John Elway on Garett Bolles’ holding: It’s gotta stop, period

Denver Broncos general manager John Elway knows that Garett Bolles is costing his team points and playing a key role in losses with his penalties.

The Denver Broncos do not have the depth to put Garett Bolles on the bench at this point, but if they did, would they?

Bolles has caught the attention of everyone in Broncos Country for the wrong reason — he’s holding way too much.

As a matter of fact, the guy who drafted him — Broncos GM John Elway — has taken note of literally every holding penalty Bolles has been called for since he was drafted, and he’s saying that enough is enough.

Check out this quote from the boss, the Duke, the guy in charge of the roster.

“It’s gotta stop.”

“No more excuses for it.”

He reiterates, “It’s gotta stop.”

Elway admitted he literally asked Bolles if he knows what he’s doing and whether or not he knows what holding is. Does he know what’s even legal in the NFL?

These are stunningly up-front quotes from Elway, who usually finds a way to spin things positively to the media. He still did that at the end of the quote by saying that Bolles has talent, but it’s clear the frustration with the former first-round pick has reached a boiling point for everyone in the building.

Emmanuel Sanders said on Tuesday at his media session:

"On how the offensive players can support T Garett Bolles“At the end of the day, we’re all band of brothers. Obviously, I’m going to keep trying to talk to Bolles and see if we can get him right and understanding what he’s doing wrong because obviously to say that he’ll be alright is not OK. He needs to understand that he is doing something wrong because they keep throwing the flags on him and he keeps holding. I’m going to talk to him and hopefully we keep breaking down the film and just see him make that jump and get that debt off his back because it’s been happening for like two or three years.”On if he talks to Bolles mid-game before“I’ve talked to him. Everybody’s trying to talk to him, so we’ll see.”Emmanuel Sanders (quotes via Broncos PR, emphasis mine)"

Can you sense the frustration in Sanders’ tone there?

He’s trying to keep things as cordial as possible by saying that they’re a band of brothers but notice his word choices there.

Everybody’s ‘trying’ to talk to Bolles. They want to see if they can ‘get him right’ and ‘understanding’ what he’s doing wrong.

From what Elway, Sanders, and other players have stated about Bolles, it sounds like the issue here is a desire to get better, or lack of one.

Bolles, according to John Elway, has 26 holding penalties in his two years and two games in the NFL so far. If he’s going to continue to play sloppy, the Broncos will have no choice but to make a change. Does their frustration ultimately lead them to replace Bolles with someone like Elijah Wilkinson when Ja’Wuan James comes back from his knee sprain?

Would the Broncos entertain the idea of trading for Trent Williams in Washington? All of that is possible at this point, and Bolles has to get things right quickly.