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The cornerback situation for the Denver Broncos is something I discussed with Joe Rowles and Scotty Payne here earlier this week and the one thing we all absolutely agreed on was that the team should move on from cornerback A.J. Bouye to free up cap space.
Then the next day, Mike Klis from 9News basically confirmed for all of us that Bouye isn’t going to be in the team’s plans for the 2021 season.
The Broncos most glaring weakness is not quarterback. It’s the cornerback position. Their top three corners last year – A.J. Bouye, Bryce Callahan and Essang Bassey – suffered significant injuries. The injury-plagued Callahan missed six more games in 2020, increasing his career missed games to 41 in six years. Bouye missed five games with a shoulder injury, and was suspended the final four games for violating the league’s performance enhancement policy. He is not expected to return, as Bouye is one of several key defensive starters – Jurrell Casey and Von Miller are the others – who are on the wrong side of 30, are scheduled to make large, nonguaranteed salaries and are coming off major injuries.
It’s interesting that Klis also included Jurrell Casey and Von Miller with Bouye when talking about him not returning. All three plays could free up massive amounts of cap space, but I think Von is the one they’ll end up retaining this season. Both Casey and Bouye have zero dead money hits and would instantly free up $25 million in cap space.
What do you think Broncos Country?