Give Mike Shanahan this: He isn’t assuming the Broncos will bounce from last year’s 9-7 season. He and his coaches are being proactive in an attempt to get back to the playoffs.
With Sunday came word that defensive tackle Gerard Warren wouldn’t be going to San Francisco for the preseason opener. And no, it wasn’t because of an injury.
The Broncos have to told Warren and his agent that they’ll trade him within the next few days. With Warren out of the picture, Jimmy Kennedy and Marcus Thomas will share time at right tackle beside Sam Adams.
NFL teams in the salary-cap era typically turn over about one-third of their roster. The Broncos? With Warren gone, half of their starters will be new compared to the team that reported to training camp in 2006.
Only Ebenezer Ekuban remains as a starter on the defensive line. The right side of the offensive line is new, too, with Montrae Holland and Erik Pears replacing Cooper Carlisle and George Foster.
Even Rod Smith, a fixture since the glory days of the ’90s, is gone. He figures to open the season on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list, leaving Brandon Marshall or Brandon Stokley as the starter. Oh, and did I mention the Broncos have a new starting quarterback and tailback, too?
Eleven new starters. Not to mention a new special-teams coach and virtually an entire new defensive coaching staff. So what change is coming next? With Shanahan, you always have to stay tuned.
