Strike 3: In Sean Payton’s first year as the head coach of the Denver Broncos, there seemed to be almost daily drama surrounding then-Broncos QB Russell Wilson. It was a feeding frenzy for the media that covered the team.
But since Wilson (and his superstar celebrity wife) moved out of town, things have become really quiet off the field at Dove Valley. There’s been little to no off the field drama. And that’s a credit to the veteran head coach and the kind of ship that he runs.
We’re still in that dead period before the start of training camp when historically, players around the league have found themselves in occasional trouble with the law. All quiet on that front thus far for the Broncos as well, which is more credit to Payton and Co.
What isn’t so great is the speculation that the Broncos could be seeing a player or three become contract holdouts as camp gets underway next week. Contract holdouts have a way of disrupting the proceedings.
Veterans Zach Allen, Courtland Sutton, John Franklin-Myers and Nik Bonitto are all candidates for new contracts, and one or more could decide to sit it out until a new deal is on the table. All three will be crucial to the Broncos success in 2025, and players who hold out for any length of time often times have trouble getting back into the flow once they return.
However, recent history shows that as an organization, the Broncos have been more than willing to take care of their vets in the long run, even if it means taking contract extension talks into the regular season. Last year, Denver went well into the regular season before giving tackle Garett Bolles and rush end Jonathan Cooper nice new deals, and that was after they signed eventual Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II to a new fat contract on the eve of the season opener against Seattle.
Sutton was thought to be a candidate to holdout last season but didn’t. It would come as a shock if he did this time. But Allen, coming off the best season of his career, has let it be known he wants a new deal. Of the four, the most likely to hold out appears to be Franklin-Meyers.
Stay tuned.
In the end, it’s a safe bet that the Broncos will get each of the players they value a new deal sometime before the halfway point of the season. Will each of them be that patient?
The more intriguing issue involves the Broncos top two draft picks, defensive back Jahdae Barron ($18 million) and running back RJ Harvey. Funny thing is, it’s not about what each will end up getting in terms of contract value. Rookie salaries are pre-determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Barron is slotted in at $18 million and Harvey at $7.35 million. Seems simple, right?
What makes things not simple is that both Cleveland and Houston went ahead and gave guaranteed contracts to their second-round picks. That’s previously been something that teams simply did not do. Having seen what transpired above them, Harvey’s agent now wants his guy to get a guaranteed contract, too. Thus far, the Broncos haven’t been willing. Not because they don’t have big plans for Harvey, but because they don’t want to set a new precedent. Same goes for the other 29 teams with unsigned second round picks.
It’s not unusual for top draft picks like Barron to wait until the eve of camp to get signed. That’s likely to happen. But the situation with Harvey isn’t resolved, and because there are a lot of other teams in the same predicament with their second round picks, it may not be resolved before rookies are to report next week.
So this may or may not be the year the Broncos have to deal with a little bit of training camp drama for a change.
Strike 3: Contract holdouts a potential issue for the Denver Broncos Mile High Sports.
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