ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos have made it clear they’re ready to spend in free agency if a player, or three, inspires them to do so.
Defensive tackle Earl Mitchell was not one of those players. The Broncos met with Mitchell last week and wined and dined him. But they have been informed that Mitchell intends to formally sign with the San Francisco 49ers.
Mitchell has agreed to terms on a four-year, $16 million deal that folks in the league say was more than the Broncos had offered. Score one for former Broncos safety John Lynch in his new role as 49ers general manager.
And just like it wasn’t much of a shock that Mitchell, a defensive player, was the first free agent the Broncos vetted in such a public way (the dinner included defensive coordinator Joe Woods, defensive line coach Bill Kollar and defensive end Vance Walker), it was not a surprise that executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway had a specific number in mind.
And that number wasn’t $16 million for Mitchell or the $5.5 million Mitchell is expected to earn in the first year of the deal. Elway often uses the word “value" when he talks about free agency.
Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis recently said the Broncos were in position to "put a lot of money back into the team," but he was also quick to add that both he, and Elway, favor "a disciplined approach; you can’t spend foolishly because that gets you in trouble financially, and it can divide your locker room."
That’s not to say the Broncos weren’t interested in Mitchell as a potential nose tackle on defense. They were, given that Kollar and Broncos coach Vance Joseph were both on the Houston Texans’ staff when Mitchell was drafted by the team. And Mitchell fit the profile Elway likes in free agency -- a productive player who works with what the Broncos do, is under 30-years-old and still has some room to grow on the developmental curve.
But he didn’t fit the budget. Not the overall budget, but the one for him.
There will be free agents the Broncos want in the coming weeks who they will not get in a bidding war with because they have numbers in mind with each free agent and what they’re willing to spend.
And as with the case with Mitchell, it shows, at least a little, that the Broncos have needs on the defensive line they’d like to take care of, but they have bigger needs on the offensive line, and that’s where the bigger checks will likely go.
