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Happy Wednesday, Broncos Country.
A mass exodus of former Denver Broncos has occurred in the early days of free agency. Malik Jackson, Brock Osweiler, David Bruton and Ryan Harris have all found new homes and another player from the teams' championship roster might be on his way elsewhere too.
Yesterday, left guard Evan Mathis had a visit with the Arizona Cardinals and was offered a two-year deal. He has made no decision as of yet, but the recent developments out of Arizona have left them a large void on the offensive line that they need to fill.
One reason the #AZCardinals felt comfortable trading an OL today? Source said Evan Mathis visited them today & they offered a 2-year deal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2016
If Mathis bolts for Arizona, three of the teams five starting offensive lineman (including Harris and Louis Vasquez) from the Super Bowl will be gone from the team. The team expects second-round pick Ty Sambrailo to come back healthy from a torn labrum and earn a starting spot next year, and remain hopeful they can come to a contract restructure with former All-Pro left tackle Ryan Clady. It is unknown at this time if the Broncos have any interest in offering Mathis another deal.
Even with the addition of Donald Stephenson, Denver would be wise to add talent to their offensive line in the NFL Draft and should have a handful of options available to them with their early picks that can come in and contribute immediately.
If Mathis does sign with Arizona, Kansas State's Cody Whitehair or Stanford's Joshua Garnett would be prime prospects for the team to consider when they are on the clock in April. I consider both of them premium players at left guard who could be plug-and-play starters from Day 1 and eventually become Pro-Bowl caliber players.
As always, thanks for reading and enjoy today's offering of Horse Tracks.
Horse Tracks
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