Denver Broncos re-sign the “glue” of the defense, Josey Jewell
The Denver Broncos are bringing back the “glue” of the defense, re-signing linebacker Josey Jewell to a two-year deal worth $11 million.
The Denver Broncos are bringing back a key member of their defense, re-signing linebacker Josey Jewell to a two-year contract worth $11 million in total money.
At an average annual value of $5.5 million, this contract is certainly a bargain for the Denver Broncos, especially considering they got a multi-year pact from Jewell, who was an ascending player in the defense and someone who was playing outstanding football prior to an early pectoral injury last season.
https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1503807943749382144
Denver Broncos re-sign Josey Jewell, continue adding to defensive front seven
After his first four years with the franchise, The Outlaw is back for another couple of years with the Denver Broncos.
A former fourth-round pick out of Iowa, Jewell had become a starter in his rookie season back in 2018. Early in the 2019 season, however, he was replaced in the starting lineup by Alexander Johnson while out with an injury and ended up playing a backup role behind Johnson and Todd Davis.
It seemed like Jewell was on his way to only being a backup, but he had a strong enough camp in 2020 that the Broncos made the surprising move to cut starter Todd Davis and paired up Josey with Alexander Johnson.
By the end of the 2020 season, it was clear that the Broncos had found their starting duo, at least for the time being. Jewell had a career-high 113 total tackles, five tackles for loss, five QB hits, and two sacks in the 2020 season.
He was one of the most improved players on the team, and carried that progression into year four. He had eight tackles, two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble in the team’s first two games before going down on a special teams play against the New York Giants with a pectoral injury.
After the 2021 season, George Paton had some refreshing and somewhat surprising things to say about Jewell’s impact on the defense.
"So we have Josey Jewell and A.J. Johnson [who] are free agents, so we’ll look at them. I like both of them. The coaches have to watch them. But obviously we missed them when they were out. I know Josey was kind of the glue, and A.J. is a real physical presence in the run game.George Paton, via DenverBroncos.com"
Obviously, the new coaches watched the tape and liked what they saw from Josey Jewell. Alexander Johnson’s status remains in the air but the Broncos are also very high on 2021 third-round pick Baron Browning and 2021 trade acquisition Jonas Griffith, two young guys with freakish athleticism.
Jewell is sort of the quarterback of that Broncos defense when he’s out there. He will wear the green dot, in all likelihood, and communicate the defensive calls. The scheme under new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero will have plenty of similarities to the defense Vic Fangio was running, and Jewell will have no trouble picking it up.
It’s important to note as well — George Paton revealed at the Scouting Combine that Jewell is fully recovered from the pectoral injury he suffered last year.
The Outlaw returns.