With free agency looming in the NFL, teams are preparing strategies to improve their rosters.
For 30 NFL teams, the season is over. However, the preparation has already begun for next season. Which moves will put a team over the top? Those decisions start with free agency.
For the Denver Broncos, it will be a critical offseason. The team has decided to retain head coach Vic Fangio, but with John Elway stepping down and George Paton coming in as the new general manager, things will be quite interesting.
Entering free agency, teams want to have the most assets (salary cap space) available. Those teams not only have to decide which of their own free agents to re-sign, but also which players to target from other teams around the league.
For the Broncos, Justin Simmons, Shelby Harris, Elijah Wilkinson and DeMarcus Walker are all scheduled to become unrestricted free agents. In order to improve their current salary cap status, the Broncos could create quite a bit of extra space by moving on from these four players.
1. Kareem Jackson, safety: $10 million
Kareem Jackson has not played bad. In fact, in two seasons with the team, he has been quite good and seems to be in on nearly every single play. Releasing him would not be due to performance.
That said, if the team hands a big deal to Justin Simmons, and most believe they will, do you want to have that much money tied into the safety position? I have already given my thoughts on what the team should do with Jackson this offseason, though there is a strong argument to keep him in the fold.
It just seems that the money could be better used elsewhere. The team could turn to a veteran like Will Parks next year to assume Jackson’s role and then use a third or fourth-round pick on a safety to develop behind him.
Jackson has been great for the team, but at 33 years old, he’s a little bit too expensive.
A.J. Bouye, cornerback: $13.2 million
The Broncos attempted to soften the blow of the eventual loss of Chris Harris last offseason by trading for A.J. Bouye, and that was a move that many fans liked. But Bouye did not have a good season in Denver.
He played in just seven games, hobbled by injuries before being suspended toward the end of the season. That suspension will carry over into next season. Bouye is not expected to be back with the team.
The Broncos can take the $13.2 million (which includes no dead money) and put that back into the salary cap to use for their own free agents or another player or players from other teams. Bouye may still have some good football left in him, but it didn’t work out for him in Denver and it makes plenty of sense to let him go.
Of course, that makes the cornerback position and even bigger need this offseason and as a result, the team should be looking to select a cornerback possibly in the first round of the draft.
Free-agent cornerbacks that should be considered include William Jackson, Mackensie Alexander, Chidobe Awuzie and Desmond King.
Jurrell Casey, defensive tackle: $11.8 million
When the Broncos traded for Jurrell Casey last offseason, getting him for next to nothing, some analysts around the league felt that it might be the best transaction any team made. It never panned out that way.
Casey, who excelled for years with the Tennessee Titans, was shut down in Denver after playing in just three games for the team. Now, dumping him in order to get back nearly $12 million in cap space (with no dead money) seems like almost a sure thing.
It would be a shame to see Casey’s tenure in Denver end that way, but that is just a bit too much money to be giving a 31-year old player coming off of an injury like that.
The defensive line is a spot the team will need to focus on this offseason, much like it did last year when the team traded for Casey and re-signed Shelby Harris.
Harris will be an unrestricted free agent once again, but the team will get back Mike Purcell and both Dre’Mont Jones and McTelvin Agim are promising young players.
It would have been great to see Casey be the player that made five straight Pro Bowls with the Titans, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards in Denver.
Von Miller, linebacker: $18 million
Here’s the move Broncos fans are not going to want to talk about, but it’s an idea that must be discussed.
Though Von Miller is perhaps the greatest defensive player in team history and still has the talent to be one of the league’s best pass rushers, it’s hard to say that he’s worth that kind of cap number after missing an entire season and turning 32 years old in March.
The Broncos have a club option that would allow them to release Miller and save $18 million against the cap, though there would be a $4.1 million dead-money hit.
It’s hard to talk about moving on from the MVP of Super Bowl 50 and the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks, but it might be in the best interest of the team.
The Broncos have Bradley Chubb who just had a Pro-Bowl season and an underrated (and much cheaper) option in Malik Reed. These guys may never have the impact that Miller did, but when players miss seasons and see their production go down (which Von has), then difficult decisions sometimes need to be made.
Hey, if Peyton Manning can get cut, it can happen to anyone.
Miller’s place in Denver history can never be touched, but the idea of him finishing his career in another jersey is a distinct possibility.