Broncos will place franchise tag on Ryan Clady

Ryan Clady is the franchise. At least he's tagged that way. (USATSI)

The Denver Broncos will use the team's non-exclusive franchise tag on left tackle Ryan Clady , CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora has reported. Clady's salary under the franchise tag will be $9.828 million next season, a hefty raise from the $3.5 million base salary he earned in 2012.

Broncos VP of football operations John Elway had insisted since mid-February that Denver would use its tag on Clady.

Clady's relationship with the team could be described as a bit frosty right now. Clady said on SiriusXM on Feb. 19 that if the Broncos tagged him, he wouldn't sign the franchise tender, which means he wouldn't be required to show up for any offseason activities.

As you can imagine, Elway wasn't thrilled with Clady's threat to sit out the offseason, "I don't think its the best thing for Ryan," Elway told ProFootballTalk. "I think for Ryan to be what he wants to do and what he wants to be as a football player it's not good to sit out an offseason. I don't think it's advantageous to him or us, so I'm hoping that doesn't happen."

Clady isn't expected to attend any offseason activities unless he has a multi-year deal in place. However, as the Denver Post points out, the Broncos may not be willing to start serious negotiations with Clady until he's further along in rehabbing his right shoulder, which was surgically repaired this offseason.

The Broncos are undoubtedly hoping that once rehabbed, Clady will return to his 2012 form. Last season, Clady played 1,140 snaps and only surrendered one sack, seven quarterback hits and 15 pressures all year.

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