Horse Tracks: Broncos have busy week ahead

It’s the end of the league year, time for a little housekeeping.

It’s been nearly two months since the Denver Broncos last played a down of football. It’s been even longer than that for meaningful football. In this year’s edition of “How do we turn this disaster around?,” the Broncos will make a bunch of moves this week to get where they want to be with the salary cap going into the new league year that begins next week, Wednesday, March 13th.

It’s doubtful that the Broncos will franchise or transition tag anyone before the franchise tag deadline passes on Tuesday at 2:00pm MT. Without that distraction, the Broncos will be free to focus on the salary cap.

While the salary cap for 2024 was increased higher than most projected, Denver has some work to do to position themselves to make the moves they need to make this year.

Obviously, the topic on everyone’s mind is Russell Wilson and his albatross anvil-shaped anchor of a contract. While not totally impossible, it’s unlikely we will see an outright release this week. If Denver does move on from Wilson, it’s been widely speculated that he will be a post-June 1 cut so that the impact of his contract’s dead money can be spread out over two years, instead of just the one that releasing him now would allow.

So, while the topic of most Broncos’ fan’s interest can’t be addressed just now, expect the Broncos to take long hard looks at players in the secondary and wide receiver positions. Some players will be on the move (likely Damari Mathis) and some are candidates for restructure (Tim Patrick).

We’ll likely begin to hear rumblings of trades that will be announced when the unofficial tampering period begins a week from now on March 11. Will there be a blockbuster trade that could catapult Denver into a position where they could draft that all-important (and seemingly elusive) quarterback of the future? Who could be on the move? Trading Courtland Sutton, Justin Simmons, and even Patrick Surtain have long been the topics of debate among fans. The clouded future of these and other players will become a little clearer by week’s end.

While the turnaround is still months (likely years) away, it’s good to see that the boat is at least in the water and hasn’t caught fire… yet. For the 8th time in as many years, hope for a winning season remains on the horizon. This week is one of the larger babysteps in that process.

HEADLINES

Thoughts on Denver Broncos quarterback situation? | ‘GMFB’
“GMFB” share their thoughts on the Denver Broncos quarterback situation.

Award-winning ESPN NFL reporter Chris Mortensen dies at 72 – ESPN
Chris Mortensen, an award-winning journalist who reported on the NFL for ESPN for more than three decades, died Sunday morning at the age of 72.

Bengals’ Joe Burrow expects to be cleared from injury by May – ESPN
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow, recovering from surgery to repair a torn wrist ligament in his throwing hand, said Sunday he expects to be fully cleared by the middle of May, and he anticipates being a part of the Bengals’ organized team activities.

Olumuyiwa Fashanu ends combine workout due to thigh injury – ESPN
Penn State offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu cut short his on-field workout at the scouting combine because of a thigh injury.

Report: Bills plan to release Nyheim Hines – NBC Sports
The Bills are moving on from running back Nyheim Hines.

Braylon Edwards saves 80-year-old man who was being assaulted by a 25-year-old – NBC Sports
Former NFL receiver Braylon Edwards was in the right place at a critical time.

Player tracking data gains value at the Combine after Puka Nacua stood out last year – NBC Sports
Timing of players at the Scouting Combine isn’t just done with stopwatches.

Most players don’t do every Combine workout, and many don’t do any – NBC Sports
Players are increasingly recognizing that if they don’t think the workouts at the Scouting Combine are going to raise their draft stock, they’re free to skip them.

NFL rules rumors: Drastic changes may be coming to NFL kickoffs in 2024, per report – CBSSports.com
Kickoffs may never be the same

2024 NFL Combine takeaways: Grades for top OL prospects, plus winners and losers from on-field workouts – CBSSports.com
Here’s who won and lost among OL on the last day of the NFL Combine

New onside kick rules could be up for vote at Annual League Meeting
A new kickoff rule crafted by NFL special team coordinators would allow teams to attempt an onside kick only when trailing in the fourth quarter and require them to declare in advance, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Sunday.

2024 NFL free agency: Five players who should stay with current team, five who should hit open market
Chase Young and Antoine Winfield Jr. are about to hit free agency for the first time in their respective careers. So, what’s the next move for each playmaker? Adam Rank spotlights five pending free agents who should stay put and five who should hit the op

2024 NFL Scouting Combine stock up/stock down, Day 4: Five offensive linemen star in Indianapolis
Who boosted their draft stock and who took a step in the wrong direction on the final day of workouts at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine? Chad Reuter provides a stock report from Indianapolis.