The server issues delayed this brief update, so I’ll go ahead and squeeze this brief article out now. Tuesday was the last day that signed UFAs could become CFAs, so we now know the maximum number of players relevant to the Broncos that could qualify for the 2017 compensatory formula.
Here is the cancellation chart for the Broncos:
| Qualifying UFAs Lost: 7 | Qualifying UFAs Gained: 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Rd. | Real APY | Name | Rd. | Real APY |
| Brock Osweiler | 3 | $18,000,000 | |||
| Malik Jackson | 3 | $14,250,000 | |||
| Danny Trevathan | 5 | $6,025,000 | |||
| Evan Mathis | 6 | $4,000,000 | Donald Stephenson | 6 | $4,666,667 |
| David Bruton | 7 | $2,962,500 | Russell Okung | 6 | $4,000,000 |
| Vernon Davis | 7 | $2,281,250 | Jared Crick | 7 | $1,750,000 |
| Ryan Harris | 7 | $1,950,000 | |||
| Non-Qualifying UFAs Lost | Non-Qualifying UFAs Gained | ||||
| Andre Caldwell | 7 | $885,000 | |||
| Omar Bolden | 7 | $840,000 | |||
This year, the caveats to this chart are as follows:
- I believe that only the first year of Russell Okung’s contract will count in the compensatory formula, based on Brandon Browner getting valued lower than I thought in 2015 due to a similar one year deal with a team option for more with the Patriots. But if I’m wrong about that, Okung will be valued as a 3rd rounder, meaning that he would cancel out Brock Osweiler and free up Vernon Davis, changing a projected 3rd to a 7th.
- Because Ryan Harris only got a $675,000 signing bonus, there’s a non-zero chance that he could be cut if he doesn’t fit what the Steelers want to do, and that would remove the Broncos’ projected 7th for him. But the bigger risk is that he may not make the 32-pick limit. Right now he is third to last in order, but I think that a few other players may leapfrog him as the year goes on.
- Don’t pay too much attention to Andre Caldwell and Omar Bolden; for getting only minimum salary benefit deals they need a lot of playing time to qualify, and even if they do they’re likely to be over the Broncos’ maximum limit of four comp picks.
- However, it should be noted that even if Caldwell and Bolden are ignored, no team lost more UFAs than the Broncos in 2016. That’s a consequence of winning the Super Bowl, but it’s also a consequence that the Broncos have prepared for and executed a plan to minimize the losses.