Latest / Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports / Jeff Legwold joins Moser, Lombardi and Kane 3/7/24

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Jeff Legwold joins Moser, Lombardi and Kane 3/7/24 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

• 0:00
  Mooser, Lombardy, and Kane as we continue to parse our way through this
• 0:24
  crazy, hectic day breaking down the Avs win in the trades from yesterday.
• 0:27
  Justin Simmons released this morning from the Broncos. Karl Anthony Towns with a torn
• 0:33
  meniscus could be out for the year. Also like there's a big game tonight
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  for the Nuggets as they take on the best team in the NBA, the
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  Boston Celtics. So a lot to get through. But let's talk to Jeff
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  Legwald in all conversations with Leggy brought to bet Safe Colorado, the exclusive club
• 0:49
  pro passionate gamers and betters across the state. Leggy, what happened this morning?
• 0:55
  What goes into the decision to let Justin Simmons walk? I know it's
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  the money, but why not attempt to trade or why couldn't they get a
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  trade done for a player of his caliber? Well, all I got to
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  do is look at the safeties on the market and the salary cap purges around
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  the league that I think the figure is already over one hundred million dollars worth
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  of salary cap charges shed for safeties alone in the last few weeks. So
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  why you know this is because you know, they started to be paid like
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  they meant something in defenses. So a lot of these guys are among the
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  highest cap charges on defenses on their team, and people start looking for where
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  you can quickly assimilate young players into a defense that's often the safety or edge
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  rusher. So I think it's all mushing together, and you know, welcome
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  him to the Hey, release Russell Wilson world of the Denver Broncos. They're
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  still they're still not under the cap either. So if if we all think
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  this is over, we would be sadly mistaken. Right now, do you
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  think there's any element of releasing him rather than trading him for the mere fact
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  that it allows Justin Simmons, a loyal employee, to go find his own
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  team and not be forced to play for a crap team. I'm sure that's
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  some of it. That there isn't much of a trade market for safeties right
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  now. Both it's both. I mean, they're they're they're giving him some
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  freedom, and by doing it a week, he now can participate in the
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  in the legal tampering period and all of those things. You know, he
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  can get an earlier start on finding a new home in a in a safety
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  market, that's that's fairly blooded. I think you're going to see even players
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  as successful as him get one or two year prove it deals, whether they
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  like it or not. I think that. I mean, the Bills released
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  two safeties yesterday, so I mean it's not like there's not choices out there
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  for teams to make. Could they have netted something last year at the deadline
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  for Justin Simmons, I think they still thought they were you know that they
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  were rebounding a little bit. I think the only player that really drew any
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  interest, and it was marginal it wasn't enough for the Broncos to move is
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  the Browns made a late run for Jerry Judy right before the deadline, and
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  you know that the Broncos didn't think that was good enough to make the moves.
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  So there isn't as much trades floral as we'd like to think. It's
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  you know, a lot of teams are tight against the cap and the ones
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  that aren't are looking to splash bag at other positions. Maybe, Jeff,
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  this is the riality we have to live in right now. And if you're
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  gonna strip it down, fine, strip it down. Let's go through the
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  pain because I know it's gonna be better in the future. I do know
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  that. I don't know when, but just one thing, I do know
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  that the Broncos defense is just better with Justin Simmons in it. I mean
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  when he was out, they weren't nearly as good. When he's in,
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  they're good. It's just it's tough. So I guess my question is the
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  heck are they going to do it safety? Now? It's an excellent question,
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  mos. I mean, he didn't play the Miami game, so I
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  guess that's all we need to know about his impact in the defense. Uh,
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  you know, they feel like they've got some young guys. I mean
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  Cayden Stearns was a starter, you know before he got hurt. Uh.
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  You know that they you know, I've written something for today or tomorrow that
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  you know, they're going to be forced to play young players whether they like
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  it or not this year. So J L. Skinner, who got one
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  defensive snap, I think could have to get more defensive snaps because they you
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  know, they they played their rookie class probably the least of any rookie class
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  in the league this past season. I mean, they're going to be forced
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  to be younger. And you know, that's not been something Sean Payton's wanted
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  to do in his career as a head coach. But he's gonna do it
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  in twenty twenty four whether he likes it or not. And safety is going
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  to be one of those spots. Hey, Jeff, that's just a byproduct
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  of what you have to go through. I just pinch your nose, drink
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  your triaminic, and eat it right now, knowing that the cure is coming
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  sometime down the line. I think I think you should gravitate that way,
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  or at least with homegrown players. You know, it's a solution if your
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  young players are homegrown players and you're just not picking up young players who aren't
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  signed anywhere, you know, among thirty two teams. So there, I
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  think there is a line there that we need to talk about. It's a
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  solution if you do what the good teams do. Again, I'm gonna keep
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  saying it. Sixteen Chiefs starters in the Super Bowl were homegrown Chiefs. So
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  Mahomes is great. Yeah, he's the best, he's the alpha, but
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  they also have a homegrown team around him, and when they lose a guy,
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  they replace him almost all the time with a homegrown player, and until
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  the Broncos get in that loop, we're going to be doing a lot of
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  this. So you have to have six picks. They have six picks.
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  How do you seed that with only six picks? Well, that's why I've
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  said all along this is if people think this is a quick solution, you
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  know, release Russell Wilson and all ills are cured, I think kidding yourself.
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  They need picks, and I think that's why a trade down in the
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  first round, whether people like it or not, is probably the move they'll
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  they'll end up making when the quarterbacks are gone. Before they get a swing
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  at it. Jeff, you said, they still aren't under the cap,
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  even after this move to release Justin Simmons, who had no guaranteed money this
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  year. This is just fourteen million dollars that they can clear off the books.
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  They do add dead money though, they add three million and change dead
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  money to the piling total. Sure they do save salary against the cap,
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  but they add dead money. So yeah, but they got but they but
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  they've got money. So that's but I think the question I want to ask
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  about there's still about three or four over depending what you look at and that's
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  just to be under. That's not to participate at all in creatacy right well,
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  and on top of that, you're like, they aren't done? How
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  not? How not done? Are they? Are we talking about one to
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  two more guys that we know being off or is this going to be like
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  a giant purge of like buy something by Judy Bye Bulls. But you know
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  what I mean, like where does the train stop of guys that they let
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  go? It depends how far they want to be under for free agency when
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  the season starts. You got to be under far enough for fifty three.
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  You only have to be under for your fifty one. Now top fifty one
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  when the season starts, you got to be under by fifty three, and
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  you got to be able to cover every guy on ir under your cap too,
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  and any additional players you might want to sign or replace your injured players.
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  So it really is, you know, they got to be under to
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  fit their draft class in. But they don't have a two and they've only
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  got six picks, so that won't be that difficult. But it's just a
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  matter of how much do they want to participate in the middle tier of free
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  agency. I know, they're talking the defensive tackles or at least seeing what's
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  out there in defensive sex. So they do want to participate, but they
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  can't get and you know, it's just a matter of how far they want
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  to get under at the moment to sign one, two, three middle tier
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  free agents, they will almost certainly not even be you know, present anywhere
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  in the first wave of free agency. They just can't do it. And
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  if they wanted to do it, they'd have to release about ten guys,
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  Garrett Bulls, Lloyd Cushionberry, who's more likely to return, maybe Garrett if
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  they'll do some things with the contract. But I think, I mean,
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  cushion Berry's on the market, so you know, they'd have to meet or
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  be you know, I'm talking to people at the combine. He's got to
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  people noticed he had a very good season and he's a really smart player.
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  And uh, I think that's now that the the draft is pretty good at
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  center, at least at the top, so that could impact some things.
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  But I think there will be a market for cushion Berry that the Broncos may
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  not want or can't match. And they again that's another spot where they think
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  they have a young player or too that can that can step in. Like
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  you say, Sean Payton has not had one of the league's youngest teams,
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  you know, maybe ever in his career, but he very well, very
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  well may have one here next year. It's reality, I dig, Jeff.
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  But it's like tax day. You know what's coming, you know,
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  and you know you got to do your taxes. But then have you done
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  your Texas yet? Yes? Yeah, and you know what it sucks.
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  Let me tell you, Jeff, you've done your tax Texas got a lot
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  of money, Jeff, you got a lot of time. Yes. I
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  mean, hey, did you take me like ten seconds to take you on
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  a tour of you? Did you manage that appreciation on your Ferrari yet,
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  Jeff? I mean, hey, that's a big you know, I bet
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  in the basement studio, my friend, don't tell me about Jeff. Have
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  you claimed your second home in Cobo? If you don't, you know this
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  has But Jeff, it's just all of a sudden when it hits you exactly.
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  But when you're doing it like this sucks. I mean, you realize
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  you have to do it, but it doesn't make it any more fun.
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  And then I try to think ahead and you've done a remarkable job of educating
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  us and getting our heads on straight as to what to expect. I'm trying
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  to envision what training camp is going to look like in the lack of enthusiasm.
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  It's not going to be that fun, man. I mean right now,
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  I'm gonna listen between now, between now and preseason game number one,
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  or maybe even the start of the season, I'm gonna need some that he
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  get my stinger vibrate in a little bit. And I don't know what that
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  is because as of right now, nothing has made me smile about the Broncos
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  in the last five years. Bro, I don't know patz er Tan has.
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  But okay, well how about this? Can I can I ask this
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  another way? What don't yell at me like you're baseball guy, right?
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  Baseball fan? I like baseball? Yeah. I watched what happened to the
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  Rockies last year where they had so many things take place where they they almost
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  stumbled into rebuilding and playing young players. It kind of feels like the Broncos
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  stumbled into this. And I will say, you know, I asked this
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  question to Vic. I asked it the most you've been covering this team a
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  long time. I don't remember when they've ever had to totally tear down and
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  rebuild. They've always tried to reload or make do with what they have.
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  Could this be a blessing in disguise? Like all this bad stuff that's going
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  to take place in a year or two with eating this dead money and getting
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  rid of guys that you like, but it forces you into building a team
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  maybe a more proper way. Well, it's up to them. They got
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  to do it through the draft. Again, it's not other than one or
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  two drafts in New Orleans, the Saints. You know that, they talk
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  about the six draft a lot in New Orleans because it was a good one,
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  and the Kamara Draft they talk about because it was a good one.
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  But in between all those, they were not draft built teams. And it's
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  up to the Broncos. They got to do it in the draft, whether
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  they like it or not. And if they don't get that religion, you're
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  gonna end up doing a lot of this where they have to overpay veterans to
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  come here to play, and then you end up kicking the can down the
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  road with the salary cap all the time, and you're never really in a
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  good place, So it's really up to them. But you know, releasing
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  the a quarterback, you know, with a two hundred and forty some million
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  dollar deal that's mostly undone, and then the face of the franchise. I
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  mean, Justin Simmons has been the face of the post Super Bowl Broncos.
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  They're gonna be an awful lot of kids and groups and all the stuff he
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  did around here. You know, this isn't just Hey, Broncos get rid
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  of a safety. Yeah, there's gonna be a lot of people who don't
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  care about cover two or quarters coverage. We're gonna be really impacted because Justin
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  Simmons isn't gonna be at their event on a Tuesday. Jeff, you're so
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  he's such a good dude. I mean, he did so much in the
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  community, this whole thing, and I like him very much. That's why
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  this whole thing is even more painful. If he was a Jack Wagan,
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  I'd be like, oh, that stinks. He's a good player. But
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  he's such a great dude, man, you know that as well as anybody
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  he was. He was maybe the greatest rep you could ask for. Yeah,
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  I mean, Bret Brett to your question, the Broncos have never been
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  in this position since the AFL days. They've never had eight consecutive non playoff
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  season Pat Bolan, you know, they always tried to make sure they didn't
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  get to the tear down point. That was not something he wanted to entertain.
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  Ever, you know, if they got eight and eight, seven and
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  nine, you know he was. They were trying to move and groove to
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  get back in the mix, and that's why they didn't. They didn't ever
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  get to this point. So this, in a lot of ways, this
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  is uncharted ground in the modern in the post merger Bronco era. They've never
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  had a streak this long with no playoffs since the AFL and the NFL merged.
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  I want to bounce something off. I mentioned it to these guys yesterday.
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  Leggy, a friend of mine just texted saying, Man, should I
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  renew my season tickets? And I said, if you don't, of course,
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  yeah, here's my deal. Here's my deal. And follow me on
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  this one, Leggy. You know, sometimes ownership groups they go through these
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  great purges and the fan base is looking at rebuilding and they're like, why
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  should I be around to rebuild? You know what? I want to go
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  see competitive games. I think this is vastly different for this reason. I
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  know that this ownership group, and I think you know Greg Penner, they're
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  willing to spend the buck to make this team better. They are willing to
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  go above and beyond. They've already shown it. They've already given you examples.
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  They're willing to spend the money to be better, to be great at
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  some point. So I think that to take that step forward, they got
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  to take these two steps back. So if you're a Broncos fan, you're
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  wondering, what the hell I'm just telling you, Sometimes you got to bite
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  that bullet. But this ownership group is willing to spend and for that reason,
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  I think you hold onto those tickets and you hope for better days ahead.
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  Well that I would say that they have to be really tearful in that
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  they're positioning against the salary cap limits their greatest weapon, which is their checkbook.
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  They have the biggest checkbook in the NFL, and guess that's what they
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  can't use it. That's why you've got to manage the cap in a better
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  way. They cannot use what they have and nobody else has, which is
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  more money than anybody in the end event, wrap your head around that they
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  have more money than anybody else and the money churning NFL, and they can't
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  use it. Now. They can build their new facility and they can make
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  infrastructure and make it an attractive place for players, coaches, everybody, but
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  right now they have pushed themselves into a corner where the Denver Broncos can't use
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  the greatest thing the Denver Broncos have, which is their checkbook. I think
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  the other thing I think. I think they made a mistake in raising ticket
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  prices. Again, I wouldn't have done that, but nobody gives a crap
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  what I think. No, I agree with you on that. I agree.
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  I mean time and place right, Jeff. Yeah, they raised it
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  thirteen percent last year and seven percent this year, and I thought that was
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  a bad move because they didn't give In the retail world, you didn't give
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  people the products you promised you would, so well, I think that was
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  a mistake. But again, they don't care what I think. But it
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  was a mistake. What one of the reasons if you're the Denver bron because
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  you can make a move like that, and I wholeheartedly agree with you.
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  If you're a season ticket holder, and you had to watch some of this
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  trash over the last eight years. What are you doing? But they can.
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  You know why they can, because there's a huge line right behind those
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  season ticket holders waiting to buy theirs. But I think it would have been
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  you know, they could afford not to, and I think it would have
• 18:45
  been a nice thing. I remember Passed Bowling a couple of times. He
• 18:48
  often raised ticket prices. I'm not painting this romantic picture of pass Bowland didn't
• 18:52
  want to make a lot of money, so he did. But there were
• 18:56
  a couple of seasons, even in my time on the beat, when they
• 18:59
  held the line when they said, you know what, we're not raising ticket
• 19:02
  prices this year because we didn't do our part. And I thought that would
• 19:06
  have been a cool gesture, you know for the for the Broncos to make.
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  Probably wouldn't have impacted the bottom line very much either in the big picture,
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  but they you know, to what you guys have been talking about it,
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  that's why all this stuff would you know, everybody everybody's quick to say,
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  get rid of Russ, do this, get rid of this guy,
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  do this, get rid of the coaches, fire everybody the Broncos have now
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  positioned themselves where they can't use their checkbook, and that's probably the biggest mistake
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  they've made in all of it. Jefflake WELLDESPN dot com join us every Thursday.
• 19:38
  Thanks so much for the insight today, Leggy. Appreciate you. You
• 19:41
  follows Jeff lake Well, ESPN dot com. AW conversations would leg you brought
• 19:45
  to a Betsafe Colorado, the exclusive club for passionate game or some betters across
• 19:48
  the state back after this