Superbowl Free Agents for Cleveland Browns

For the Broncos, the "beeping" sound you hear is Von Miller backing up the Brinks truck.  

The Broncos have problems, with current cap space of seven million.  Ryan Clady and a couple other guys could renegotiate to increase that, and some players could be cut loose to free up some more, but Denver has a tall order.

For an excellent and comprehensive in depth analysis of Denver's current challenges and what they might do, this article was my main source.  In this writer's opinion, the Broncos could try to simulate the Nick Fole's deal (to retain Osweiler), which (despite the big numbers) would actually count as around five million against their cap.

I think he's underestimating a bit, but close enough.  The Browns could certainly outbid the Broncos, however.

Much is dependant on what Gramps Manning does.  The writer said it would be difficult to keep both quarterbacks.

I've got to say this, however: If I'm Brock Osweiler, I'm angry.  Brock Osweiler is the better quarterback.  Yet his Head Coach yanked him on the eve of the playoffs.  And listen to the talk: If Manning stays, Brock can expect to collect more splinters in his fifth season.

If Peyton retires, he probably wants to stay, but again, if it's me, I explore the market first.  If that happens, the Broncos can't match Cleveland's offer.  That doesn't mean he won't accept less to stay in Denver.

On the surface, he would want to.  The Broncos will lose some talent, but should remain a force to be reckoned with.

But looking deeper, a young team coached by Hue Jackson has some appeal as well.  The cap is the cap, and Denver will inevitably erode in the coming years.  The Browns (you heard me mention Hue Jackson right are you paying attention?) are getting better.

As you can tell, I like Osweiller a lot, and bet Hue does too.  While the top two quarterbacks in this draft could end up being great, they're far from a sure thing.  Osweiler is tested and proven, with remaining upside.  And the number two overall pick could then be.....

More practical Denver targets for the Browns would be DE Malik Jackson, ILB Danny Trevathan, and Ronny Hillman.  Jackson is the big one here.

The Panthers have around 24 million.  They can keep all their top young guys, and unlike the Broncos, they're just getting started.  Nothing to see here.

In an earlier article, I bashed somebody for talking about Osweiler.  In my defense, I had faulty data on the Broncos salary cap number.  I thought they had a lot more ammunition than they do.

Not everybody is that high on Osweiler.  He wasn't spectacular or anything.  The Chargers were giving him a hard time when he got yanked, but Manning was similar.

I leave this to Hue Jackson.  The last Manning understudy I saw, however, was Kelly Holcomb.  Holcomb didn't have Osweiler's pedigree or tools.

Whatever.  Hue will know best, and he sure beats the hell out of drafting a quarterback later in the draft.  (And don't say Osweiler was a second rounder.  We don't have four years here.)

Now we can watch possible future Browns in the Superbowl.