Ryan Clady gets the Franchise Tag

With all the tackles available this year, hopefully, if we can't come to terms on an extension, there will be less suitors next season.

My bad, this was your point all along and is 100% right and damn brilliant. This year, many LT vacancies will be filled in free agency and the draft (more than usual) and competition will be less in the sweepstakes for Ryan Clady.

All good J.....I didn't really say it as well the 1st time around. Lol

Yeah, the deep class of LT draftees alone should help keep the prices down for negotiations with Clady.  Might be enough to make him wish he'd taken the deal he was offered earlier.  

While the franchise tag buys us some time, it would still mean Clady's likely going to have a $9-10 MM hit on this year's cap.  In the meantime, it wouldn't surprise me at all if we also drafted a LT/OT for insurance purposes.  Plus, such a move would add badly needed O-Line depth.  

  In the meantime, it wouldn't surprise me at all if we also drafted a LT/OT for insurance purposes.  Plus, such a move would add badly needed O-Line depth.  

Agreed. Offensive Line is one area that you will never hear any gripes from me about the Broncos drafting.

Well Clady said tonight he would not sign his tender sheet for the Franchise Tag.  

No OTA's or camp unless he gets a new offer.  He may hold out. 

“Not right now,” Clady said. “I’d try to get done something by this summer, and if not, eventually, yes, I will sign. But as of right now? No.”

I wouldn't rule out a hold out but it seems like tactics for leverage. I believe the Broncos tagged Clady to allow extra time to work on a deal. Clady or his agent is probably just nudging the process.

  I imagine Clady and his agent want to see what the market will provide for as well.  I don't expect them to like what they find out though.  There is projected to be a strong supply of OL and LT specifically.  Any leverage Clady has is tenuous at best.  He can hang his hat on the fact he's Manning's blindside protector, but that's about it.  It's a hand he could overplay if he's not careful.  Still, it gives him some leverage if Denver is concerned with keeping continuity intact.

Walker, I'm respsonding to your Ivory comment...  As some of you know the Saints are very strapped for cash, to the point that they have at least 5 starters that need to be resigned.  Saying that, it should shed some light on what they will do with Ivory and other RFA's that they would like to keep but is not a priority.  If they give him the lowest tenders one of two things will happen; first they will recieve a draft pick for the pick they drafted him with (and seeing that he was undrafted they will get nothing) and secondly they will have the right of first refusal (which if he gets a gurantee that they can't match they won't keep him), so it's quite possible that they don't tender him at all, but if they decide to give him one of the top two tenders (1st or 2nd round) then they will owe him a guaranteed 2 million (for the 2nd) and 2.8 million (for the first), which IMO they can't afford to do being he is their 4th running back..  Unless they decide to cut one of the three guys ahead of him I don't see this happening.