Released OG Evan Mathis, Broncos Are a Perfect Match
The Philadelphia Eagles released Evan Mathis, one of the best offensive guards in all of professional football, making a very rare Pro Bowl caliber player available here in June.
The Denver Broncos’ cap situation is such that they could move some things around to afford Mathis at whatever cap number he’s asking for, as long as it’s not in excess of probably $5 million per season, but the question is whether or not they have the cash to do so.
According to OverTheCap.com’s calculations, the Broncos have over $7 million in cap space right now, and they certainly have some contracts they could rid of if they needed the extra space, and their cash cap spending is around $148.5 million.
It might put them right up against their cash cap, but the Broncos should at least give a call to Mathis’ people. They just lost Ryan Clady at the left tackle position, and adding Mathis to the left guard spot could soften the blow and give the Broncos some elite play from both guard positions this year in addition to breaking in some youngsters at the tackle spots.
One of the most significant problem areas for the Broncos over the last couple of seasons has been allowing interior pressure and Mathis has graded out as the top or 2nd best offensive guard in football by Pro Football Focus each of the last four seasons.
I think we could all agree, this would be an upgrade on the roster for the Broncos, but if Mathis is hung up on getting more cash than the Broncos can realistically afford, there will be no deal. This, on paper, simply seems like a perfect fit for both parties. Mathis wants to play for a team that has a chance of winning, and the Broncos have no clear starter at left guard.
It would be a good way to invest some of that money that Peyton Manning gave back to the team this offseason, perhaps for a situation such as this.
If the Broncos have already allocated all of their funds elsewhere, they could look to move a contract currently on the roster to free up some room. There were reportedly trade discussions for Mathis before his release, but it’s unknown at this point whether the Broncos were involved in those talks, but that wouldn’t surprise me at all.
Evan Mathis will command plenty of attention as free agent.As of now, #Broncos not expected to pursue him.They have talked up Garland,Smith
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) June 12, 2015
So, for the doubters that this will happen out there, there’s that.