It says something that only one former Broncos player received any significant interest through the first 48 hours of free agency.
It says even more that that player was Domonique Foxworth.
More evidence that Mike Shana- han was a better head coach than a talent evaluator.
In fairness to Shanahan, everybody saw what he saw in that final preseason game of 2008. Foxworth, one of the regulars who had to play in the exhibition against the Arizona Cardinals, had a tough day against the likes of Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston.
A few days later, Shanahan summoned Foxworth into his office and told him if he made the team, it would be as the fifth cornerback. Later that day, Foxworth was traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a measly seventh-round pick.
Six months after he was told he wasn’t good enough for one of the league’s worst defensive teams, Foxworth signed a four-year, $27.2 million contract with a $16.5 million guarantee by one of the league’s best defensive teams, the Baltimore Ravens.
“I finally felt comfortable with my situation,” Foxworth said. “When I got to Atlanta, I didn’t feel like I was fighting for my life on a daily basis. I got a job, and during a short period of time I was able to show enough to a lot of people around the league. I would have liked for things to have been different in Denver, but the way things worked out to where they are today, I can’t complain.”
Foxworth wasn’t the only cornerback who got burned by Boldin and Breaston in 2008. Until Boldin took a vicious hit that broke his face, he was considered slightly ahead of the Broncos’ Brandon Marshall as the best possession receiver in the game. Breaston became one of the league’s most productive No. 3 receivers, catching 77 passes for 1,006 yards.
Turns out, Boldin and Breaston did Foxworth a favor. Now he’s rich and playing for his hometown team.
“Their headquarters are walking distance from the house I grew up in,” Foxworth said.
Stretching the dollar.
If it doesn’t work out for Josh McDaniels and Brian Xanders as football executives, maybe they can find work in President Barack Obama’s economic department.
It’s taken some ingenuity for the Broncos to pull off this free-agent frenzy. Look deeper at the contracts they’ve reached with all their new players, and it’s easy to see owner Pat Bowlen wasn’t lying when he said prior to free agency: “It’s not like we feel we have a lot of money to throw around. That should come as no surprise to anybody.”
The Washington Redskins gave Albert Haynesworth a $41 million guarantee. The Broncos may have had a tougher time giving a $7.2 million guarantee to Brian Dawkins.
No team has acquired more players with less money than the Broncos. Free agents Correll Buckhalter, Jabar Gaffney, Andra Davis, Darrell Reid, Renaldo Hill and Lonie Paxton each received guaranteed bonuses of less than $5 million.
Their offer sheet to Houston receiver David Anderson included a $1 million bonus.
And from those bonuses, the Broncos are spreading them out through the year.
Footnotes.
Early in the free-agent period, my vote for top agent is Alvin Keels. He got a six-year, $54 million contract with a $22.5 million guarantee for cornerback DeAngelo Hall with Washington. Broncos fans want to know: If Hall is worth $54 million, what is Eddie Royal worth? . . .
The Patriot Way? It loves geezers. It’s why Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison anchored the Pats’ defense the past two years. It’s why McDaniels, the Patriots’ former offensive coordinator, acquired the 35-year-old Dawkins to anchor the back end of his new 3-4 defense with the Broncos. It’s why former Pats’ executive and current Kansas City general manager Scott Pioli acquired 33-year-old linebacker Mike Vrabel.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
