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The Broncos and Von Miller are stuck in a money trap. Can they escape and get back to the Super Bowl? By Mark Kiszla Denver Post March 23, 2018 Von Miller was the No. 1 reason the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. His contract is the No. 1 reason Denver might not get back to the Super Bowl until after Miller leaves town. While trying to pull the Broncos from the last-place abyss, president of football operations John Elway made a troubling discovery. The team’s best player was making it very difficult for a roster in need of a major overhaul to be competitive in the AFC West. My intention here is not to bash Miller. Far from it. The Vonster can flatten quarterbacks like a boulder and be as funny as Chris Rock. But I’ve done the math. Paying big money to a defensive player, even one as talented as Miller, generally does not compute in the NFL. Let’s start with a riddle: What do Justin Houston, Josh Norman, Miller, Ndamukong Suh and Muhammad Wilkerson have in common? They were the five highest-paid defensive stars in the league last season. And, all together, they won exactly zero playoff games. In the NFL, where all the rules are tilted in favor of the quarterback, a healthy Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers can all but ensure his team will be a championship contender. Even with a salary-cap hit in excess of $20 million, Rodgers or Brady is worth every last penny. In 2017, however, Houston, Norman, Miller, Suh and Wilkerson cost an average of $19.8 million on the salary-cap ledger. For those boatloads of Benjamins, only Kansas City was rewarded with a winning record from its hefty expenditure on Houston. Hey, during the afterglow of the Super Bowl parade, the six-year, $114.5 million contract signed in July 2016 seemed like a great idea. I was not only all for it, but argued loudly for Elway to show Miller the money. So blame me, if it makes you feel better. It doesn’t change the current situation. While Miller grades out as an elite NFL defender, he has been unable to mask the team’s flaws for two years since inking the deal. While all the recent hullabaloo about the Broncos began with the quarterback and ended with signing Case Keenum to a two-year, $36 million contract, the recent move that was far more telling about Denver’s current difficult state was a restructuring of Miller’s contract, in order to free up $12.375 million for Elway to refortify the personnel around his new quarterback. Hey, it sounded good. Miller did his team a financial favor. Just like Brady would. What was not to like? But here’s the rub: The Broncos are still cash-strapped. Waiting for a big spending spree in free agency? I wouldn’t hold your breath. The No. 5 pick in the NFL draft will chew up most of Denver’s remaining salary-cap space. As much as I’m enamored with the idea of Penn State running back Saquon Barkley or Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson wearing orange on Sundays, there are strong financial reasons a team with more than one hole to fill might want to seriously consider trading back in the first round. While Miller did help out the team by lowering his cap hit for this season, the Broncos essentially robbed Peter to pay Von, using a little creative accounting that kicked their financial obligations down the road. Starting in 2019, when Miller will turn 30 years old, the Broncos must swallow a $25.6 million salary-cap hit on their Pro Bowl linebacker. That’s quarterback money. How the team expects to allocate in excess of $46 million on Miller and Keenum alone in ’19 and still have enough wiggle room under the cap to field a top-flight team figures to be an extremely sticky football calculus. Catch the hint? There a few chores harder in the NFL than for an aging championship roster to rebuild on the fly without a major retrenchment. The Broncos are in win-now mode this season. If the gamble on Keenum doesn’t work, Elway might have to swallow hard and blow this thing up. What could the Denver Broncos do to improve their offensive line? By Nicki Jhabvala Denver Post March 23, 2018 Last month at the combine Elway stated “Life is too short to rebuild in the NFL.” Do you really think he believes Denver is reloading and not rebuilding? Forget for a moment that Denver’s defense looks nothing like the 2015 defense, by changing your quarterback alone you are rebuilding. Nicki: Give it whatever label you want — rebuild, revamp, retool, redo. It’s just semantics. The truth is — and Elway has admitted this much — they have to get better in all three phases. They had to upgrade at quarterback and they believe they did with Case Keenum. They need to improve the offensive line, they need more pass-catchers, they need continue to improve a defense that lost Aqib Talib and they really, really need to find help on special teams. Call it what you want. But that’s the Broncos’ to-do list. Hi, Nicki, how are you? We are from Brazil and we love your job covering the Denver Broncos. Thank you. John Elway said in Case Keenum’s presentation that the Broncos has several possibilities about the fifth pick in the draft and that’s true. What do you think they can do on draft day? Nicki: Thanks for the kind words. Signing Case Keenum gives the Broncos flexibility in the first round because they no longer HAVE to draft a quarterback there if they’re not sold on any in this year’s class. They have their starter for 2018, and they have plenty invested in him, so they don’t have to feel a need at that position in the first round. However, that doesn’t preclude them from drafting a quarterback there if there’s a guy they really like and they feel could be an important part of their future. I’d like to see them use that spot for another need, though. And they have plenty. If in the off chance that Saquon Barkley is miraculously available at No. 5, he would instantly transform that offense, which, paired with their defense, could turn the Broncos into instant contenders. (Theoretically, that is.) But assuming he’ll be gone long before the Broncos pick, defensive end Bradley Chubb or even Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson could be really interesting additions. Both could have an immediate impact. The Broncos could also trade back. They have their starting quarterback, so they could give up that No. 5 spot to another quarterback-needy team and rack up more picks to build their roster. Of course, there’s nothing stopping them from trading up either, should they want to get Barkley or even a QB they like. Many, many options. When does Chris Harris‘ contract end and do you think the Broncos will try to sweeten his deal, given that he is the most criminally underpaid cornerback in the NFL? If they don’t, will he return? Nicki: Chris Harris is one of the greatest bargains in sports, in my opinion. He’s a No. 1 corner who isn’t paid anywhere near what most No. 1 corners are paid. He agreed to take less to stay when he signed a five-year extension back in 2014, but it would be nice to see the Broncos reward him soon. He has two years remaining on his deal, including 2018. (The Broncos picked up his $1.1 million option for this season.) He’s 28 and with Aqib Talib gone, he’s the primary leader of the secondary and a big leader of the defense — a unit John Elway values greatly. Certainly would make sense to keep a player like that. What have they done to shore up the offensive line? Nicki: Nothing yet. Tackle Donald Stephenson left as a free agent, fellow tackle Menelik Watson will be back (his contract became fully guaranteed last Sunday), they placed a second-round tender on center Matt Paradis but other than that — no move. No new names. It’s on their list. They could turn to the draft for help, too. What are the chances Denver picks up a good left tackle in free agency? What are the chances on getting the running back Saquon Barkley in the draft for their first pick? Nicki: They want to keep Garett Bolles at left tackle, but there are a couple intriguing names still available who could man the right side: Cameron Fleming, formerly with the Patriots, and Austin Howard, who last played for the Ravens. The Broncos are bringing Menelik Watson back, but their last couple of free-agent pickups at tackle haven’t exactly wowed (Watson, Donald Stephenson). So they could turn to the draft where there is some talent. I would be surprised if Barkley is available at five in the first round. I can see three quarterbacks and Barkley going in the four spots ahead of Denver. But you never know. He could be — and if he is, it seems like a no-brainer to me. But Elway could surprise, too, and try to move up to get him if he feels like Barkley is the guy. They have 10 picks to work with this year. If the Broncos don’t go for one of the top five “sexy” QBs — what would be the other options for them at the position? Do we really put all our chips in on Case Keenum to A) stay healthy and B) pan out? Nicki: Well, the Broncos kind of already put “all their chips” in on Keenum for the next year at least.

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