The Denver Broncos may have solved their issue at right tackle without having to spend a lot of money or burn a precious draft pick.
On Thursday, the team chose to sign veteran Billy Turner, a familiar name because he played for the Broncos for three seasons from 2016-18. Now he returns after spending the last three seasons helping protect Aaron Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers.
Turner is an established veteran but this signing makes sense for multiple reasons.
Billy Turner is familiar with these surroundings
Not only is Turner familiar with the Broncos, but the team’s new head coach, Nathaniel Hackett, was the offensive coordinator with the Packers during Turner’s tenure there.
He will be an ideal fit for the offensive scheme that Hackett intends to run and should be seen as the team’s best option to start at right tackle right now.
The other options are Calvin Anderson and Tom Compton, two players who could step in if needed to make a start here and there but Turner is closer to the type of player the Broncos should look to lean on.
There is a good chance the Broncos still select a tackle in the draft for even more depth as well.
The Broncos have been fairly quiet this offseason since the mega deal that landed Russell Wilson to be the team’s new quarterback and the five-year, $70 million contract the team handed to pass-rusher Randy Gregory.
General manager George Paton has made some smaller moves such as signing linebacker Alex Singleton and defensive backs J.R. Reed and K’Waun Williams. This move to sign Turner will fly under the radar as well, but it helps solve one of the team’s biggest remaining needs.
Broncos have agreed with former Packer OL Billy Turner on one-year deal per source. There’s your right tackle. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) March 25, 2022
Kudos to Paton for this move. It makes sense both on the field and in financial terms and gives the Broncos a player that can help the team right away while also buying time for a young player to grow and develop under, should the team look to draft a tackle.
Grading the signing
Turner’s name had been thrown around before as a player we would have liked to see the Broncos sign this offseason as the right tackle spot was a position of serious need. The move makes more sense than the Compton signing and gives the team a starter for Week 1 if a better option does not emerge.
Paton did not break the bank with this signing, as Turner was given just a one-year deal. Signing La’el Collins, for example, would have been much more costly.
This was a solid move and in my opinion, right behind the Gregory and D.J. Jones signings as the next best move Paton has made in free agency since the signing period started.
Grade: B+