I would be surprised if Denver doesn’t. In the past we haven’t been a team to screw around with guys.

He was really good last year, but he’s 36, wants a multi-year extension, and is vocal about not being 100% devoted to football. How long could we really count on the guy? I’d like to see him stay, but the Broncos now have 3 young interior offensive linemen, two high-cost first-round draft picks, and looming extensions for a lot of quality young players.

Hopefully the get it worked out. But the real goal here is to have the team in good shape in 2 years.

Or did you have to ask?

That’s impressive if it is the former!

My wife and I think we saw Garrett Wolfe (backup RB on the Bears) at a Target in Bourbonnais (Bears training camp locale and my wife’s hometown), buying a mini(beer?) fridge. However, we didn’t have the cojones to go up to him and ask.

BTW, this was another instance where I was struck by how crazy large these people are… and Garrett Wolfe is a tiny as compared to other football players!!

Mostly because I would miss seeing his wife in the stands.

But I am wary of locking down a 36-year-old vet for a multi-year deal when a decline in his play is inevitable and we have much more important young core players like Brandon Marshall, Peyton Hillis, Ryan Harris, etc., that are going to be due a lot of money very soon. I would rather have Weigmann go now than lose any of our young guys in a couple of years. We have the pieces necessary to replace him- Ben Hamilton is a very good NFL center and we could sub in Lichtensteiger or that Iowa guy we drafted whose name I can never seem to remember at guard.

we give Weigmann more coin on a one or two year deal.

he wants more than a one or two year deal.

Same thing with Marshall asking for more money. Wiegmann did come off a pro bowl season, but we need more than just one or two seasons. If that’s the solution he presents (since he’s already 36 and considering retirement), then he should retire. If he wants a bunch of money for a 3-4 season contract that he will only play 1 or 2 seasons of, then don’t let the door hit you on the way out buddy.

Both these guys I think SHOULD get more money…in for form of agreed upon incentive-based money. Get the stats, get the money. Don’t get suspended, get the money. Play 3 years, get the money.

I think the thing to watch for now (as fans) is whether Casey starts getting informed by the team, and kept in the loop. He isn’t getting paid any more or less than any other player right now (players make $130 a day in 2009, plus some travel and room and board expenses where appropriate) for participating in voluntary minicamps in the offseason.

The mandatory camps are a little different, and the player will get payed a prorated portion of their standard weekly pay under their contract, plus certain travel and board expenses, and Denver’s first mandatory camp is this weekend I believe, so it would be nice if the team is at least in negotiations with him by that time.

By commenting now, Wiegmann is basically putting the team on notice that he hasn’t forgotten…standard prenegotiation stuff, I am sure. Casey’s agents job is to remind the team that Casey has leverage, and that is what they are doing.

Again, unless he is being stonewalled and left out of the loop, I would say that things are going according to a standard, cap-wise and team-friendly methodology for a new contract. Remember that we still have a number of rookie contracts to sign, almost all of which have more precedence over Casey in terms of long term viability and room to maneuver. I think his contract will be tied into how those rookie negotiations pan out, especially the first three picks. The better those deals are, the more likely Casey gets exactly what he wants.

But if we start hearing reports about how the Broncos won’t talk to Casey, than the writing is on the wall: they aren’t planning on resigning him at the price tag he wants. Good or bad? I’ll wait until I hear more about how he is playing right now, as well as how Ten Tigers, Olsen and Schlueter are coming along.

Beyond that..?