Coach Mike Shanahan wasn’t kidding when he said he would improve the Broncos’ special teams.
The Broncos finally pulled the trigger on a long-rumored trade on Thursday and acquired Todd Sauerbrun, the Carolina Panthers’ three-time Pro Bowl punter. In exchange, the Broncos sent punter Jason Baker and their seventh-round pick in the 2006 NFL draft to Carolina.
Although controversial, there is no question Sauerbrun can punt. From 2001-03, Sauerbrun led the NFC in punting, becoming the only player since the NFL merger in 1970 to lead a conference in gross punting average for three consecutive seasons. Sauerbrun owns a 44.0-yard career gross average and a 35.9 net average.
In 1995, the Chicago Bears were so enamored of Sauerbrun, they used a second-round pick to draft him from West Virginia. The confident Sauerbrun arrived at Bears training camp in Wisconsin driving a new car with personalized license plates that read “HANGTIME.”
Shanahan declined to comment on the trade, as did Sauerbrun’s agent, David Canter.
“I won’t comment until after I speak to the Broncos about our contract,” Canter said.
The trade initially stalled when Sauerbrun requested that the Broncos convert some of his base salary over the next three seasons into a signing bonus. Sauerbrun is due $3.895 million over the next three seasons. His base salary is $1.2 million in 2005, $1.295 million in 2006 and $1.4 million in 2007.
Even though the trade has been made, Sauerbrun and Canter still would like the money redistributed.
Attempts to reach Sauerbrun were unsuccessful. Canter said that is because Sauerbrun is not planning to speak to the media.
“Todd has an embargo on the media for the rest of his NFL career,” Canter said. “He has been beat up by the media for the past 10 years, and he doesn’t need that anymore.”
Sauerbrun has been in the news a lot in the past year, and a recent profile in The Charlotte Observer reportedly angered him. In April, Sauerbrun, along with Carolina center Jeff Mitchell and former Carolina tackle Todd Steussie (now with Tampa Bay), were named in a “60 Minutes Wednesday” report alleging they had received banned steroid prescriptions from a Columbia, S.C., physician.
Those allegations remain under investigation by federal authorities and the NFL. Sauerbrun has been cooperating with the investigation.
An NFL spokesman said the league could not comment on Sauerbrun because the matter remains under investigation.
There remains a chance that Sauerbrun could be suspended by the NFL for four games for violating the league’s steroid policy.
However, Tampa Bay general manager Bruce Allen said this week he has been assured that Steussie won’t be suspended, and because Sauerbrun also is cooperating with the investigation, he also might escape suspension.
Also, in December, Sauerbrun was arrested for driving while impaired.
Shanahan has made it clear that he was unsatisfied with Denver’s punting game last season. Denver tried two punters: first Micah Knorr, then Baker. Both were inconsistent.
Denver ranked 22nd in punt return yards allowed (9.2). Baker averaged 38.8 yards per punt during the 2004 regular season, including two games early in the season when he was with Indianapolis. Knorr averaged 41.5 yards a punt in his 12 games with Denver.
The last time the Broncos had a Pro Bowl punter was in 1988, when Mike Horan averaged 44.0 yards per punt and landed 19 punts inside the 20-yard line.
