Denver Broncos: John Elway’s top 5 worst free agents or trades
2. Menelik Watson, 2017
Contract: Three years, $18.375 million
Given time, this move could bump up to Elway’s worst, as it was one of the most expensive and egregious errors in recent team history.
Watson was not a good player for the Oakland Raiders when healthy, which he rarely was, but for some reason, the Broncos felt it necessary to pay him more than the minimum wage at the tackle position.
As a matter of fact, Watson seemingly worked his way into an ironclad contract for at least two seasons with a hefty dead money number even into year three.
He’s got a great agent, apparently (Pat Dye Jr.).
In an injury-shortened 2017 season (go figure…), Watson played just 447 snaps and allowed a whopping nine sacks.
Yikes.
It was a horrendous start to his Broncos career, but the team seems to think he can contribute as a reserve or maybe even at guard, so for now he’s still number two.