When Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe signed a new four-year contract worth over $36 million dollars as the 2015 regular season was nearing its end, it was widely believed Malik Jackson would command a fairly similar number at some point in the near future. The market, however, doesn’t always play fairly. Wolfe, it now appears, may be a value proposition averaging $9.175 million per year. It’s downright sad, however, what some other key contributors in Denver’s 2015 title run could earn in 2016 thanks to a curious free agency rule.
On Tuesday it was reported that Denver was willing to go as high as $50 million over five years for Jackson, a defensive end who has 14 sacks over the past three years and exactly 100 tackles in his four years with the team that drafted him in the fifth round (101 spots after Wolfe). Wolfe, by comparison, has 140 tackles and 17 sacks having seen action in seven fewer games (although getting more total snaps in their early years). Jackson is reportedly asking for $75 million over five years and very well could get it, if not in Denver.
John Elway must be reasonable about the money he’s shelling out in the wake of a Super Bowl championship. Remember, Elway intends to build a franchise that can “win from now on,” not just one that wins right now.
Refusing to overpay a player like Jackson will ultimately be a wise move. Denver has Vance Walker and Kenny Anunike under contract and the 2016 NFL Draft is chock-full of quality defensive linemen. Jackson’s dollars can be better spent on shoring up the offensive line, adding a tight end to replace the failed Vernon Davis experiment, securing a quarterback and the little matter of re-signing the Super Bowl MVP, Von Miller.
One place the Broncos don’t have to spend those dollars is on a trio of players who were instrumental in Denver’s run to a third Lombardi Trophy.
With a 31-yard reception on third-and-12 in the fourth quarter of the AFC Divisional Playoff against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bennie Fowler effectively earned all $435,000 the Denver Broncos paid him in 2015. The undrafted college free agent who spent 2014 on the practice squad made just 16 catches during the regular season. But that clutch catch against Pittsburgh extended what would eventually be the game-winning touchdown drive. And his reception on the two-point conversion in the Super Bowl put Denver up by two full touchdowns with 3:13 to play. Fowler may not have contributed much volume, but those two plays were instrumental in Denver’s run to the title.
In 2016 he’s a candidate to be Denver’s No. 3 receiver, as Cody Latimer remains in a state of arrested development and Andre Caldwell and Jordan Norwood are both unrestricted free agents. Still, the player who potentially caught the last pass of Peyton Manning’s career could be looking at another year making the veteran minimum.
No player epitomized the Denver Broncos’ grind-it-out mentality last year than center Matt Paradis. A 2014 sixth-round pick, Paradis spent his first year in Denver on the practice squad before being thrust into the starting role in 2015. He responded by taking more snaps than any other player on offense. Outside of punt and field goal formations, if the offense was on the field, so was Paradis. He was asked to mature quickly, and while there was a steep learning curve at times, Paradis showed flashes of the player he can become – like in Week 15 when Pro Football Focus rated him the No. 1 center in the league for the week.
As a player, Elway benefitted greatly from having Tom Nalen as his full-time center for the last four years of his career. Nalen, a seventh-rounder, stayed for another nine years after Elway retired. Paradis appears to have all the makings of that kind of player in Gary Kubiak’s system. Yet Elway doesn’t have to pay him more than the league minimum if he doesn’t want to.
At no time was it more apparent than in the AFC Championship how important a kicker can be in deciding the outcome of a game. Were it not for Stephen Gostkowski’s missed PAT, the Denver Broncos very well could be having “how to get ever get over the hump” conversations right now instead of “how to stay atop the mountain” discussions. That fact was amplified even more when Graham Gano sent a field goal clanging off the right upright in Super Bowl 50.
Brandon McManus wasn’t perfect on the season – he missed five field goals and one PAT. But he was perfect in the playoffs and nailed a series of clutch kicks down the stretch that helped secure a No. 1 seed. Five times throughout the season the Broncos pulled out a victory by three points or less, and in each instance McManus contributed at least one field goal to the effort. And like Fowler and Paradis, McManus can be in the Broncos employ for the lowest possible price, given his time in the league, next year.
All three players fall under the category of “exclusive rights free agents,” described by Over the Cap as “players with 2 or less seasons in the league, a status reserved almost solely for undrafted rookie type players. Once tendered they can only negotiate with their former team. The tender offer is only a one year non-guaranteed contract at the minimum salary level…” Should these players not accept the offer from the Broncos, they’re only “free” to sit out the season.
It’s a cruel reality of the NFL that contributors to the Broncos’ third Super Bowl win, especially ones as vital as these, could be looking at take-it-or-leave-it minimum offers heading into 2016.
That’s not to say Elway couldn’t offer all three significant raises on longer-term deals. He might be wise to do so. Had the Broncos made larger commitments to Jackson and Brock Osweiler before they reached UFA status, they wouldn’t be faced with the prospect of either overpaying for them or losing them altogether. But a flame out from Fowler, an injury to Paradis or an inconsistent year from McManus could make a long-term deal look foolish when they could have been on the books for pennies on the dollar.
Derek Wolfe will be paid handsomely in 2016, and he deserves to be. Malik Jackson will likely earn even more (in Denver or elsewhere), regardless of whether or not he’s truly more valuable than Wolfe. That’s life in the NFL for unrestricted free agents.
Bennie Fowler, Matt Paradis and Brandon McManus will all make good money compared to the general public next year, but not necessarily their fair share of football money, given their previous and expected contributions to the Denver Broncos. That’s life in the NFL for exclusive rights free agents, fair or not.
