The Broncos were quite public when they brought in Jake Long on the eve of training camp, showing they were serious about shoring up an offensive line that had been rocked by free agency and injury in the offseason. But Long never signed and the Broncos moved forward with a core of young offensive linemen, including a center and right guard and right tackle who have yet to take a regular-season snap in the NFL.
The Broncos kept things quite under wraps, however, with their real target in shoring up the offensive line: Evan Mathis.
Mathis had his name surface on more than one Mile High Sports radio show and in the Mile High Sports Daily as a potential fix for the Broncos, but there were no confirmed reports that Denver was even in talks with the 2013 All-Pro until the team dropped the bombshell that they had signed him.
If reports are accurate, Mathis signs an extremely team-friendly deal that puts him right in to the starting lineup of a team heavily favored to compete for a championship. The one-year deal also likely keeps previously installed starter Max Garcia on the roster as a likely backup to both Mathis and rookie center Matt Paradis.
As the bomb dropped, Twitter exploded as expected. Here are some of the top reactions from the MHS team and the media at large on the news that Denver had just inked one of the top free agents still on the market…
It may have taken until August 25, but PFM's pay cut just got used on someone that directly helps PFM. Incredible move by Elway.
— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) August 25, 2015
Fantastic news about the signing of @evanmathis69 by the #Broncos. That's a chips all-in move. Love it!
— James Merilatt (@jamesmerilatt) August 25, 2015
It may have taken until August 25, but PFM's pay cut just got used on someone that directly helps PFM. Incredible move by Elway.
— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) August 25, 2015
Evan Mathis’ deal is worth $4mil with incentives. He turned a $5.5mil deal down from another team because he wanted to play for a contender
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 25, 2015
https://twitter.com/JoshPennock/status/636300619146334208
Broncos now have the two guards who were first-team Associated Press All-Pros in 2013 w/Louis Vasquez and Evan Mathis.
— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) August 25, 2015
Still projects as long-term starter. Likely swing backup this year. RT @danz026: Got to feel sorry for Garcia. Kid hasn't put a foot wrong.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 25, 2015
Heading into today, the Broncos had $8.417 in cap space. But some people continued to insist they had "cap issues." #Groupthink
— James Merilatt (@jamesmerilatt) August 25, 2015
With the signing of Mathis… #Broncos now have 11 Pro Bowlers of their 22 starters… No excuses not to make it to the Super Bowl.
— Eric Goodman (@EricGoodman) August 25, 2015