Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Holdout possible for Clady?
By Tim Kavanagh
Yep, we're getting a little ahead of ourselves here, but there could be a storm brewing in Denver this offseason, and not the good kind that coats the Rocky Mountains with ski-friendly powder.
Last week, a report emerged that the Denver Broncos were poised to place the franchise tag on LT Ryan Clady. This is a logical move, as they don't want to risk losing a player who's been quite productive for them during his tenure. Moreover, the tag doesn't prevent them from signing him to a long-term deal later in the offseason. Nevertheless, Clady himself isn't completely happy with the development.
"I don't think it's a sign of disrespect," Clady explained to ESPN's Josina Anderson. "I just think it's kind of part of the business. Am I okay with it? No. But it's not like I'm out on the streets right now. I know I will have a job at least for one more year so, I'm still good. I would like to have long-term security in Denver, but if I don't get anything done before the deadline then who knows?"
It's tough to project whether Clady will hold himself out of the offseason activities ahead of the mid-summer deadline for franchise taggee deals; he is recovering from a rotator cuff injury sustained in late December, so he may not even be medically cleared by then. If he doesn't get a multi-year pact by the deadline, we also can't project whether or not he'll be a training camp holdout, but it's a possibility that can't be ruled out at this point.
