Even if they’re unable to land Colin Kaepernick, panic over the Broncos’ quarterback situation isn’t in order, opines Troy Renck of the Denver Post. As Renck writes, the defensively dominant Broncos were able to defy logic last season by winning a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler (primarily the former) combining to offer some of the NFL’s worst quarterback play. In Renck’s estimation, next season’s performance from Denver’s signal-caller(s) probably won’t be much of a downgrade, if at all, and the Broncos should still possess an elite defense. The Broncos were in the league’s basement in nearly all relevant passing stats in 2015, so Renck’s belief that they should at least tread water under center with Mark Sanchez (and/or someone else) is justifiable. It’s worth noting, though, that the defense could regress to some degree after it lost a pair of integral contributors, Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan, when free agency opened last month.
Here’s more from around the NFL as we wrap up another week of the offseason:
- Acquiring Kaepernick could force cap-strapped Denver to release pricey left tackle Ryan Clady as a way to free up spending room. The tackle-needy Seahawks would seem to be a fit for Clady on paper if he becomes available, but their own lack of cap space ($7MM, which doesn’t factor in the few million dollars necessary to sign draft picks) might take them out of the running, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times.
- Texans three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown is progressing well from the surgery he underwent in January to repair a torn right quadriceps and expects to be ready for the regular season, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 (Twitter link). The eight-year veteran suffered the injury in Week 17 last season and missed the Texans’ playoff loss to Kansas City as a result.
- Alabama running back Kenyan Drake visited the Cowboys and Dolphins and will next head to San Francisco to meet with the 49ers, he told ESPN’s Vaughn McClure (link via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com). Drake was stuck behind the likes of Eddie Lacy, T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry while with the Crimson Tide, but he averaged a lofty 6.4 yards per carry on 233 attempts and totaled 22 touchdowns (18 rushing, four receiving) during his four-year NCAA career.