The Denver Broncos already made the move of the offseason when they acquired free agent Peyton Manning. Now NFL rumors are swirling surrounding the potential landing spot for Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew and Denver is rumored to be interested.
MJD is in the midst of a holdout due to a desire for a new long term contract. Jaguars owner Shad Khan is not giving in and even offered a statement hinting that Jones-Drew could get traded.
“Train is leaving the station. Run, get on it” Khan said in regards to their hard-lined approach to MJD’s contract
As you can imagine, several teams have expressed interest in acquiring MJD and the Broncos might be one of those teams. It wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to see John Elway make a move to get Jones-Drew. Manning needs a solid running game, and although they already have Willis McGahee, if the league’s reining rush leader is up for grabs you have to at least see if it’s plausible.
In June, the Broncos were said to have $11.7 million left in cap space so they have the capability of luring MJD. He would come at a high price tag but there is the potential to negotiate a lower contract but load it with easily reachable incentives and a bonus after one season in order to work with the Broncos current salary cap.
That now leads us to who the Broncos would be willing to trade. First name that comes to mind would be RB Knowshon Moreno. Denver has not been pleased with the way Moreno has performed in his first few seasons with the team. He was obviously dealing with injuries but he’s had some off-the-field issues as well but the Broncos wouldn’t mind parting ways with the former Georgia product. Linebacker DJ Williams is also another possibility in a trade scenario due to his non-football drama. Williams has been a good player but the front office may be fed up with his antics off the field and would be willing to let him go.
Even if everything worked out and the Broncos were able to trade for MJD what would that mean for McGahee? It would most likely mean his departure as well. McGahee re-signed with the Broncos this offseason because he viewed Denver as the place where he knew he would be able to start. I don’t think he would be happy to be the No. 2 running back again behind Jones-Drew if he was brought in.
As for now, Jones-Drew is still under contract with the Jaguars and the team has said they are unwilling to trade him. Until he signs a contract or the team officially places him on the trading block, all the reports should just be taken as rumors and speculation.
