Broncos Look To Bring In Koutouvides

by John Bena on Feb 29, 2008 4:21 PM MST in Rumor Mill

It won't be much fun to type it over and over in 2008, but the Broncos have more important things to worry about than my Carpal Tunnel. Should Niko Koutouvides actually get to the airport and on a plane out of Tampa before being signed, his next likely stop would be in Denver --

Koutouvides has played four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, the last three as a special teams' standout and backup to perennial Pro Bowl middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu. He was meeting Friday with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where interest would be as a backup to Barrett Ruud, who is coming off a breakout season at middle linebacker.

The Broncos are using the free-agent market this offseason to pursue linebackers, safeties, defensive linemen and receivers who are proven special team contributors while awaiting the opportunity to break through the starting lineup.

The team also is interested in Green Bay free-agent Tracy White, who backed up A.J. Hawk the past two seasons at strongside linebacker.

If playing time is a major factor for Koutouvides, he might have a better chance with the Broncos, who are open to the idea of shifting middle linebacker D.J. Williams to the outside.

It is now obvious that what we heard about the Broncos plan heading into Free Agency was the truth. Solid B-type players that won't command top dollar.....

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This Idea has worked in the Past

Prime Examples are Ed McCaffrey who spent time in SF as a back up and slot only to come into Denver and be opposite Rod Smith on every play and be the deep threat until his leg got snapped. I liek the "B" player system. How many success do the brocos have that were "A" Caliber when we signed them anyway.

Davis to the Hall! "A leader, once convinced that a particular course of action is the right one, must be undaunted when the going gets tough." Ronald Reagan

by Jon Tollerud on Feb 29, 2008 4:31 PM MST reply actions

At least

they will be the type of depth and special team players we have been missing... makcup for draft busts.

Orange County is hot. Really! Haven't you seen the weather report?

by amirebram on Feb 29, 2008 10:21 PM MST up reply actions

Ahh cmon

any hope of signing Gibril Wilson is gone he was nabbed up by the Fader Nation.

Raiders land former Giant safety Wilson

Oakland continued the spending frenzy it started before free agency.

The Raiders reached an agreement with former New York Giants free-agent safety Gibril Wilson on a six-year contract worth $39 million, including $16 million guaranteed. The Giants had a rough Friday. They lost Wilson, and linebackers Kawika Mitchell and Reggie Torbor.
--Adam Schefter

Baby TO My new Fav Player

by TommyTSlice on Feb 29, 2008 5:36 PM MST reply actions

Applying some lessons from MattR

So this signing should be eating up in the neighborhood of $10-$11mil of the fader salary cap, on average, every year? Nice.

I would have liked to see Wilson join the orange and blue, but he is definitely not worth the price. That has to be right up there with the top safety salaries in the league. Last year we would have been, like, "Gibril who?"

I'm with our resident Gator enthuse, FLA: we missed our chance at solidifying safety for the next decade when we wrapped Reggie Nelson up pretty and gave him to the Jags. Now we need to bust our buns looking for a safety who can backpedal as fast as the bronco's front office...

I wish my sig was as cool as mdierks!

by Jeremy Bolander on Feb 29, 2008 6:39 PM MST up reply actions

It is almost impossible to know

at this point. It all depends on how the guaranteed money is broken up. As far as I can tell, when agents/reporters talk about guaranteed money they are referring to a combo of the signing bonus, first year's base salary, first year's roster bonus, an option bonus due after the first offseason and possibly the second year's salary as well.

So $16 million in guarantees could be largely in a roster bonus which is not prorated, in a signing bonus which is prorated or an option bonus which is prorated and not paid out until next year. For example, Denver gave Bly a 4.5 million signing bonus with 3.9 in bonus/salary and a 9 million option bonus this offseason. On the other hand, Daniel Graham got a 10 million signing bonus with 800K in salary/bonus and then a 5 million option bonus this offseason.

This is the huge frustration I faced when tracking down Bronco's info and why you pretty much need to wait until the end of the year when the USA Today releases the actual salaries and bonuses paid.

by MattR on Mar 2, 2008 3:47 PM MST up reply actions