL Draft class, according to reports from Mike Klis and Troy Renck.
#Broncos have signed second round pick Ty Sambrailo
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) May 15, 2015
#broncos also signed offense of lineman Max Garcia. Became official today
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) May 15, 2015
I was certain the signing of Garcia had already been made official by the team, but Renck is an informed guy. He would know.
The Broncos have now signed every rookie in their class except for Shane Ray, who hasn’t practiced fully while recovering from his toe injury, or Jeff Heuerman, who tore his ACL in the first rookie minicamp of the offseason.
That’s the curious one at this point, as Ray is likely seeking similar or more of a bonus than other rookies who have been previously selected at his specific slot.
With the layout of the newest CBA between owners and players, there’s not much to debate about rookie contracts. Ray’s contract will come with a fifth year option for the team as a first round pick. All other rookies have four-year contracts with differing amounts, obviously, due to the round they were selected in.
Getting Sambrailo under contract is great news, as he will likely be the team’s starting right tackle or left guard this season. Right now, all signs point to him playing right guard.
The signing of Siemian and Nixon comes very shortly after the Broncos had signed fellow seventh round pick Josh Furman to, as Klis reported, an identical contract.
We now await the interesting terms of what Jeff Heuerman’s contract will be. Most rookies wait to sign their deals before practicing but in the case of Heuerman, he’s going to likely miss his entire rookie season and doesn’t have a deal in place. I’ll be intrigued to see how the Broncos approach that.
The Jacksonville Jaguars gave Dante Fowler Jr., their top pick this year and a player who suffered a similar fate during rookie minicamp, the deal they would have otherwise given him if he were healthy.
Maybe the Broncos will petition the league for some sort of fifth year exception for Heuerman, since signing him for this season is not going to give them anything in terms of on-field production.