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Broncos Analysis: With QB addressed, a status report on Denver’s other issues By Ryan O’Halloran Denver Post Feb. 17, 2019

The Broncos feel their issue is solved with .

But the agreed-upon trade with the on Wednesday to acquire Flacco is only the start of the Broncos’ 2019 building efforts.

A little more than a week before the Scouting Combine, here is a status report on several Broncos issues.

More veteran decisions Our thought until around 9:05 a.m. on Wednesday: The Broncos should consider a semi-dismantling to give young players a chance in 2019 and create spending flexibility for 2020.

But then the Flacco trade agreement was finalized.

It makes no sense to acquire Flacco, 34, and have him shepherd a rebuilding year. His arrival should translate to an active off-season in terms of keeping veterans or pursuing free agents.

Linebacker Brandon Marshall’s impending release and quarterback ’s expected departure will create $16 million in cap space. Other notable cap savings if the Broncos went that route: Receiver Emmanuel Sanders ($10.25 million), defensive end ($8.55 million), left guard Ron Leary ($7.47 million) and safety Darian Stewart ($3.6 million).

The risk is obvious: In an effort to create space, might the Broncos make themselves worse? That is always a possibility because a coveted free agent may sign elsewhere, a trade may fall through and a returning player counted on to take an upward step in their production instead levels off.

In particular, Flacco’s arrival could mean the return of Sanders.

More ? The Broncos should explore adding two more quarterbacks to back up Flacco: A veteran and a second- or third-round draft pick.

Kevin Hogan and Garrett Grayson remain on the roster. But because of Flacco’s back and hip injuries in his career, it is reasonable for the Broncos to consider a veteran back-up.

The pickings are slim, though. is 27 and is 30 but after that, old guys. Josh McCown (40), (38), (36) and (37) will hit the market.

The Broncos should pass on a quarterback at No. 10 or at any point in the first round. But drafting West Virginia’s Will Grier, N.C. State’s Ryan Finley or Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson in rounds 2-3 should be well received.

A Flacco-Bridgewater-rookie quarterback room would make the Broncos better.

Targeting free agents The Broncos’ list of needs befits a team that is 11-21 over the last two years.

Depending on what they do with the aforementioned veterans, the Broncos’ salary cap space could swell to more than $70 million.

In-house, center tops the list. But the lack of chatter can only be seen as a sign the Broncos are unwilling to pay big or that Paradis wants to set the market.

The list of needs that should be considered via outside help:

Cornerback: It should be the Broncos’ top priority because Chris Harris can’t cover three guys at once. Younger than 30 are Chicago’s Bryce Callahan (27 and played for Vic Fangio), Cincinnati’s Darqueze Dennard (27) and the ’ Morris Claiborne (29).

Offensive line: New England left tackle Trent Brown, who was in San Francisco in 2017 when Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello was the quarterbacks coach, should top the list. If Paradis is allowed to walk, the Broncos could wait for the draft or sign a like Miami’s Travis Swanson or Minnesota’s Nick Eason. At guard, the pickings are almost entirely age 30 or older.

Safety: Ideally, a team wants safeties that are interchangeable and the Broncos should consider one to team with Justin Simmons, even if Will Parks had a strong 2018. The safety market is loaded, led by (Seattle), Lamarcus Joyner (Rams), (Giants) and Tyrann Mathieu (Houston).

Trading down The Broncos need more good players. Period. They have a chip (the 10th overall pick) that could have value for quarterback-needy teams like Miami (No. 13) and Washington (No. 15).

By adding Flacco, a trade-down approach should be on the Broncos’ radar. Move south on the board, still get the player they covet and pick up an extra pick in rounds 2-3.

In the last 11 years, the No. 10 pick has been traded three times in a move down … and the team moving up selected quarterbacks: Jacksonville ( in 2011), Kansas City (Patrick Mahomes in 2017) and Arizona ( last year).

What the team trading down from No. 10 received: Washington moved down six spots with the Jaguars and picked up a second-rounder. Buffalo moved down 17 spots with the Chiefs and received a third- rounder and a 2018 first-rounder. And Oakland moved down five spots with the Cardinals and gained third- and fifth-rounders.

Moving down 3-5 spots would still allow the Broncos to draft a premium cornerback or offensive tackle.

Former Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas suffers minor injuries after rollover crash in downtown Denver By Sam Tabachnik Denver Post Feb. 17, 2019

Former Demaryius Thomas was involved in a single-vehicle rollover crash early Saturday morning in downtown Denver, police said in a news release.

Thomas and another other male passenger suffered minor injuries and are expected to be treated and released from the hospital, police said. A female passenger suffered possible serious injuries, the release said, but they do not appear to be life-threatening.

Officers responded to the crash around 12:20 a.m., police said, in the 1200 block of Auraria Parkway. Police believe Thomas was driving inbound on Auraria near 12th Street when he lost control of the car, causing it to roll and come to a stop on the grassy median near Speer Boulevard. Thomas and the two passengers were transported to the hospital. No charges or arrests have been made, Jay Casillas, a Denver police spokesman, said.

Police do not believe at this time that drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash, he added.

Thomas, who played nine years for the Broncos, was traded to the midway through the 2018 season. The Texans released Thomas on Tuesday.

Former Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas injured in Denver rollover crash overnight By Oscar Contreras KMGH Feb. 17, 2019

Former Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas suffered minor injuries after the car he was driving rolled over in downtown Denver overnight.

Denver police responded to the single-vehicle crash at around 12:20 a.m. Saturday near the intersection of Auraria Parkway and 12th St.

Two men – one of them Thomas – and a woman were inside the vehicle and were taken to a hospital for treatment.

A preliminary investigation into the crash indicated Thomas was driving on Auraria Parkway near 12th when he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to roll and come to a stop at the grassy median near Speer Blvd., police said in a news release.

Thomas and the other male passenger suffered minor injuries and are expected to be treated and released. The woman in the vehicle sustained possible serious injuries but they appear to be non-life- threatening, police said.

Investigators said neither alcohol nor drugs appear to be a factor in the crash, but they are continuing to investigate.

The five-time Pro Bowler remains a free agent after he was traded to the Houston Texans last year. The Texans released Thomas earlier this week.

Sacco Sez: The founding fathers of the Broncos By Jim Saccomano DenverBroncos.com Feb. 17, 2019

This is our celebration of the President's Day weekend, and it seems like whenever you turn on the television there are commercials announcing the great sales to celebrate this holiday.

With that in mind, and just for the fun of it, I thought we might take a look at my opinion of who the Denver Broncos' founding fathers might be, limiting this group to just four to match America's fabled Mount Rushmore.

I am not saying these are the only great personages in Broncos history. Certainly, any fan can name as many as a couple dozen all-time greats in franchise history.

Hall of Famers, Ring of Famers, we have them all.

But again, just for the fun of it, I am listing four people who go back to the near-beginnings, or certainly to that period before the Broncos were the shining franchise that it is today.

So, minus any drumroll, my four are all Ring of Famers, and in chronological order of roles with the team, they are: Gerald H. Phipps, Floyd Little, John Elway and Pat Bowlen.

The Broncos were founded by Bob Howsam in 1959, but he soon sold his stock in 1961 to Empire Sports, a consortium of nearly 20 local businessmen.

But the Broncos were on shaky financial ground from the moment of conception, and by late 1964, the consortium had had enough red ink.

The team was about to be sold to an Atlanta group (this was before the Falcons), and the Broncos' ownership group met downtown to discuss that option. Then Gerry Phipps put a stop to the discussion. With a seven-figure loan in hand, he bought Empire Sports' 52-percent share in the Broncos, thus giving him and his brother Allan nearly 100-percent ownership and saving the Broncos franchise for Denver.

It was Pat Bowlen's personal decision to put Gerry Phipps into the team's Ring of Fame, and I remember the young owner saying, "Without Gerry Phipps, there are no Broncos, I do not own a team in Denver and we are not sitting here today."

That was the absolute truth, so Gerry Phipps is my first founding father.

Next came Floyd Little, Ring of Famer, Hall of Famer, and the first number-one draft choice ever signed by the Broncos, following the 1967 draft.

Besides being perhaps the best back in pro football during his era, Little was a team captain every year (nine years from 1967-75) and earned the nickname, "The Franchise," given to him by sports columnist Dick Connor of The Denver Post, and by this author.

Over the years, when people have asked my how fast Floyd was, I have always answered that his speed was very good, especially considering he was carrying an entire time zone on his back.

And his greatness as a player has always been exceeded by his leadership and personal qualities.

So, Floyd Little is my second founding father.

The third one might seen too current, for it is John Elway, but that is only because he has been the face of the franchise for so long that we sometimes lose sight of how long ago his time here began.

John was drafted by Baltimore (the Colts) and traded to Denver in 1983, so this is his 37th year in the Mile High City. Just fathom for a moment that this is the 60th year of play for the Broncos, and Elway came here before season number 24.

That is a long run, defined by a Hall-of-Fame career in which he not only reached the halls of Canton, but any debate places him among the half-dozen greatest quarterbacks of all time and hence among the best of the best in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And when he could have left for any and all beaches, he didn't. Elway stayed here in retirement and when Pat Bowlen beckoned him home to run our football operations, he did so, and guided the team to two more Super Bowls, winning one.

Before Elway, one losing appearance. With Elway, as quarterback or general manager, seven trips and three world championships.

I do not think one is stretching fact by saying John Elway has been the face of both the franchise and the city for what is now four decades.

So, John Elway is my third founding father.

My fourth is a given, and it is Pat Bowlen.

I won't even bother to recite the now well-known litany of accomplishments as owner of the team, but instead I will just note than nothing happens without the owner.

He provides the money, and also, theoretically, the direction, the fire, and the passion. Only in Pat's case, it has never been theoretical, but as real as real can get.

He has led in all those ways and more, including being the father of Sunday Night Football on a national level, and the driving force behind a beautiful stadium that has been the home for his Broncos for nearly 20 years.

Pat came here just one year after Elway, and they put a stamp on this team together.

A Ring of Famer, like the other three on this list, Mr. B will take his rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year as well.

This is the celebration of the 100th year of the , the 60th year of the team (with Pat Bowlen in his 36th year of ownership), and the 50th year of the Broncos' home sellout streak.

And it is the year Mr. B goes into the Hall of Fame.

So, Pat Bowlen is my fourth founding father, having taken this franchise to levels unimaginable when he first arrived on the scene.

These are my founding fathers of the Denver Broncos, and while many fans have different favorites, it is not possible to downplay the impact of each of these four on pro football in the Mile High City.

Opinion: Colin Kaepernick's NFL career is history, in more ways than one By Jarrett Bell USA Today Feb. 17, 2019

It’s fitting that this Colin Kaepernick collusion case was settled right smack in the middle of Black History Month.

Don’t forget how this episode began – with Kaepernick, then a quarterback, taking a knee during the national anthem in 2016 to protest the rash of shootings of unarmed African- Americans, on top of other social injustices.

“Kaepernick will always be remembered as having carried the burden of that struggle,” Dr. Harry Edwards, the renowned sociologist and human-rights advocate, told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday.

The first time Kaepernick took a knee, Edwards -- a 49ers consultant -- gathered the quarterback’s jersey, shoes and other belongings, then in forward-thinking fashion, shipped them to the Smithsonian's African-American Museum of History and Culture.

Edwards told Damion Thomas, the museum’s curator of sports, “You need to put it right next to other great athletes who took a stand at a critical time.”

People like Muhammad Ali. Jim Brown. John Carlos and Tommie Smith. It has been a little more than 50 years since Edwards organized the Olympic Project for Human Rights, which led to the significant statement that U.S. track stars Carlos and Smith made on the medal stand at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. They raised black-gloved fists during the anthem to protest some of the same issues that inspired Kaepernick to take a knee.

“People wanted to make it about the flag or support for our soldiers,” Edwards said of Kaepernick’s protest, “but no, it’s about the systematic murders under the cover of the badge, where nobody is charged or even prosecuted.”

It’s a shame that Kaepernick, the symbol of a resistance movement, might never play another snap in the NFL. He’s missed two entire seasons, despite a Super Bowl start on his resume, while mediocre quarterbacks like and Tom Savage find jobs in . Add the backlash from President Donald Trump and others who detested the protests, and the collusion case that Kaepernick and former teammate pursued had legs.

Still, Kaepernick, 31, is a piece of living history that is still being written. Although terms of the settlement are subject to a confidentiality clause (Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report tweeted that league and team officials were speculating a $60 million to $80 million tag), many are concluding that the resolution of the case ensures that Kaepernick won’t ever play in the NFL again.

In other words, Kaepernick’s NFL career is history in more ways than one.

Reid, the solid safety who knelt alongside Kaepernick in 2016, finally got a job last September with the – six months after he hit the free-agent market. On Monday, he signed a three-year, $22 million extension that he maintained helped the collusion case, because he’s still the same player he was last spring. Perhaps, but after getting his foot back on the field with a one-year deal, he was also able to demonstrate value in fitting in Ron Rivera’s defense.

Even so, Reid is not holding his breath that the same opportunity will occur for Kaepernick – especially considering how long the quarterback has already been on ice, or blackballed.

“Knowing what I know, my hope tank is on E,” Reid told reporters during a conference call on Monday, assessing Kaepernick’s prospects. “This is a leverage game, so we’ll see what happens moving forward.”

Edwards said it’s his hope that Kaepernick is offered a job from an NFL team, then refuses to play.

“I hope he turns it down,” Edwards said, reasoning that Kaepernick’s value in championing social causes – now bolstered by the settlement -- affords him such an option.

Edwards was a confidant and resource for Kaepernick during the quarterback’s 49ers tenure and launch of the protests but said they no longer have much contact. He’s also talked with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, warning him that more social conflicts loom in the NFL – in part due to the platform provided by the immense popularity of the league.

While the NFL is engaging more than ever in social-justice initiatives, many of which flow out of a partnership with the Players Coalition that formed in 2017, protests in the league largely came to a halt last season. Reid still took a knee. Ditto for Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills. Others, including Dolphins defensive end Robert Quinn and Eagles defensive end Michael Bennett, made statements with other gestures. But the drama largely subsided after the NFL tabled its plan to institute the awkward anthem policy that owners voted in May to adopt.

“I absolutely guarantee you there will be a next time,” Edwards predicted, mindful of our social climate. “Issues will continue to come over the stadium wall.”

The NFL, which generates at least $14 billion in revenues, continues to progress toward the goal that Goodell established to reach $25 billion in revenues by 2027. Edwards, though, points to another trend – the increasing percentage of African-American players in the NFL – as a marker.

Currently, the league consists of at least 70 percent African-American players. Edwards projected that in the next decade, that number will rise to at least 80 percent or 85 percent. He maintains that concern over the long-term effects of concussions is a factor, and points to decreasing numbers in youth football participation.

“The league will get even blacker,” Edwards said. “The people playing tend to be those who have fewer options, seeing football as a vehicle for socio-economic mobility. They are more concerned about being shot in the head than with what happens to the head in 25 years.”

It’s sobering to hear Edwards use such graphic descriptions in pondering the NFL’s future. Yet his point resonates as he ponders what has all gone down with Kaepernick – and the ripple effect that included the sorry Super Bowl halftime show. Several high-profile artists reflected concerns of some minorities and boycotted the NFL due to Kaepernick.

Maybe the settlement provides the NFL a chance for another type of growth. Edwards maintained there’s the burden of an “issue drift” with Kaepernick that can be compared to fallout from the refusal by Rosa Parks to sit in the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955.

“The struggle is still there,” Edwards said. “His settlement with the league is an aside. There has to be an overall resolution.”

With that, Edwards contended that the type of issues that moved Kaepernick to sacrifice his career could inspire more NFL players – and the league needs to learn how to better deal with it.

“It’s time to get this garbage off the road,” Edwards said. “It was poorly managed by the NFL, which needs to go back and do a thorough assessment of how this got so far off the rails. And they must ask: How are we going to deal with other issues that will come over our stadium walls?”

As it stands now, history will not look kindly on the NFL – especially if Kaepernick never plays another down in the league.

NFL invites trio of prospects back to combine for medical evaluations only By Ben Weinrib Yahoo Sports Feb. 17, 2019

The NFL has long shown that it does not know how to properly handle players who have pasts as violent offenders. Now it’s sending a confusing message too.

In the last two months, the league rescinded its invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine to three players: Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, Louisiana Tech defensive end Jaylon Ferguson and Colorado State receiver Preston Williams. But on Saturday, the league told teams the players would be allowed to attend the combine, just only for medical evaluations.

In not allowing teams to talk with these prospects, the NFL is depriving the players a chance to show remorse and preventing teams from getting a better look at their characters. Furthermore, the league makes it seem like an invitation to the combine is an honor rather than a necessary step to play in the league.

Despite the slaps on the wrist for these players, the NFL has never taken steps to suspend rookies upon their entry to the league for domestic violence in their past. Instead, the Tyreek Hills and Joe Mixons of the world are celebrated for their on-field contributions.

Will this affect the players’ draft stock? Simmons will certainly hear his name called early in the draft process, as he was considered a potential top-10 pick despite video emerging in 2016 of him punching a woman repeatedly as she laid on a street. His medical tests may be the most notable considering he tore his ACL in training on Tuesday.

Ferguson, meanwhile, is the NCAA’s all-time sacks leader and is considered a mid-round prospect. He was convicted of simple battery in 2015 for a fight in a McDonald’s and also face a separate charge for public intoxication. Williams was suspended in 2017 for domestic violence and harassment of a former girlfriend and is considered a late-round prospect.

It’s hard to imagine that medical evaluations will change the draft prospects for any of the three very much. It’s a safety precaution for teams to avoid selecting a player with a previously unknown injury, but teams really need a chance to talk to the players one-on-one to better determine if they are worth an investment.

If the NFL really wanted to crack down on domestic abusers, it wouldn’t be so easy for the most talented violent offenders to play in the league. Being forced to sit out the combine is an inane punishment, and players like former running back Kareem Hunt face a tougher penalty than being forced to the waiver wire for a few months.

Brown details Big Ben, Rooney relationships in AMA By Jeremy Bergman NFL.com Feb. 17, 2019

Antonio Brown watch-slash-stakeout is in full effect, and the wide receiver continues to contribute to the offseason drama of his making.

This week, Brown has already requested a trade from the Steelers and expressed a chance to "do what I want" with a Lil Uzi Vert-inspired farewell post to Pittsburgh. On Friday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Brown will meet with Steelers president Art Rooney II in to discuss the current impasse.

On Saturday, he was back on Twitter to answer any questions his followers could conjure up for an impromptu "Ask Me Anything" (AMA).

First up, "What caused the conflict between you and ?"

Asked whether his desire to leave Pittsburgh had to do with signing a new deal, Brown pointed to his current lucrative deal as to why it's not all about the Benjamins.

Brown signed a four-year, $68 million extension with the Steelers in Feb. 2017. The receiver still has three years left on that deal. Brown carries a $22.2 million cap hit, the highest among all receivers, and is owed $12.6 million in base salary in 2019.

In response to a comment that Brown shouldn't have sat out Pittsburgh's season finale against the Bengals if he loved the sport, the receiver called out Steelers coach for telling Brown's teammates that he "quit" on the team and made him out to be the "bad guy." The receiver said he could "not stand with that."

Brown didn't play in the regular-season finale after skipping a walkthrough practice on Saturday. The receiver was listed as questionable with a knee injury.

Regarding his impending meeting with Rooney, Brown said he is looking forward to being treated "as Antonio Brown the man not AB84 the player."

In Colin Kaepernick Case, N.F.L. Makes a Familiar, Safe Call By Ken Belson & Kevin Draper New York Times Feb. 17, 2019

The N.F.L. owners worried about a protracted legal fight. They fretted over potentially embarrassing disclosures. They were concerned about further alienating fans and sponsors. So they took the unusual step of reaching a settlement rather than continue to battle an adversary who was viewed in some circles as a victim of the league’s sharp elbows.

All of this happened nearly six years ago, when the league found it more expedient to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to retired players who contended the N.F.L. had concealed the dangers of repeated hits to the head. Among other things, the 2013 concussion settlement enabled the league to avoid the acute discomfort of battling in court with former players who had sustained neurological damage.

In many ways, the N.F.L. followed this same road map on Friday when it announced that it had reached another settlement, this time with the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his former teammate Eric Reid. They had accused the owners of colluding to keep them out of the league because they had knelt during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at games, an action that prompted other players to do so as well.

The N.F.L. has a reputation for using a scorched-earth legal strategy, and its decisions to settle in both cases have been viewed by some as admissions of guilt. In fact, the league did not acknowledge wrongdoing in the concussion settlement, and it is not clear what it may have admitted to in Friday’s settlement because of a confidentiality agreement between the two sides.

Still, by settling each time, the owners may have calculated that they and many fans could then try to move past the contentious issues at the heart of the two cases — the long-term effects of repeated head trauma in the first instance, and the right of players to protest in the second instance.

“There are broader issues than just money that the league considers,” said Matthew J. Mitten, the director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University. “They need to take into account social issues and public perception.”

The two cases, in some ways, are very different. One was a class-action lawsuit involving 20,000 retired players who sued in federal court, the other a grievance filed under the collective bargaining agreement. The league stood a chance of winning both cases, had it persisted, but each case generated years of negative publicity. So the league, which earns $14 billion a year, was in a position to spend money to make both cases go away.

Significantly, the two settlements provide the league with a measure of protection, Mitten said. The concussion settlement precludes players in the future from suing the league for concussion-related damages, and the settlement with Kaepernick and Reid avoided any adverse precedent being set.

Kaepernick had not played a down since the end of 2016, yet he continued to hover over the league. Every time a backup quarterback was signed, Kaepernick’s name was invoked, if only to ask why he remained out of the league.

Mark Geragos, the lead attorney for Kaepernick and Reid, told CNN on Saturday that he thought Kaepernick would get a shot at an N.F.L. job now that the litigation was over.

“I’ll make the bold prediction, and you can save the tape,” Geragos told the network. “I think you’re going to see within the next two weeks that somebody’s going to step up.” He added, “It would not surprise me if Bob Kraft makes a move,” referring to the owner of the , who just won their sixth Super Bowl title.

Geragos also mentioned the Carolina Panthers, who signed Reid a few weeks into the 2018 season, as a potential landing spot for Kaepernick.

Geragos, who has made similar predictions in the past, did not cite any sources to back up his assertions. A Patriots representative declined to comment, and the Panthers did not return a message requesting a response to Geragos’s remarks.

Still, even off the field, Kaepernick has loomed large. Before the 2018 season began, Kaepernick persuaded the arbitrator in his case to dismiss the league’s attempts to throw out his grievance. Then he announced a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike, which provides uniforms to all 32 N.F.L. teams. To add to the owners’ discomfort, Nike also made Kaepernick a face of its “Just Do It” campaign, putting out a commercial narrated by him during the opening game of the season.

“This has been a P.R. nightmare for the league, and in some sense, it’s remarkable that Kaepernick proved himself to be a larger public figure than the N.F.L. with his Nike deal,” said Michael LeRoy, who teaches sports law classes at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “He outshined the league in a very significant way.”

The presence of Kaepernick, who rarely speaks in public, also hung over the Super Bowl this month. The basketball stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant were photographed wearing Kaepernick jerseys on Super Bowl weekend; the rapper Common tweeted a photograph of himself alongside the longtime activist Angela Davis, who was wearing a Kaepernick jersey; and the filmmaker Ava DuVernay said on Twitter that she was boycotting the Super Bowl in support of Kaepernick.

Days before the game, the N.F.L. canceled its traditional news conference for the performers of the halftime show after reports emerged that several prominent musicians, in gestures of support for Kaepernick, had turned down a chance to take part in the show.

The league also had to consider the arbitrator in Kaepernick’s case. Players file dozens of grievances every season, but most are resolved without becoming public. Kaepernick’s case, though, was being heard by Stephen B. Burbank, the arbitrator who ruled in August that Kaepernick’s lawyers had gathered enough evidence for the case to proceed.

A University of Pennsylvania law professor and an expert in contract law, Burbank has worked as an arbitrator for the league since 2002 and has a reputation for independence. He began his law career as a clerk for Warren Burger, then the chief justice of the United States.

One of his first tasks for Burger was to proofread the monumental United States v. Nixon ruling in 1974 in which President Nixon was ordered to turn over tape recordings and other materials in connection with the Watergate case. More than 40 years later, Burbank is wrestling with cases that may not be as historic but still carry plenty of significance.

“He told me once the main qualification of the job is not having any skin in the game,” said Stephen Walters, a friend of Burbank’s who clerked with him on the Supreme Court. “He isn’t an N.F.L. fan of any sort, but he is the perfect guy for the job.”

Kaepernick and the league could have been encouraged and worried by Burbank’s previous rulings as an arbitrator. Over the years, he has at times ruled for the players, as he did in a case involving miscategorized ticket revenue. He has also ruled for the league, as he did in a case involving the circumvention of the salary cap. And in a case involving revenue sharing, he ruled in part for the league and in part for the players.

Reid filed his case in May, while he was a free agent and was drawing limited interest despite having just finished his best season statistically. The Panthers ultimately signed Reid to a one-year, $1.39 million contract after the third week of the 2018 season, and this week they gave him a more lucrative, three- year extension.

Reid missed only three games before joining the Panthers, and Kaepernick has been out of the league for two seasons. In that sense, the potential monetary damages Reid could have won with a favorable ruling from the arbitrator were probably much less than Kaepernick could have won. In any case, he has settled, too, and the N.F.L. can try to move on.

“The N.F.L. has so many other issues around player health and well-being, they need to remove all the other static,” said Jodi Balsam, a professor at Brooklyn Law School who worked as a lawyer for the N.F.L.

It is worth recalling that during the recent Super Bowl in Atlanta, which took place less than two weeks before the league settled with Kaepernick and Reid, the N.F.L. invited civil rights leaders to take part in the pregame coin toss. In doing so, the league was embracing pioneers who helped bring social change to the country, and particularly to the South. But some wondered whether the N.F.L. was also trying to counter the effect of Kaepernick, whose principled protest continued to resonate.

Now the league has settled with Kaepernick and with Reid. Still, if the concussion case is any indicator, merely settling will not make the issues that Kaepernick raised simply go away. After all, nearly six years after the concussion settlement, the N.F.L. is still dogged by stories of former players in dire mental and physical health, and fears that football can cause brain damage have now reduced participation in youth football.

In the end, settlements, no matter what is at stake, can go only so far.

Who’s up and who’s down on Denver’s draft board as offseason dominoes begin to fall? By Andre Simone BSN Denver Feb. 17, 2019

Only in the NFL does a week in the dead part of the offseason gift us so much news. Between Kyler Murray making his commitment to the NFL official, the Denver Broncos trade for Joe Flacco and Brandon Marshall’s imminent release, the league ruled the news cycle in the Mile High City.

With all those changes in Broncos Country, there was no better time to update our draft rankings and give you several names Denver might be looking at, especially now that the Broncos have more flexibility at the top of the draft with the acquisition of a new veteran quarterback.

With all these changes, here are some positions and player’s rising up our board in the fourth update of our top-50 prospects.

Three ideal linebackers for Fangio’s ‘D’ The 2019 class is loaded with edge rushers, guys who in the Broncos’ 3-4 scheme would play outside linebacker, where Denver is set for the foreseeable future.

However, significant upgrades will be needed at the inside linebacker position, maybe the most important spot in Vic Fangio’s defense, where speed and range in coverage are essential. The ILB position is that much more of a priority now that Marshall won’t be on the team anymore.

This year’s class is made up of three standouts who fit Fangio’s ‘D’ to perfection, starting with LSU’s Devin White, who remains the second-best player on our board. White is a heat-seeking missile who flies around the field and takes on blockers with reckless abandon.

Watch LSU for a couple plays, and it’s impossible not to notice No. 40 flying around the formation and making plays all over the field. White doesn’t just play with an edge, he’s fast both downhill and sideline to sideline. While his skills in coverage are still raw, he has plenty of athleticism to cover lots of ground in Fangio’s underneath zones. If he were to drop to 10, he’d be a logical selection if the Broncos don’t see a quarterback they’re in love with still available.

While undersized, Michigan’s Devin Bush is cut from White’s same cloth with NFL-ready instincts to boot. Bush’s size isn’t as much of a concern because he’ll take on blockers and finish tackles like a 250- pound backer. He has everything a team could ask for out of a linebacker in the modern NFL, and if the Broncos were to trade down from 10 or trade up in the second round, Bush would be an ideal target.

You know that football is modernizing when even a school like Alabama is producing ILBs who are competent in coverage like Mack Wilson. Not only is Wilson “competent,” his strength is covering ground and moving smoothly in coverage, rather than thumping downhill like other Tide backers have in the past. He’s not exactly soft tackling or having to take on blockers either.

Those three are clearly the top players at their position. What will be interesting to see once the NFL Combine and Pro Days begin is who establishes themselves as the fourth-best off-ball linebacker in 2019.

For now, the next guy on our board is Terrill Hanks, a small-school standout and potential downhill destroyer with endless talent in coverage, though his instincts are still very raw.

Hanks barely missed the cut in our top-50 after a break out week at the , but others could emerge. Finding out who fills out that group will be particularly interesting in Denver, where more athleticism will be required to get Fangio’s defense playing up to its lofty standards.

The cream is rising to the top The 2019 NFL Draft has always been defined by the interior defensive line group, another position of interest in Denver, where the team has nice depth but lacks a true game wrecker on the line to compliment Von Miller and Bradley Chubb outside.

This draft will have plenty of candidates, starting with , who will almost certainly be long gone before Denver’s 10th pick. If for some reason he was to drop, he’d be an absolute game changer for the Broncos defense due to his mix of power and quickness off the snap.

Another premier talent is Houston’s Ed Oliver, who has some detractors after a disappointing junior season. Oliver is the best interior penetrator in this draft and could be a special pass rusher if he puts everything together in the NFL.

Given some size concerns and lack of production in his final season, Oliver could drop to 10 where the Broncos would have a hard time passing on him.

The clear top tier at the position is closed out by Rashan Gary, who played defensive end at Michigan but profiles more as an interior rusher in the pros. Gary could see his stock soar if his freakish athleticism is showcased at the combine. He’s the rawest of the top three but has as much talent as anyone.

You couldn’t go wrong with drafting any of those phonemes at 10th overall where they’d present great value. After Jeffrey Simmons suffered an awful ACL tear this week, those three are clearly the top of the class.

The beauty is the Broncos could wait, too, because the depth is just that good. Our top-50 features nine interior D-lineman and that figure could rise before we get to the draft in late April.

Wideouts with more than just size With the addition of a new OC, Rich Scangarello, who’ll implement more vertical shots in his offenses and a big arm like Flacco’s, the Broncos need to add speed at receiver regardless of what they decide to do with Emmanuel Sanders this offseason.

Given that need, it’s a good thing that the 2019 class is starting to show there’s more than just big- bodied wideouts available. This WR group is a strength of the draft with six wideouts in our top 50 and two more who just missed the cut.

The most intriguing talents for Denver in 2019 are Oklahoma’s , a true field-stretcher who could play in the slot or out wide with his elite speed, forcing defenses to guard the entire field when facing the Broncos aerial attack. Brown is truly undersized at 5-foot-10 and 168 pounds, but paired with Courtland Sutton’s ball skills could be the perfect compliment for Denver’s receiving corps.

Ole Miss’ D.K. Metcalf doesn’t have size concerns at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds and is built like a football Adonis, but he does have breakaway speed as illustrated by his 18.3 yards per catch average over the course of his career.

Metcalf is an interesting prospect after having his final season cut short by a devastating neck injury, but concerns about the midseason injury seem to be eased, and if he checks out medically at the combine, he could go very high.

There’s some young Demaryius Thomas to Metcalf’s game, as he has the potential to be a true No.1 target in Denver’s offense pushing Sutton to be a possession big-bodied WR, a more natural fit. That could revolutionize the Broncos offense for years to come, and if the injury and lack of production—due to a scarcity of games played—push him down the board, he could be a worthwhile risk to take on day two.

Senior Bowl standout Deebo Samuel is another riser who would fit perfectly in Denver. Against some of ’s best DBs, he was absolutely unstoppable in Mobile, catching everything and showing an elite combination of hands, quickness, and speed.

Samuel’s also a more polished route-runner than the two aforementioned WRs and might still be around by the Broncos second-round selection—pick No. 41. His stock is soaring right now, and an impressive showing in Indianapolis could push him firmly into the first-round mix. He currently sits at 39 on our board.

More depth than initially thought at CB Let’s face it, with two outstanding cornerback classes in 2017 and 2018 the Broncos may have missed the boat by coming away with Brendan Langley and Isaac Yiadom, but they’ll have another shot at adding depth at the position in 2019, where the class is shaping up to be pretty darn good.

It might not be the talent level we saw the last two years, but the depth at cornerback is turning out to be pretty good with eight players in our top 60.

The top three are LSU’s Greedy Williams, Washington’s Byron Murphy and Georgia’s DeAndre Baker, who will all be candidates at the 10th pick.

Williams has the elite traits that you look for in a top-10 pick, where cornerbacks taken that high can play on an island and lock down the NFL’s best WRs. He has some effort concerns, and in Fangio’s defense, which features a lot more zone concepts, the lengthy corner might not be a priority like his teammate White is, though he should still merit consideration.

Murphy is a stud, and though he’s undersized, he plays with ferocity when having to fill against the run or fly downhill to make tackles. He’s also much more scheme versatile; he could play off coverage, has electric feet and great ball skills paired with high-end instincts to play in zone. He’s also super fluid with ample speed downfield to play man coverage as well.

The 10th pick might be just a smidge too rich for the talented Husky, though that could change if he shows out in Indy.

Baker is the best of both worlds. He has more size than Murphy and is much more physical than Williams. He’d fit the Broncos scheme perfectly, though it needs to be seen if he has the type of speed to warrant a top-10 selection.

Others like Trayvon Mullen, Joejuan Williams, and even Julian Love could rise further up our board with good showings in Indianapolis. The size and ball skills Mullen and Williams possess are high end, while Love would be an ideal fit in Fangio’s defense.

The Broncos need to add more depth at the position, and there will be plenty of options in 2019 despite a thinner crop than in the last two historical classes.

Top-50 Big Board 4.0 1. Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State 2. Devin White, LB, LSU 3. Quinnen Williams, DL, Alabama 4. Ed Oliver, DT, Houston 5. , QB, Ohio State 6. Andraez ‘Greedy’ Williams, CB, LSU 7. Clelin Ferrell, EDGE, Clemson 8. , EDGE, Kentucky 9. Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma 10. Rashan Gary, DL, Michigan 11. Jonah Williams, LT, Alabama 12. Deionte Thompson, FS, Alabama 13. Drew Lock, QB, Missouri 14. Brian Burns, EDGE, Florida State 15. Byron Murphy, CB, Washington 16. DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia 17. Yodny Cajuste, LT, West Virginia 18. Dre’Mont Jones, DL, Ohio State 19. Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama 20. Jeffrey Simmons, DT, Mississippi State 21. , DL, Clemson 22. Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame 23. Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma 24. D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss 25. , EDGE, Mississippi State 26. Irv Smith Jr., TE, Alabama 27. Devin Bush, OLB, Michigan 28. T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa 29. Cody Ford, OL, Oklahoma 30. Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida 31. Mack Wilson, LB, Alabama 32. Zach Allen, DL/DE, Boston College 34. N’Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State 35. Austin Bryant, EDGE, Clemson 36. Jachai Polite, EDGE, Florida 33. Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State 37. Garrett Bradbury, OC, NC State 38. III, DT, Miami 39. Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina 40. Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss 41. A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss 42. Joejuan Williams, CB, Vanderbilt 43. Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson 44. Andre Dillard, LT, Washington State 45. Noah Fant, TE, Iowa 46. Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson 47. Julian Love, CB, Notre Dame 48. Taylor Rapp, SS, Washington 49. Nasir Adderley, CB/S, Delaware 50. Dalton Risner, RT, Kansas State

Just missed the cut: David Edwards, RT, Wisconsin Rodney Anderson, RB, Oklahoma , WR, NC State Riley Ridley, WR, Georgia Charles Omenihu, DE, Texas Lonnie Johnson Jr., CB, Kentucky Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, CB/S, Florida Kaden Smith, TE, Stanford Terrill Hanks, OLB, New Mexico State Daniel Jones, QB, Duke Demaryius Thomas escapes car crash with minor injuries By Michael David Smith Pro Football Talk Feb. 17, 2019

Free agent wide receiver Demaryius Thomas suffered only minor injuries after losing control of his car early this morning.

Thomas, who was cut by the Texans this week, lost control of his car while driving in Denver, where he had played his entire career until the Broncos traded him to the Texans last season.

Denver police say it was a single-vehicle rollover crash and that Thomas, a male passenger and a female passenger were all taken to the hospital. Police say Thomas and the male passenger had minor injuries while the female injuries had serious but not life-threatening injuries.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, but a police spokesman told the Denver Post that there was no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved.

Thomas is recovering from an Achilles injury but is expected to be able to play in 2019.