The Denver Broncos on Monday signed unrestricted free-agent center Casey Wiegmann and re-signed unrestricted free-agent running back Cecil Sapp, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced. As per club policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Wiegmann (6-foot-2, 285 pounds) is a 13th-year player who joins Denver after starting at center for Kansas City during the past seven seasons. He also has played for Chicago (1997-2000), the New York Jets (1997) and Indianapolis (1996), which signed him as a college free agent from the University of Iowa.
A 16-game starter during each of the last six seasons, Wiegmann has played 163 career games (136 starts) in the regular season and logged starts in both of his career playoff appearances.
Wiegmann owns a 111-game start streak in the regular season that is the third longest among active NFL offensive linemen and dates back to 2001. He has taken every regular season and postseason snap for the Chiefs since early in the 2001 campaign, a streak of 7,062 consecutive snaps that is the longest active streak among league offensive linemen.
During seven seasons (2001-07) in Kansas City, Wiegmann started 111 of a possible 112 regular-season games on a Chiefs offense that ranked second in the NFL in total offense (40,042 yds. / 357.5 ypg.) during that time. His blocking helped Kansas City total an NFL-best 154 rushing touchdowns and rank sixth in the league in rushing offense (14,377 yds. / 128.4 ypg.) from 2001-07.
In addition, the Chiefs totaled five individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons (all above 1,400 yards) with Wiegmann anchoring their offensive line. Behind Wiegmann, Larry Johnson ranked second in the NFL in rushing in 2006 with a franchise-record 1,789 yards while Priest Holmes set an NFL single-season record for rushing touchdowns (27, since broken) in 2003.
Wiegmann joined the Chiefs from Chicago, where he played four seasons (1997-2000) and started 15 games for the Bears in 1998. He began is professional career on Indianapolis' practice squad in 1996 and saw his first game action with the Jets in 1997, appearing in three games for the club that season.
An honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference selection as a senior at Iowa, Wiegmann started 27 games during his collegiate career with the Hawkeyes. He lettered in football, baseball and basketball at Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Parkersburg, Iowa.
Wiegmann was born on July 20, 1973.
Sapp (5-foot-11, 229 pounds) is a sixth-year player who has spent the last five seasons with the Broncos. He entered the NFL with Denver in 2003 as a college free agent from Colorado State University.
In 49 career regular-season games (9 starts), Sapp has posted 49 rushes for 223 yards (4.6 avg.) with two touchdowns while adding 24 receptions for 102 yards (4.3 avg.) with one score. The veteran also has been a key special-teams player for the Broncos, recording 20 career tackles on coverage units and returning nine kickoffs for 187 yards (20.8 avg.).
Sapp started a career-high eight games and scored the first three touchdowns (2 rush, 1 rec.) of his career with Denver in 2007. He saw time in all 16 games for the year, posting 18 rushes for 59 yards (3.3 avg.) and a career-best 14 catches for 51 yards (3.6 avg.) while adding six special-teams tackles and two kickoff returns for 30 yards (15.0 avg.).
In 2006, Sapp set personal bests in rushing yards (80) and yards per rush (8.0 on 10 carries) in 11 games (1 start). He saw action in all 16 regular-season games and both postseason contests in 2005 on a Broncos squad that won the AFC West title and advanced to the conference championship game.
As a rookie in 2003, Sapp spent the majority of the season on Denver's practice squad. He saw time in five games for the Broncos in 2004 after beginning the year on their practice squad.
Sapp finished his collegiate career at Colorado State ranked seventh on its all-time rushing list, totaling 2,482 yards on 504 carries (4.9 avg.) with 28 touchdowns in 28 games. He was an honorable mention all-state selection at Palmetto High School in Miami.
Sapp was born on Dec. 23, 1978.