Nick Ferguson was walking through the Broncos’ locker room Monday afternoon at Dove Valley, looking for answers.
“What’s up with No. 97?” Ferguson asked. “Are we getting him?”
While the Broncos safety inquired about what he said would be a major coup for the Broncos’ new-look defense, team officials were finalizing a deal that made Simeon Rice a Bronco in yet another aggressive move by the team’s brass this year.
“That would be huge,” Ferguson said.
After a preseason in which new defensive boss Jim Bates admitted the adjustment to his scheme has been slow, the Broncos gave Bates a player perfectly fit for his approach six days before the season opener at Buffalo. Rice, the biggest name available, gives the Broncos’ defensive line instant pass-rushing credibility. Rice has 121 career sacks in 11 seasons and is second among active NFL players.
The Broncos were monitoring Rice for the past two weeks after defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban was lost for the season with an Achilles injury Aug. 18 at Dallas. Talks intensified Saturday, and Rice visited Sunday. After leaving Monday morning, the Broncos and Rice’s agent finalized the deal in the afternoon. He signed for one season for $3 million with incentives that can add another $1 million.
Rice said he wasn’t sure whether he would play Sunday at Buffalo, but the team expects him to be in the lineup on passing downs as soon at the home season opener Sept. 16 against Oakland.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut Rice in July to save money. Rice, recovering from an injured shoulder, passed the Broncos’ physical after passing a similar exam from the St. Louis Rams on Friday. He said his shoulder is fine.
Rice, who also visited the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans, said the biggest factors why he signed with the Broncos were the winning atmosphere and the players’ happiness. He said he talked to former Buccaneers teammates John Lynch and Ian Gold about the Broncos, as well as other players, including Ferguson and Sam Adams. Lynch was among the group that dined with Rice on Sunday night on his visit.
“The biggest factor overall was, I had never seen a team of players respond to an organization the way these players did,” Rice said.
Rice will get a chance to make good on his statement before he signed that he could be the final piece of a Super Bowl puzzle. He will lead a group of pass rushers that includes young players Elvis Dumervil and Jarvis Moss.
Bates likes tall, fast defensive ends in his system. Just as Adams fits the system because he clogs the middle, Rice works because he can come off the edge. Ferguson said he thinks Rice can have the same success Jason Taylor had in Miami in Bates’ system. Lynch agrees.
“It’s a great fit in every way,” Lynch said. “He is going to really make a lot of plays for us. … Simeon is a playmaker who makes his plays count. (Former Buccaneers assistant and now Detroit Lions head coach) Rod Marinelli used a baseball analogy in describing Simeon to me once. He said that Simeon doesn’t hit his home runs with the bases empty. He hits them with the bases loaded, when it counts.”
Rice is ready to swing for the fences in Denver.
“What’s important for me is to put (the injury) behind me and do what I do naturally,” Rice said. “And that’s dominate.”
Staff writer Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-954-1262 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
