On Monday following a loss that eliminated the Denver Broncos from playoff contention, head coach Gary Kubiak revealed that center Matt Paradis will undergo surgery this offseason, presumably to repair a hip injury that has limited him all season. Kubiak also discussed Paradis’ status for next Sunday’s meaningless finale.
“We’re pushing everybody to play and to go,” Kubiak said when asked if Paradis would play Sunday. “I don’t see that right now. Matt has been good. He’s played well. He’s just facing an offseason surgery. I know it’s important to Matt. He’s always ready to battle. I expect that from everybody and I have gotten that from everybody. I don’t see any changes like that at this point.”
Much credit goes out to Paradis, who has been exceptional again this year, but there is no reason he should risk any further damage to his body in what is now, officially, a lost season.
Paradis was the NFL’s lone true ironman in 2015 as the only player to take every single snap on his side of the ball. He and Max Garcia are on pace to do the same in 2016. At this point the only real reason Paradis should want to be on the field against Oakland next Sunday is for the bonus check he’ll receive for playing every snap.
Paradis, a sixth-round draft pick in 2015, is still on an exclusive rights free agent contract through 2017. This year he’ll make just $525,000 in base salary. In 2015 he made just $425,000, nearly doubling his salary with the $391,647.56 performance bonus he reportedly earned for playing every snap.
Still, even a bonus of that amount this year wouldn’t be a wise financial decision compared to the risk Paradis would be taking by playing on an already injured hip. Named a Pro Bowl alternate this year, Paradis has received high praise across the league and was Pro Football Focus’s top-rated center through the first half of the year.
As an exclusive rights free agent in 2017, the Broncos can offer Paradis a league-minimum salary (based on his experience) and his only options are to accept the offer or sit out a season. That’s great for Denver, who gets one more year out of a potential All-Pro caliber player at the league minimum, but a major risk for Paradis – especially playing a position so ripe for injury as center.
That’s why the Broncos need to do the right thing heading into Week 17 and give Paradis the week off. Let the healing process begin now and start reloading the parts around him for another run at a title in 2017. Heaven forbid something bad happen in a meaningless game that leaves them going into next season without the centerpiece (literally and figuratively) of their line.
There’s no doubt Paradis, a true competitor and great teammate, want’s to play – but it’s a risk he and the Broncos just shouldn’t take.