Thread: Renck: Broncos NOT picking up 5th year option on Sylvester Williams

Troy Renck ‏@TroyRenck 1m1 minute ago

According to #NFL source, #Broncos are not exercising 5th year option on Sly Williams

Troy Renck ‏@TroyRenck 33s33 seconds ago

Understand #Broncos pleased w Sly Williams' progress last year. But nose tackles market has shifted last few years, making 2017 cap # high

Cameron Wolfe ‏@CameronWolfe 59s60 seconds ago

The #Broncos were happy w/ Sly's production last season, but that $6.75M cap figure is a rather large # for a nose tackle and 2-down player.

Cameron Wolfe ‏@CameronWolfe 5s6 seconds ago

Sly could still re-sign for a lesser # if he wants or test free agency after 2016 season.

That's a bet I'm not sure I like. It's just a one-year tender, not a multi-year contract, so if you don't like it you're not locked in. And we kinda need a NT going forward. If Elway can sign him to a long-term deal, that'd be nice. Perhaps this gives him incentive.

But if we're not planning on keeping him, I'd rather have next year to develop his replacement. Unless we really like Kilgo in that regard, I guess - but he and Sly play the position differently.

2 down run stuffers are a dime a dozen in today's passing league and the contracts are starting to reflect that. That's why Pot Roast couldn't find anyone to pay him despite being a productive player. Now the Malik Jackson/Derek Wolfe hybrid types who can rush and stuff the run are en vogue.

Which is interesting because we couldn't find a run stuffing NT to save our lives during the Shanahan era - and now we're just giving them away.

LOL That's what scares me Buff. Giving them away until we realize we don't have one left.

Not a huge surprise. Elway has made it abundantly clear that he is not going to pay anyone more than what the open market would dictate. Hard to complain as it's worked out well for him so far. It's been a pretty sound strategy for the Pats as well.

Originally Posted by G_Money

LOL That's what scares me Buff. Giving them away until we realize we don't have one left.

I hear you - the very concept is so foreign for those of us who lived through the Shanny years and all those DL failures. My instinct is to not only sign him, but attempt to breed test tube babies with his DNA.

So, he's under contract for 2016 for $2,412,375 and no 5th year option. He'll be an unrestricted FA and they will either re-negotiate and re-sign or else release him after this season.

Don't see why he would be unhappy with this since it means he reaches FA a year earlier. If he has a good season, he'll find someone to give him $6M a year, just probably not the Broncos.

Hard to see him make $6 mill. He is nit a huge disruptice force. I think elway will reach out with an offer before end of season. $3-4 mill could be range.

Interesting - per this Denver Post article we almost drafted Maliek Collins (NT) instead of Gotsis. That would have made sense if we weren't picking up Sly's option and expected him to depart.

Hopefully we find a way to keep him with an extension for a price both parties find equitable. I like the way he plays the position for us.

Elways not going to get us into cap hell, he likes bargains.

He will also find someones replacement if need be and sometimes that play ends up being better then the one that left.

I could almost bet that Sly will sign a contract by years end. I don't think he will want to risk injury but it won't be no 6 mill a year deal.

Originally Posted by Buff

2 down run stuffers are a dime a dozen in today's passing league and the contracts are starting to reflect that. That's why Pot Roast couldn't find anyone to pay him despite being a productive player. Now the Malik Jackson/Derek Wolfe hybrid types who can rush and stuff the run are en vogue.

Which is interesting because we couldn't find a run stuffing NT to save our lives during the Shanahan era - and now we're just giving them away.

Even if all that's true (and I agree with your other comment about not wanting to return to the decade when Ladainian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson and EVERYONE ELSE ran right through the gaping hole in the middle of our line where no DT worthy of the name was) I'm unsure it's fair to say Sly's just a 2-down run stuffer. He also collapses pockets and forces double teams, just as a 3-4 NT must, and the ability of one lineman to occupy TWO blockers makes a 3-man line far more doable.

That said, $6.75M is a lot of cap space, and we must re-sign or release DOZENS of players by this time next year. I'm hopeful we can lock Sly into a long term deal that lets us spread the pain over many seasons; it's what I wanted to do rather than take an inflexible non-negotiable $7M hit that STILL left him unsigned a year later. But if that doesn't happen... well, Dontari Poe's a FA next year, or we can try to coax Raji out of retirement if he's healthy.

I'll say this much: This is a curious decision after we turned down Porkchops request to return for (reportedly) a fraction of what Slys 5th year option would cost.

Originally Posted by G_Money

Interesting - per this Denver Post article we almost drafted Maliek Collins (NT) instead of Gotsis. That would have made sense if we weren't picking up Sly's option and expected him to depart.

Hopefully we find a way to keep him with an extension for a price both parties find equitable. I like the way he plays the position for us.

I also read one article that said Gotsis could play NT on some downs.

Originally Posted by Tned

I also read one article that said Gotsis could play NT on some downs.

Well, that's how Sly got the job: First he was a high pick, then Big Vicks injury shifted Potroast to NT and Sly to starting UT, then Porkchop left to get paid and Sly was the starting NT in our brand new 3-4. Vance Walker did something similar last year: A former 4-3 DT, he spent the first month starting in Wolfes spot, then the end of Wolfes suspension made Walker the guy who rotated with Sly the rest of the year so we always had a fresh pocket-crushing run-stuffing NT on the field.

What Elway and our coaches continue accomplishing since makes it hard to dispute Fox and Co. didn't hold back an elite team. If we keep finding and keeping studs at the core positions (which I expect at NT, one way or the other) with inexpensive versatility at the complementary ones, we'll be in great shape for a long time.

Win now. Win from now on.

Potroast isn't here because he ate his way out of his contract. He's only earning $1.75M on a 1 year contract with the Patriots, and he'll be 30 next year so it's not as if it would have cost them much to bring him back. He even stated publicly he wanted to return. They just didn't want him.

As for Gotsis, we'll have to see. He's going to be out for a significant part of his rookie year with his knee injury. And he's really a project, since he grew up in Australia and learned American football there, playing in amateur clubs. His time at Georgia showed his development potential, but his development is quite far behind some other players who have normally been playing since pee-wee football and often played in highly competitive high school football in Texas, Florida or California.

Might not really be ready by next year to be an effective starter, but we'll see what a year of constant coaching can do for him.