Denver Broncos to Offer Ryan Clady a New Contract
By Chris Roling
The contract negotiations between the Denver Broncos and elite offensive tackle Ryan Clady have not been going so well up to this point in the offseason, with most recent accounts saying the two sides are “not even close.”
It sounds as if the Broncos are willing to come back to the table and find a way to keep their franchise tackle, which would be smart considering the staff needs him to protect quarterback Peyton Manning.
Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk has the scoop:
"Two of the franchise players have not signed their one-year franchise tenders: Broncos left tackle Ryan Clady and Bills safety Jairus Byrd. As to Clady, a source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the two sides exchanged proposals last month, and that the Broncos are expected to make a new offer next week.Yes, that will be cutting it close. But as we’ve seen time and again, the NFL is driven by deadlines."
Florio says the two sides are cutting it close because if a new deal is not reached before July 15, the two sides will have to wait until after the 2013 season to work on a long-term deal once more
We could be looking at a holdout situation here if the two sides do not figure something out by July 15. Clady can skip all of the preseason and still show up at the start of the season and be eligible for his full paycheck because the Broncos slapped him with the franchise tag.
Denver would be wise to avoid that scenario.
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