Bus Cook believes Jay Cutler is the future of the Broncos, and the agent also believes his client needs to be in training camp on time to start his NFL career.
Yet, Cook, who spent most of Monday negotiating a deal for the 11th overall pick, also believes getting Cutler in camp on time could go down to the wire.
“I believe it is going to take all of the next three days to get this done,” Cook said Monday evening. “I do believe we’re going to get it done. I’ve had good talks with the Broncos and they are good people, but this will take time. I think and hope Jay is the future quarterback of the Broncos, and we all want him in soon.”
The Broncos report to camp Thursday afternoon and the first practice starts at 8:30 a.m. Friday. None of Denver’s draft picks had finalized deals Monday, although the team was in contact with all the agents and progress is being made in most cases.
Cutler’s deal is the highest profile of Denver negotiations, and is the team’s biggest rookie signing in several years. Cutler, a Vanderbilt product who has been working out at the Broncos’ facility, is the team’s highest pick since taking defensive end Dan Williams at the No. 11 in 1993.
“This is a high pick, and the fact that Jay plays a premium position like quarterback, the talks will be complicated,” Cook said.
Often, agents fly to an NFL city to finalize talks. However, Cook said he has no plans to fly in from his Mississippi office to meet with Denver officials.
Cook said talks with the Broncos could be affected by the negotiations in Arizona between former Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart and the Cardinals. Leinart was selected one pick before Cutler. Talks between the Cardinals and agent Tom Condon reportedly have been progressing well, and Leinart may be in camp on time.
Leinart’s and Cutler’s deals may be in the six-year range complete with voidable years.
“It’d be nice to see what (Leinart) gets,” Cook said. “But it’s not everything.”
Rookie contract talks have been slow around the league. One reason is because the rookie pool increased just 5 percent from last year. Until this year the increase had been 10 percent.
“It’s a different year,” said Tim McGee, who represents second-round pick Tony Scheffler. “All the deals will get done, but this year it’s just a little slow.”
More Knorr?
The Broncos are in need of a veteran punter because of Todd Sauerbrun’s pending NFL suspension. He is expected to appeal the four-game suspension.
One likely candidate is Micah Knorr, whom the Broncos cut in 2004. His agent, Josh Wright, said there has been some contact with the team.
While with the Broncos, Knorr also was the holder for kicker Jason Elam.
Footnotes
The NFL has increased the daily fine from $6,000 to $14,000 for players who hold out from camp. Denver receiver Ashley Lelie, who wants to be traded, is expected to hold out if not traded this week. … The Broncos cut five players Monday to get the roster down to 88 to accommodate the pending signings of their draft choices and one veteran, most likely a punter. The five players cut were safety Brandon Browner, linebacker Josh Buhl, defensive end George Gause and punters Jeff Williams and Tyler Fredrickson. Also, Bryan Save and Kevin Harrsion have been designated as NFL Europe roster bonus exemptions.
Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-820-5450 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
