John Elway, in addressing reporters at Broncos headquarters Tuesday, expressed confidence in the team’s roster, despite the uncertainty — with its coaches, its quarterback and the 12 players headed for unrestricted free agency.
Elway has his work cut out for him in the next couple of months as he searches for a new coach and extra pennies to re-sign key players.
“We’ve got a good base of guys for the most part, with the exception of a couple Thomases (wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas) and a couple other guys we’ll work on once we get through the coaching search to be able to tie them down (and) hopefully have them back,” Elway said.
Elway also said more moves could come to the Broncos’ offensive line, which endured multiple changes and much criticism during the season.
And such changes, he knows, could affect quarterback Peyton Manning’s decision whether to return.
“Having been a quarterback, (Manning) knows that I’m going to take care of him and that offensive line,” Elway said.
Slip of the tongue. Elway opened his news conference Tuesday by accidentally thanking himself for the past four seasons, drawing chuckles from the media in attendance — and probably anyone else watching.
“I’d like to open this press conference with a thank-you to John Elway, er John Fox,” he said.
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Elway went on to acknowledge the work and success Fox had in Denver but said their split was because of their different approaches in building a Super Bowl contender.
Ravens Pro Bowling. It’s official: With Fox out of Denver, John Harbaugh and his staff will coach the AFC team in the Pro Bowl, the Ravens announced Tuesday.
Baltimore finished as the next-highest AFC seed to lose in the second round of the playoffs, succumbing to the Patriots.
