When Malik Jackson signed his mammoth six-year, $90 million free agent deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, fans of the Denver Broncos were probably feeling pretty good about themselves. Sure, they were losing a defensive stud in Jackson, a young guy with high upside who had managed to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl no less, but their beloved team had already locked up Jackson's former defensive line mate, Derek Wolfe, to a much more affordable deal - four years, $36.7 million - and the money that wasn't wasted on Jackson would surely now go to locking up vaunted pass rusher Von Miller and quarterback Brock Osweiler.
But then a funny thing happened. Osweiler, incensed over being removed from the lineup late in the season and then asked to wait patiently while the Broncos gave Peyton Manning the time he needed, signed with Houston. Then Danny Trevathan skipped off to re-join John Fox in Chicago.
And Miller, yet to sign his tender, is apparently planning to stay away from offseason work.
Really, that the Broncos don't want to blow-up their salary cup structure makes sense. It's vitally important to remain fiscally sound in today's NFL.
That Denver seems to be creating and cultivating enemies in the process doesn't.
Per a recent report, the deal the Broncos got Wolfe - a guy with 140 tackles and 17 sacks to his name through four seasons playing a lunch pail D-line position in Denver - to ink may be messing with their collective heads, convincing John Elway and cap guru Mike Sullivan that they can then get other players, like Miller and maybe Colin Kaepernick - a player who remains under San Francisco's control, but who Elway and Co. have been courting via trade - to sign for below-market value.
"I think the Derek Wolfe deal screwed their heads up," an unnamed agent said. "It made [Mike] Sullivan believe he could get everyone to do bad deals. There is a lot of arrogance there."
Now, the fact that it's an agent, the guys tasked with making sure their players secure as much guaranteed money as possible on every deal, making this point adds a bit of a biased tone to the above statement.
You can really read it however you want. Sour grapes, legitimate gripe - whatever works best for you.
But when it comes to a player like Miller, a four-time All-Pro who walked away from Super Bowl 50 with an MVP nod, that hardline negotiation stance doesn't just seem ill-advised - it's stupid.
Miller, outside of the season he missed due to suspension, has been the heart and soul of the Broncos defense since he entered the league via the first-round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Sixty sacks, 260 tackles and 16 forced fumbles don't do justice to what Miller has meant to the Broncos.
In the NFL, there's a time and a place to draw a line in the sand, and if Miller is seeking Ndamukong Suh money, best defensive player in the NFL-type money, as the report suggests, then putting their collective foot down and trying to steer him back to the negotiating table makes sense for the Denver front office.
But Miller isn't just the cornerstone of Wade Phillips' defense - he's the most high-profile player on a team that doesn't have a legitimate starting quarterback on its roster after Osweiler, the longtime heir apparent to Manning, was left with such a sour taste in his mouth from his dealings with Denver.
Sure, Elway - or, really, Sullivan - may end up getting the best value possible by stonewalling Miller like this, could get him to sign a deal worth about $16 million per season. But they may also be alienating their best and most recognizable player, and ensuring that once they've exhausted their franchise tag options, Miller will head for whatever NFL team is willing to pay him like the elite player he is.
