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Mile High Club: Bolles signs extension

The Denver Broncos are pleased to announce they came to terms with left tackle Garett Bolles on a new 7 year, $29.65 million contract with a $10.01 million signing bonus. The twenty-sixth overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Broncos, Bolles has been a stalwart on the left side of the line and has been a starter since day 1. Bolles is only 24 but has 204 career pancakes associated with only 9 career sacks allowed, especially impressive considering his quarterback for two of those years has been a scrambler.

The Broncos had a youth movement of sorts last year in the draft picking four new linemen in the 2019 draft. Signing Bolles to this extension will keep him in Denver for the many years to come and allow the nucleus of the line to develop together.

Bolles original contract was set to expire after the 2020 season but with a number of valuable assets having their contract due at the same time, the Broncos decided to move now to secure him.

Look for more announcements about the 2020 season as the Broncos work to preserve the momentum from the second half of the 2019 season.

This has been Barry McCockiner reporting.

Forum Discussion (by T_Miller on 09/23/2024)

Replies - 0 :: Views - 10

Mile High Club: Hooker signs extension

The Denver Broncos are pleased to announce they came to terms with free safety Malik Hooker today on a contract extension that will keep him a Bronco through the 2026 season. Hooker's agent announced the deal as a 7 year, $19 million deal with a $4.76 million signing bonus.

The third year player out of Ohio State was drafted twenty-fifth overall in 2017 by the Indianapolis Colts. However, he came over to the Broncos during the offseason that saw the Broncos receive Hooker and wide receiver Curtis Samuel for veteran free safety Tashaun Gipson and two second round picks.

The twenty-three year old has progressed nicely this season and currently has 58 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, five interceptions, and 18 pass deflections.

Hooker was a key addition for Broncos GM Tim Miller as he was rebuilding the secondary from the experienced one he inherited. Hooker joins 2018 first round pick strong safety Jessie Bates, fourth year cornerback JaCorey Shepherd, and fifth year cornerback Justin Gilbert on multi year deals that will keep the group together, along with 2019 second round pick Sean MurphyBunting as a core group at the back of the defense. The Broncos defense ranks third in overall defense while being fifth in pass defense, and seventh in rush defense, and tenth in scoring defense.

Hooker originally had two years left on his contract but the Broncos wanted to get him locked in before things got tricky during his contract year. Reports are that Miller would like to lock a number more of the players who have two years left on their contracts as well after the massive number of roster movement the Broncos had this past offseason.

The Broncos are currently 7-8 and, while out of the playoffs for 2019, have seemingly improved mightily from their 2-14 campaign in 2018. The Broncos finish the 2019 season in Green Bay where they hope to get to 8-8 on the season.

This has been Barry McCockiner reporting.

Forum Discussion (by T_Miller on 09/14/2024)

Replies - 1 :: Views - 13

Mile High Club: Miller sets milestone with win

After the week 14 38-30 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, Broncos GM Tim Miller came into the post game conference carrying a bucket of Fireball and a six pack of Yuengling with three beers missing. Looking like an orange Santa Claus, he proceeded to throw Fireball bottles out to the crowd, whether they wanted one or not.

Grinning ear to ear, Miller proceeded to take questions from the crowd.

Yes, he was extremely happy about the victory today, their 4th in the last 5 games, plus giving them an overall winning record in the AFC West. Yes, he is happy about how the team is developing and the young rookies are contributing. Yes, he is happy about having a top 10 defense and how it is coming together. Yes he knows the offense has quite a ways to go and that they have been leaning on Tannehill more than they originally planned, but felt it necessary in order to develop the young wide receivers and tight ends. Yes, he is happy with his recent trades that brought in tight end Mike Geleski from the Texans, outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu from the Buccaneers, and especially wide receiver DeAndrea Hopkins from the Colts. Yes it hurt to cut Devin Thomas since he was doing so well for the team but was a salary cap move.

So why is he so happy?

"I got another year bitches!" yelled Miller. In an interesting twist in Miller's clause as general manager of the Broncos, if his team makes it to 6 wins, and that is an improvement over last season, then he gets another year added to his contract. The win on Sunday over the Chiefs put the Broncos at 6-7 for the season, an obvious improvement over last year's 2-14 season.

"I have plans for this team but I knew they were going to take time and I was worried I was not going to survive long enough to see them through," continued Miller. "But they really came through for me."

Miller has stated, or perhaps warned, that they rest of the season will be dedicated to developing the young players, such as Lamar Jackson, Josh Carraway, Nwosu, Hockenson, Gesicki, Ryan Bates, Sam Mustipher, and Hjalte Froholdt, along with the young wide receivers D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel. A.J. Brown would have been on that list but he broke his jaw against the Chiefs and will be out for the next 4 weeks.

"We expect a lot of progression from this team and will be doing whatever we can to promote that. So, while we are happy with our team development so far, our focus will change slightly over the next few weeks."

Next up for the Broncos: they welcome the 8-5 Cleveland Browns to Denver, before ending the season with games at the 4-9 Indianapolis Colts and 2-11 Green Bay Packers.

This has been Barry McCockiner reporting.

Forum Discussion (by T_Miller on 09/04/2024)

Replies - 1 :: Views - 34

Mile High Club: Broncos introduce 2019 Class

End with a win!!!

Broncos take down the Chargers

The Denver Broncos announced their 2019 Draft Class today with the signings of eight rookies, most of whom are expected to make an immediate impact or even start in the 2019 season. As well documented, the 2018 season obviously ended poorly with only 2 wins for their efforts. After those losses, Broncos GM Tim Miller didn't ask Broncos fans to trust the process; he went out and changed the process.

Rather than sit pat with their existing team and draft picks, the Broncos reached out for help from some different GMs and looked for advice on how to rebuild the team and what attributes are important for successful teams. After taking diligent notes and doing some analysis of their own, the Broncos changed their philosophies to see what is important in the league and maybe lower their emphasis on other areas of their evaluations.

This change in process was prevelant so far in free agency, in matched free agency, and in trades; however, it truly came into account during draft and how rookies were evaluated.

The Broncos were making deals and changing their draft board right up until the time of the draft. And they are pretty happy with how it ended up.

1.04 - A.J. Brown - Wide Receiver
The big question leading up to the draft: Why did the Broncos think they could trade down from 1.1 and still get what they wanted? Let's be honest here: The Broncos were leaning heavily towards taking QB Gardner Minshew at 1.1, but a re-evaluation of Lamar Jackson had the Broncos leaning a different direction. And when the Panthers finally came with an offer the Broncos could not refuse, the Broncos relented and accepted. Even then, anyone talking to Broncos GM Tim Miller knew that they were leaning towards a different wide receiver until a draft day discussion with a Super Bowl winning GM (and a private workout) changed Tim's mind. And he fell in love with A.J. Brown so much, he almost made a foolish trade to move up a spot to get him. But, once the Ravens took Rock Ya Sin, the Broncos knew they had their man and rejoiced. Despite being the second Ole Miss receiver taken, Brown did set six Ole Miss receiving records, including career receiving yards, career 100-yard games, single-game receiving yards, single-season receptions, single-season receiving yards, and single-season receiving touchdowns. Brown was an All-SEC first team receiver and a second team All American, but never even played in a bowl game. Lamar Jackson was one of the first to reach out to A.J. and cannot wait to see that combination for the many years to come.

Level	SPD*	STR	AWR*	AGI*	ACC*	CTH*	CAR	JMP	BTK	TAK	THP	THA	PBK	RBK	KPR	KAC	STA	INJ	TGH	KR
Combine	98	81	51	89	97	86	59	74	77	20	24	14	24	36	26	14	90	94	80	30
PW	99	78	53	89	99	86	61	74	79	20	28	17	25	38	27	16	91	96	81	28
Actual	99	80	53	89	99	86	60	74	79	20	28	16	24	38	26	18	91	96	83	26
Difference	1	-1	2	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	4	2	0	2	0	4	1	2	3	-4

2020 Minimum	99	81	55	90	99	88	60	74	79	20	28	16	24	38	26	18	91	96	83	26

1.12 - T.J. Hockenson - Tight End
The draft pundits originally had this correct in the Broncos were leaning towards defense. And had 1.3 gone differently, then 1.4 would have gone differently and this pick would have gone differently (or if Josh Allen were a little bit faster). But when the time came to pick, Broncos GM Tim Miller was at his son's baseball game and simply gave the words "Get the Iowa guy" and Hock became a Bronco. The draft pundits and draft shows all laughed because they have a very serviceable legend in Rob Gronkowski, but once they realized Gronk was on the wrong side of 30, Miller's madness became more clear. While Hock didn't wow with his speed like he did at the combine, overall he is a pretty good tight end that the Broncos felt was not going to be on the draft boards for much longer. A note: while Hock may be shown with number 87, there has been and there is no agreement to get that number from Gronk. In fact, the phrase "over my dead body" was said.

Level	SPD	STR*	AWR*	AGI	ACC	CTH*	CAR	JMP	BTK	TAK	THP	THA	PBK	RBK*	KPR	KAC	STA	INJ	TGH	KR
Combine	89	72	61	82	81	80	67	81	67	20	19	10	51	58	13	25	83	76	91	3
PW	84	70	62	83	79	80	64	83	67	19	20	8	52	56	14	27	89	76	89	7
Actual	85	70	62	84	80	80	65	83	67	20	20	10	50	56	14	28	87	74	91	6
Difference	-4	-2	1	2	-1	0	-2	2	0	0	1	0	-1	-2	1	3	4	-2	0	3

2020 Minimum	86	71	64	85	81	82	65	83	67	20	20	10	50	56	14	28	87	74	91	6

2.04 - Sean MurphyBunting - Cornerback
Originally the Broncos only had one pick in the 2nd round, but after acquiring an extra 2020 first round pick via the Darren Waller match. After looking at their board and their needs, they took some offers and finally settled with the Cowboys to get 2.04 and 2.28 in addition to their 2.13. And they still had some first round grades on a few players. So they went for their first defensive pick in cornerback Sean MurphyBunting. MurphyBunting's football IQ, agility, and acceleration are great and if his speed were any higher, he would be a first round pick easily. The Broncos did a private workout, liked what they saw, and made the First team All-MAC cornerback their third pick overall.

Level	SPD*	STR	AWR*	AGI	ACC*	CTH*	CAR	JMP	BTK	TAK*	THP	THA	PBK	RBK	KPR	KAC	STA	INJ	TGH	KR
Combine	90	52	62	95	99	45	52	88	20	65	24	13	29	20	6	31	84	78	93	22
PW	90	54	63	95	99	44	55	89	20	65	25	15	25	20	10	26	82	78	96	22
Actual	90	53	63	95	99	44	55	89	22	65	23	15	25	22	8	28	84	76	95	20
Difference	0	1	1	0	0	-1	3	1	2	0	-1	2	-4	2	2	-3	0	-2	2	-2

2020 Minimum	91	54	64	96	99	45	55	89	22	66	23	15	25	22	8	28	84	76	95	20

2.13 - Ryan Bates - Left Guard
With their second pick of the second round, the Broncos selected offensive guard Ryan Bates from Penn State. While Bates may not have stood out to the national stage, only garning third team all Big 10 honors, the Broncos scouts liked what they saw on the tape and in their workouts. His combination of speed, strength, agility, and acceleration to go along with a good awareness made him an early target of Denver. He will be competing with Conor McDermott to get playing time during his rookie season for his best progression.

Level	SPD	STR*	AWR*	AGI*	ACC	CTH	CAR	JMP	BTK	TAK	THP	THA	PBK*	RBK*	KPR	KAC	STA	INJ	TGH	KR
Combine	69	98	61	75	80	15	23	26	21	24	16	41	71	62	32	29	77	74	83	0
PW	66	96	59	77	83	20	26	29	27	27	15	36	70	61	29	26	78	76	88	0
Actual	67	96	59	77	82	19	26	30	25	26	17	37	70	61	28	26	77	75	86	1
Difference	-2	-2	-2	2	2	4	3	4	4	2	1	-4	-1	-1	-4	-3	0	1	3	1

2020 Minimum	68	98	61	78	83	19	26	30	25	26	17	37	71	62	28	26	77	75	86	1

2.28 - Sam Mustipher - Center
The offensive line theme continued with Notre Dame center Sam Mustipher. A four star recruit out of high school with offers from 26 schools, Mustipher selected Notre Dame early and worked his way into a full time starter by his junior year. He led an offensive line that paved the way for over 3,500 yards rushing and 35 touchdowns. Again the speed, agility and acceleration were all great. He will need to do some work on his strength but he has pretty good awareness coming out of such a strong football school. He will be competing with last year's fifth round pick to start this season.

Level	SPD	STR*	AWR*	AGI*	ACC	CTH	CAR	JMP	BTK	TAK	THP	THA	PBK*	RBK*	KPR	KAC	STA	INJ	TGH	KR
Combine	69	88	51	74	75	20	19	45	25	15	33	37	65	69	25	28	73	91	86	9
Actual	67	88	52	72	77	21	17	49	29	11	32	35	65	71	25	28	69	89	86	7
Difference	-2	0	1	-2	2	1	-2	4	4	-4	-1	-2	0	2	0	0	-4	-2	0	-2

2020 Minimum	68	90	54	73	78	21	17	49	29	11	32	35	66	72	25	28	69	89	86	7

3.06 - Hjalte Froholdt - Right Guard
The Broncos continued their offensive line lovefest by selecting Hjalte Froholdt out of Arkansas. The second team All-SEC right guard was originally a defensive lineman at Arkansas before making the switch his second season. His versatility across the line showed when he played a few games at center before moving back to guard. Froholdt was born in Denmark and speaks fluenent Danish.

Level	SPD	STR*	AWR*	AGI*	ACC	CTH	CAR	JMP	BTK	TAK	THP	THA	PBK*	RBK*	KPR	KAC	STA	INJ	TGH	KR
Combine	68	89	62	63	78	27	38	34	26	21	30	16	84	54	24	20	71	86	85	6
Actual	68	90	62	64	78	23	34	33	23	18	29	16	86	55	23	20	71	89	85	2
Difference	0	1	0	1	0	-4	-4	-1	-3	-3	-1	0	2	1	-1	0	0	3	0	-4

2020 Minimum	69	92	64	65	79	23	34	33	23	18	29	16	87	56	23	20	71	89	85	2

5.04 - Oli Udoh - Left Tackle
For their fifth round pick, the Broncos were looking for some depth behind their current or potential starters and found Olisaemka Udoh from tiny Elon College. After his redshirt year, he played every game for the next four seasons for the Phoenix, eventually being named first team All-CAA and FCS first team All-American. Where he really stood out was the East West Shrine Game and found his way to the Bronco's boards. Udoh is unlikely to unseat Garett Bolles, Daryl Williams or even last year's third round pick, Isaiah Wynn, but he will provided much needed depth.

Level	SPD	STR*	AWR*	AGI*	ACC	CTH	CAR	JMP	BTK	TAK	THP	THA	PBK*	RBK*	KPR	KAC	STA	INJ	TGH	KR
Combine	53	93	53	67	70	21	24	19	19	25	29	16	87	72	32	34	87	88	86	0
Actual	50	95	55	65	67	20	25	22	23	22	33	19	86	72	31	38	88	91	85	3
Difference	-3	2	2	-2	-3	-1	1	3	4	-3	4	3	-1	0	-1	4	1	3	-1	3

2020 Minimum	51	97	57	66	68	20	25	22	23	22	33	19	87	73	31	38	88	91	85	3

6.17 - Chauncey Gardner - Safety
Chauncey Gardner, also known as Chauncey Gardner-Johnson since his junior year, was the Broncos final pick in the 2019 draft. Filling a need for depth at safety, the Broncos feel like they have two established starter for many years to come in last year's 1st round pick, Jesse Bates, and recently acquired Malik Hooker, but will be expected to fill gaps in special teams. His primary knock is just a lack of acceleration. He moves side to side really well but lacks that ability to get to the top speed in a hurry.

Level	SPD*	STR	AWR*	AGI	ACC*	CTH*	CAR	JMP	BTK	TAK*	THP	THA	PBK	RBK	KPR	KAC	STA	INJ	TGH	KR
Combine	88	56	56	90	65	48	46	84	29	72	33	20	14	23	19	17	86	88	78	27
Actual	88	58	56	92	66	48	45	88	26	70	36	23	10	27	15	19	85	86	75	26
Difference	0	2	0	2	1	0	-1	4	-3	-2	3	3	-4	4	-4	2	-1	-2	-3	-1

2020 Minimum	89	59	58	93	67	50	45	88	26	71	36	23	10	27	15	19	85	86	75	26

With these rookie signings, the free agent signings, and all the flurry of trades happening in the offseason, the Broncos are just a few defensive ends short of being roster compliant. Prior to rookie signings, the Broncos had a little over $15 million in cap space so they should have some room to maneuver in the first come, first serve round of free agency coming up.

This has been Barry McCockiner reporting.

Forum Discussion (by T_Miller on 06/10/2024)

Replies - 6 :: Views - 63

Mile High Club: Broncos end season with win

End with a win!!!

Broncos take down the Chargers

Week 17 saw the Broncos hosting the AFC top overall seed, the San Diego Chargers, in a meaningless battle that would not change draft position or playoff position but still meant something because it was a divisional game. The Broncos took it seriously and started Ryan Tannehill, giving Lamar Jackson a week off and hopefully not ruin any further stats or his progression as a player.

Week 17 - Chargers – Broncos 30 Chargers 24

No overtime this week! The Chargers struck first with a Osweiler to Tyler Eifert touchdown pass that capped a 5 play 50 yard drive to put the visitors up 7-0. However, on the next drive, Tannehill took the Broncos 60 yards in 4 plays and matched the Charger tight end touchdown with a Gronkowski touchdown from 7 yards out to tie the score at 7-7 with 4:43 left in the first.

In the second, the Broncos kept their momentum and went 71 yards in 8 plays once Le'Veon Bell dove in from the goal line to put the Broncos up 14-7 6 seconds into the second quarter. After a few defensive stands by both teams, the Broncos Justin Tucker hit on a 25 yard field goal to extend the Broncos lead to 10 with 3:22 left in the half. Chargers answered right back with a Taylor Mehlhaff 27 yard field goal with 1:07 left in the half to make the lead 7 again. But the Chargers left just enough time for the Broncos to drive 73 yards for a 37 yard field goal and put the team up 20-10 at half time.

The Chargers found paydirt first in the second half when they scored with 3:41 left in the 3rd quarter on a Osweiler to Beanie Wells 24 yard touchdown to put the visitors within 3 at 17-20. However, after a 7 play 83 yard drive, Ronald Jones II scored his first SFL touchdown with a 2 yard plunge to move the score to 27-17 with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Broncos found themselves up 10 heading into the fourth quarter until Jehu Chesson hauled in a 5 yard pass from Osweiler to make it 24-27 with 7:39 left in the game. However, the Bronco defense took over and kept the Chargers out of the end zone, while the Bronco offense put together an 80 yard drive to kick a 51 yard field goal to make the final score 30-24 for the Broncos second win of the season.

Season in review

It really was the Broncos best game of the season and could cause a challenge in the backfield for 2019. Tannehill is just the better QB right now, although he was not interested in being a mentor this season. The Broncos had over 400 yards in total offense with touchdowns from Bell,Jones, and a Gronk TD reception.

With the top overall pick and a large number of players leaving due to contract challenges, the Broncos have a lot to think about this offseason.

This has been Barry McCockiner reporting.

Forum Discussion (by T_Miller on 05/19/2024)

Replies - 0 :: Views - 14

All Team News Stories

At A Glance

BRONCOS FRONT OFFICE
GM	O_Ratajczak
Head Coach	Mike Shanahan
Offensive Coordinator	Gary Kubiak
Defensive Coordinator	Tim Lewis
Special Teams	Chuck Priefer
Salary	$81.42M
Cap Penalty	$15.1M
Cap Room	$19.48M

INJURY REPORT
PLAYER	POS	OVR	LENGTH

AFC West
RNK	TEAM	W-L-T	PCT	DIV
^#8	y-Raiders	11-5-0	0.688	4-2
^#18	Chiefs	8-8-0	0.500	3-3
^#29	Broncos	5-11-0	0.313	3-3
^#31	Chargers	4-12-0	0.250	2-4

BRONCOS SCHEDULE
Preseason
WK	DATE	OPPONENT	SCOUT/RESULT
P1	Fri	at Vikings ^#9	Lost 9-12
P2	Thu	at Saints ^#23	Won 10-7
P3	Thu	vs Redskins ^#10	Lost 13-24
P4	Sat	vs Patriots ^#16	Won 28-7
Regular Season
1	Sep 11	at Rams ^#6	Lost 13-19
2	Sep 18	vs Chiefs ^#18	Won 20-13
3	Sep 25	at Patriots ^#16	Lost 3-48
5	Oct 10	vs Ravens ^#25	Won 36-31
6	Oct 16	vs Raiders ^#8	Won 17-16
7	Oct 23	at Browns ^#1	Lost 7-38
8	Oct 30	vs Colts ^#26	Lost 17-34
9	Nov 6	at Steelers ^#28	Won 34-13
10	Nov 13	at Raiders ^#8	Lost 14-24
11	Nov 20	vs Chargers ^#31	Lost 7-22
12	Nov 24	at Chiefs ^#18	Won 13-10
13	Dec 4	vs Seahawks ^#3	Lost 12-23
14	Dec 11	at Chargers ^#31	Lost 34-40
15	Dec 18	at Cardinals ^#4	Lost 27-45
16	Dec 25	vs Bengals ^#5	Lost 23-33
17	Jan 1	vs 49ers ^#17	Lost 14-17