The Super Bowl champions, the Denver Broncos, lost their second quarterback in less than a week when the NFL free agency began on Wednesday.
With Peyton Manning retired, his supposed successor, Brock Osweiler, headed to Houston. Broncos defensive end Malik Jackson went to Jacksonville and linebacker Danny Trevathan to Chicago.
Denver has clearly been weakened, although at least Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Von Miller was franchise tagged and will not be going anywhere.
Photo: AP
“We’ve stayed true to our philosophy of building a team of players who want to be Denver Broncos and want to be here. That’s been a successful approach for us,” general manager John Elway said. “While we did offer a very competitive and fair long-term contract to Brock, we ultimately had to remain disciplined while continuing to assemble a roster that can compete for championships.”
Osweiler started the last seven games of the regular season when Manning was injured, but was benched in the playoffs when Manning returned.
“It was very difficult,” Osweiler said about leaving Denver. “I’d be lying to you if I said anything else. I had a tremendous four seasons there in Denver and those are four years that I’ll always hold close to my heart, but bottom line, coming to Houston was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”
The Carolina Panthers, who fell 24-10 to Denver in the Super Bowl, retained All-Pro fullback Mike Tolbert and re-signed defensive end Charles Johnson to a lower salary.
Among other moves, All-Pro running back Doug Martin re-signed with Tampa Bay for five years, while center Alex Mack chose Atlanta over Cleveland.
DeMarco Murray, the 2014 Offensive Player of the Year with Dallas, spent a fruitless season in Philadelphia and was traded to Tennessee.
Carolina’s Charles Johnson, cut last week, received a one-year contract worth US$3 million to return to the NFC champions, according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. He said Johnson turned down an offer in excess of US$6 million from another team.
“My heart was in Carolina,” Johnson said. “Once you put all that energy into it, I feel like I would have been wasting all that work had I gone somewhere else for some dollars. I’d rather be happy doing what I’m doing around people that I know and I’m comfortable with. I can’t wait to get back to work.”
Tampa Bay’s Martin, the top running back on the market, will get more than US$35 million, with US$15 million guaranteed, from the Buccaneers. Martin has had two outstanding seasons with the Buccaneers and two injury-filled years.
“I’ve always saw myself as a Buc. I didn’t think I was going anywhere else,” Martin said.
Indianapolis released veteran receiver Andre Johnson.
Johnson was a mainstay in Houston for 12 years, making two All-Pro teams, but was a disappointment with the Colts in his only season in Indy with 41 catches for 503 yards and four touchdowns.
Mack opted out of his deal with Cleveland and gets five years from the Atlanta Falcons, who have had instability at center since longtime starter Todd McClure retired following the 2012 season.
Headed to Miami was defensive end Mario Williams and his signing after being released by Buffalo led to the Dolphins removing the transition tag from Olivier Vernon, who then agreed to terms with the Giants. The transition tag was for US$12.734 million; Williams got US$17 million over two years from Miami.
The 2006 No. 1 overall pick struggled last season in Rex Ryan’s defense with Buffalo and even criticized how he was used.
The Dolphins released cornerback Brent Grimes and finalized a trade to acquire cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso from the Eagles.
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