Report: Denver “likely” to let Matt Paradis hit the open market

Mike Klis from 9News dropped a quick update on the Paradis contract situation in his mailbag Monday night.

“The Broncos recently contacted his (Paradis) agent and they will talk again at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis next week. But it seems likely Paradis, the Broncos’ four-year starting center who is coming off a fractured fibula, is going to reach the free-agent market.

And history shows that once a player hits the market, the chances of returning to his team diminish considerably.”

Benjamin Allbright also spoke to the Paradis situation today (starting around the 3:00 mark) on Orange & Blue 760’s 1st & 10 at 10. Allbright stated that Denver had offered Paradis a contract all the way back at the beginning of the season, but, as Denver has been known to do, Paradis felt like they gave him an extremely low-ball offer. “He felt insulted by it. Didn’t even counter.”

Now, Klis states that Denver will be meeting with his agent at the Combine next week, so that’s better than not talking at all. We’ll see if the two sides can come to any type of middle ground, but neither Allbright or Klis sound optimistic that a deal will get done and feel that Denver is going to allow Paradis to test the free agent market.

This has almost become standard operating procedure with Denver. As host Ryan Edwards pointed out on air, they haven’t re-signed a draft pick to a second contract since Derek Wolfe. Allbright mentioned that like most of their contract negotiations, Denver likely has a number in their head for what they would be willing to spend, and if negotiations go over that number, they are content to let Paradis walk.

It’s unfortunate that a great team player like Paradis, and so far the lone successful offensive line draft pick isn’t likely to be sticking around, but as Allbright points out, teams like the Patriots play hardball in negotiations and it’s likely a better long-term strategy than teams who throw money around and end up regretting it. “Typically successful teams have that kind of philosophy.”

While Paradis has played well, he is coming off of a fractured fibula and dealt with hip issues for the past several seasons. That, combined with Connor McGovern playing well in his absence last year, lead me to believe that we won’t see Matt Paradis in a Denver uniform this year.

Even, if he ends up not landing in Denver, I hope he is paid extremely well and continues to succeed. He has certainly earned it.

We will keep an eye on this story as the Combine rolls around next week and see how the negotiations play out.